RE: [Leica] Anyone want to help me spend some money on a digital darkroom?

[Aaron Sandler <aaron.sandler@duke.edu>]

At 07:18 PM 3/3/2004, Dave Rodgers wrote:
>I was sold on a  Nikon Coolscan V. Went to buy one. They were out of 
>stock. Took a look at a new little Minolta ($300). Out of stock, too, 
>except for a demo unit. The Minolta is 3200 dpi res and 16 bit. The 
>Coolscan V is only 14 bit. Tried out a slide of mine on both demo units. I 
>couldn't see any difference. Granted a computer screen can only reveal so 
>much. But I'm thinking that if I can live with 3200 DPI, the Minolta is a 
>serious contender.
>
>I'm postponing any printer pruchase. I decided I'll use my older inkjet 
>for proofs, and look into mini labs for real prints. There are 6 mini-labs 
>with Frontier 370s  or 2000 series Noritsu's near where I live. Dry Creek 
>Photo has color profiles available free and a number of labs listed 
>nationally. In theory a person can completely control their output, i.e. 
>do all the color profiling, sharpening, sizing, etc. and tell the lab not 
>to do anything to the file. Just print it as is.
>
>Here are the differences I found between Noritsu 2000 series and Frontier 
>370: Noritsu 2000 series print 400 dpi up to 12x18 inches. Frontier 370r 
>print 300 dpi up to 10x15 inches. Paper makes a big difference. Fuji 
>Crystal Archive is my preference, though I'm looking into a lab that uses 
>Kodak Portra papers, for portrait prints. Some labs accept uploaded files, 
>which they'll print for later pickup. There are other options.  Costco can 
>print up to 20x24 on canvas, which I assume they send out. A friend of 
>mine had one printed and it looked fantastic. The cost was one-third what 
>his pro lab charged.
>
>Just some options to consider. You can always buy a 2200 anytime in the 
>future. At least until something better comes out.
>
>DaveR
>
>Aaron Sandler wrote:
>
>>
>>Total Budget: $2200.

Thanks for the input, DaveR.  The $300 Minolta (I think you're describing 
the Dimage IV) was my original choice, but then I thought the extra 
resolution and digital ICE for dust correction would be nice.  I'm going to 
reopen the issue and do a little more scanner research on the Minolta vs 
the Nikon vs the Microtek that others have mentioned.

I've heard of the Dry Creek Photo profiles, and thought about using a 
cheaper/smaller printer and sending out for larger prints.  The problem is 
that I don't actually have any printer that would work for decent proofs, 
so I'd have to buy something anyway.  I really want to be able to produce 
decent prints without leaving my house.  (Irrational, maybe, but I shoot 
with Leicas, so we've already established that!)  And, these funds are 
actually "use it or lose it" type money...they have to be spent on computer 
equipment in the next few months.  So the option of waiting for the next 
improvement isn't available to me.  I just wouldn't be able to drop that 
much of my own discretionary money on a printer anytime soon.  So, in that 
context I thought I should go ahead and aim for the 2200.

Back to pondering scanners,
Aaron

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