Fwd: OT: Nikon D-70 for dig negs

This post of mine never seems to have "arrived". One more try.....

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Tom Ferguson <tomf2468@pipeline.com>
> Date: December 12, 2005 7:50:31 AM PST
> To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
> Subject: Re: OT: Nikon D-70 for dig negs
>
> The D70 series are Nikons amateur digital SLR line. That means they
> aren't built quite as "tough" as the pro D2 or semi-pro D200/100 line
> and have a smaller pixel count. A great resource for info/reviews on
> digital camera gear is dPreivew:
>
> http://www.dpreview.com/
>
> The reviews are very good, and the forums are also. There will,
> however, be very few alt folks there.
>
> Here is "my" take on digital cameras for alt and digital negs: The
> availability of Raw is more important than the pixel count. When we
> make a digital neg with our currently available media we have to apply
> a very drastic tone curve. If we apply that curve to a normal 8bit Jpg
> or Tiff file we run a very real chance of getting .....arg brain
> freeze, I've forgotten the word..... ?posterization? .......
> noticeable "lines" or "steps" between similar tones. Banding in a sky
> area for example.
>
> If the camera (and the computer) can work in Raw and/or 16bit, this
> problem is drastically reduced.
>
> I would "assume" the D70 has this function.
>
> On Dec 12, 2005, at 2:05 AM, Dan Burkholder wrote:
>
>> Hey Stuart,
>>
>> The D70 and its "S" sister have a cleaned-up version of the D100 chip,
>> which I have used (actually, Nikon lent me a D100 about three years
>> ago
>> and never asked to get it back ;^).
>>
>> And of course, if you have a good capture from the D70 you can make a
>> good digital negative, just as you would from any other digital camera
>> capture. As to how large you can go with your negs and prints, it
>> depends on a number of factors like image sharpness, nature of image
>> (organic or architectural), expected viewing distance (don't even
>> bother
>> trying to control this one; photographers will always have their face
>> against the glass looking for grain, noise, evidence of the afterlife,
>> etc.). Having said that, I've made some nice 12x18 inch pt/pd prints
>> from 6MP files. You'll have to discover through testing (make a print
>> and look at it) just how big you can go with your images and still
>> have
>> them look "good."
>>
>> One thing they dropped on the D70 was the threaded cable release,
>> which
>> is a shame. I hate futzing with those electronic wires and fittings
>> when
>> a simple, cheap 30 year-old cable release would do the job. Just
>> nitpicking here.
>>
>> You may already know all the generic digital camera stuff like
>> watching
>> for blown highlights (turn on the "blinking highlight warning when
>> reviewing images), avoiding dumped shadows (get intimate with the
>> histogram), and shooting in Raw mode so you grab the most information.
>> Just as there is no substitute for a good "real" negative, a good
>> digital capture makes your printing life a lot easier.
>>
>> Have fun with your camera and let us see some pictures (please)!
>>
>> Dan
>>
>>
>> STUART GOLDSTEIN wrote on 12/11/05, 7:38 PM:
>>
>>> Sorry this is off topic -- but I was wondering if
>>> anybody had any experience with either the Nikon 70 or
>>> the D70s for making digital negs or just plain old
>>> experience using the camera for making non-alt images.
>>>
>>> All information is appreciated about your (or your
>>> friend's) experience with the camera. Compliments and
>>> complaints.
>>
>>
>> --
>> www.DanBurkholder.com
>> www.TinyTutorials.com
>>
>
Received on Mon Dec 12 16:45:45 2005