Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/12/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Not that I totally agree with Alexander The Great ( :-) ) , but....The digital/silver issue is quite different from the B&W/v color or painting v photo debates: digital printing, and digital capture, can be black and white or color. The difference between digital and traditional film capture is that digital capture provides instantaneous gratification - it allows the prols to see their happysnaps at once, and to upload free copies to grandma and uncle ernie; it allows the pros with the proper equipment to send their breaking news photos direct from the killing fields of Rawanda, or the floor of the Tokyo stock exchange, to the photo desk of the NYTimes, enabling them to make deadline. The important question, then, is whether digital quality is the equal of film quality...for a particular job. There seems little question that for newspaper quality reproduction, digital definitely cuts it. In terms of fine art, probably not. In terms of what Leica enthusiasts demand of their photography in terms of lines per inch, etc. etc. etc., no. But the future is coming soon, even if it is not now. Will film totally disappear - no more than painting has. But it will eventually occupy a very small niche in the art form we call photography. B. D. Tarek Charara wrote: > Maybe you are right, maybe not. The "silver is dead, long live digital" > thing reminds of the "Black&White is dead, long live color", the "FB paper > is dead, long live RC paper" and last, but not least, the "Painting is dead, > long live photography" thing. > > Tarek > --------------------------------------------------------- > > Tarek Charara > L'expo continue sur/The exhibition continues at > http://www.orients-unis.net > > le 06.12.2000 15:14, Steven Alexander à alexpix@worldnet.att.net a écrit : > > > Lugnuts: > > > > As a looong time silver process imagemaker I just want to say; I just had > > an awakening. I saw results from several new top of the line, pro, semi-pro > > digital cameras and I predict one thing...get accustomed to not finding > > your favorite film (not just Kodakchrome) waiting you at your local camera > > shop. Film is dying, if not yet dead, sorry I thought I would never say > > that. > > Following the article in the NY Times two Sundays ago on how major motion > > picture production is drifting into digital capture and distribution, the > > recent report from PMA that digital camera sales have passed film camera > > sales this Xmas season and the fact that most newspaper/magazine photography > > is now digital, I have been converted. Look at the number of our members > > (surely we are among the most conservative camera enthusiasts ) who have > > abandoned the silver darkroom for digital reproduction, why not the silver > > camera, if it produces, as the darkroom, equal or better results, please do > > not tell me your 11x14 prints can not have the same quality and the 4x6 are > > certainly as good. I have seen equal quality, by eyeball, maybe not some > > esoteric paper filled with numerical description of the image. > > > > Let the collectors reign, the shooters will soon become converts to new > > technology with different countries of origin , pre visualization will be > > accomplished on an LCD and batteries will replace filters as the major topic > > of discussion. > > > > Happy snaps or is that now, > > Good pixels, > > > > Steven Alexander > >