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This is the best info I've come across on digital cameras!
I like Ben Long's wonderfull writing and his no nonsense approach to his subject. I don"t buy camera mags any more because they are full of hyperboly, (*$^&*#) I am waiting for more this kind of illumination.
This is the best info I've come across on digital cameras!
I like Ben Long's wonderfull writing and his no nonsense approach to his subject. I don"t buy camera mags any more because they are full of hyperboly, (*$^&*#) I am waiting for more this kind of illumination.
Do NOT Buy Minolta cameras
When shopping for a camera keep the maunfacturer in mind. Make sure the manufacturer is a reputable one that backs their products, something Minolta does NOT do. Make sure the manufacturer doesn't do as Minolta does by charging for warranty repairs. Make sure the company has GOOD customer service so that when you contact them they respond; again this is something Minolta doesn't do. I sent my brand new one week old Dimage G500 in for repairs and Minolta wants to charge $158 to repair it, which is ridiculous for a brand new one week old camera. Minolta refuses to reply when I try contacting them. I've posted my comments at planetfeedback.com and Minolta doesn't have the guts or brains (not sure which) to reply to them either. My recommendation to everyone is DON'T BUY MINOLTA CAMERAS and buy something like Kodak that has fantastic customer service, as well as outstanding repair service at NO charge. I contacted Kodak about repairs to a camera almost a year old and everything went so smoothly it was unbelievable. Too bad Minolta wasn't the same because if they were they might be worth recommending to others. Right now though they shouldn't even be in business because of their bumbling ways!!!
Megapixels Do Not Equal Image Size
I had a Kodak DC215 with a one megapixel sensor. I have successfully output 8X10 images from it on my Epson Stylus 1520 at 1440 X 720 resolution. To resize the image, it was edited in Photoshop with the final output at 72 pixels per inch. This printer had the same print engine as the Stylus 3000 that was able to make the first really detailed photo prints. The only consequence was a little softening of the image. The overall image quality was great because the sensor was great. I have used other digital cameras (consumer) with larger sensors and the images were awful.
It all depends on the type of output. If you output for the purposes of offset printing, then the pixels per inch (ppi) is more demanding. Photoshop's manual recommends twice the count of the printer's lines per inch or around 200 to 266 PPI. With resolution much lower than this, pixelization (or those little stairstep shapes) start to appear. Inkjet photo printers appear to be much more forgiving.
On the other hand, I have worked for a digital printing company specializing in mural output using a Lambda digital printer. They could take anything. They could take almost nothing in resolution and blow it up to poster size for professional output, because the printer's interface software was designed for high interpolation of images wihout losing resolution.
It helps if you have good imaging software like Photoshop to get the most out of an image. It is the equivalent to having your own darkroom to get just the print you want.