Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/03/03

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Anyone want to help me spend some money on a digital darkroom?
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 14:30:10 -0500

Sounds quite good. I might add the upgrade to Photoshop CS - you will
NOT regret a penny of the expense. And I would also consider the
Microtex (sp) version of the old Polaroid 4000 scanner. It does a great
job, and you'll save some money over the Nikon. But that's nit picking.
Boy, all that computer for $1k...amazing.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Aaron
Sandler
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 2:22 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: [Leica] Anyone want to help me spend some money on a digital
darkroom?


OK, here's the deal:  I have unexpectedly gained access to some money
which 
can only be spent on new computer equipment.   No MP or digilux2 or
Mamiya7 
for me, I'm afraid.

But this does allow me to do something I have been considering but for 
which I lacked the funds: set up a digital darkroom.  I'd like to be
able 
to scan negs (color and B&W), photoshop them and store them with
reasonable 
ease, and then print both B&W and color nicely on larger than 8.5x11" 
paper.  I'm not talking major production or high volume here.  This is a

hobby for me, not a profession.

I've read a lot and formulated a plan.  I'd like to run it by y'all in
the 
hope that the wiser heads around these parts can tell me if any part of
my 
plan is monumentally stupid or even just slightly misguided.

Total Budget: $2200.

1) Computer--the best I can get for around $1000.   I'm thinking of a 
Pentium 4 at around 3GHz with two 120GB hard drives, 1GB of RAM, and
CD/DVD 
writer.  (I was planning to build one, but then I discovered that Dell
from 
time to time has brief sales in which they drop their prices so much
that 
it no longer makes sense to build.  Unfortunately, a sale that would
have 
fit the above into the $1000 just ended last weekend, so I may have to
wait 
a little bit, but I'm hoping I can find a similar deal.)

2) Monitor--$0.  I've got a decent one.

3) Software--$0.  I've already got PS 7.  :)

4) Scanner--$600. I'm thinking the Nikon Coolscan V.

5) Printer--$600.  Epson 2200.  The 13x19 printing and my longstanding 
preference of matte over glossy make this seem a better choice than the 
HP7960 for me.

6) Monitor calibration--$150.  Spyder with Photocal.

Total price: $2350, which I can stretch to.  Please keep in mind that
this 
sum is significantly more than the value of my car, and somewhat more
than 
the value of my wife's car, so suggestions that involve increasing this 
amount will not help me very much!

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have,
Aaron


- -------------------------------------
Aaron Sandler
aaron.sandler@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~ajs2



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