Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doug, If you are talking about casual snapshooters (and that is implied by the mention of the proverbial shoebox) then they usually did not keep the negatives, just the prints. So that should be the standard for comparison. Now, with digital, the printing kiosks all over the place are providing the solution. During my recent trip to Poland I showed my sister how to use the self-service printing kiosk at the local Media Markt (a large European TV/electronics/computer chain). From her perspective, this is better than with film: stick in the card, select the images she wants printed on the touch screen, type in her name and address (this step can be eliminated if you get a store fidelity card) and take the receipt the machine prints. A couple of days later the prints can be picked up at the store. The only question is how durable those prints will be, but that too will be fixed (if it isn't already). It is the same as with the shift to color in the 1950s and 60s: the early color prints were awful in terms of durability. The ones you get now can be expected to hold up well. I am a great believer in the market's ability to solve problems like this. My sister has no computer or printer, and yet for her now getting prints from her digital P&S is as easy and cheaper than it was with film. I am also confident that for us serious shooters, who have thousands and thousands of images, the market will also find a solution that will provide storage that is inexpensive, durable and future-proof. At the moment, my images reside on external hard drives and DVDs, but I expect that in 5 years I will have moved them onto something cheaper, smaller and better. The market is good at this sort of thing--it will not solve global warming without government intervention, but it will solve the problem of storing digital images. Nathan dnygr wrote: > All camera makers must be affected by the switch to digital. I wonder how > large format has been affected. > > As I've noted before, we are the last generation to have photos and > negatives of our relatives in a shoebox. > > Future generations will have photos on discs that no one can access and if > they can few will go to the effort to figure out how. > > Doug > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- Nathan Wajsman Almere, The Netherlands General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com Seville photography: http://www.fotosevilla.com Bicycle project: http://www.fotocycle.nl Stock photography: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=507 Prints for sale: http://www.photodeluge.com Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog