Questions about going digital

[kingstonphotography]

I shoot film with Canon equipment, and looking to start some digital work (with the affordable 10D...why not?).
I do not know much at all about digital, so my biggest question is resolution and enlargements. How large of an enlargement can you get with a 6.3 megapixel camera? I assume you would have to use RAW mode, but can you blow up to, say, 16x20?
Thanks.
kp

[robertwgross]

KP, I attended a photo show in March (where they were tring to push digital to wedding and portrait photographers). Of course, digital push is lost on me, since I got a D60 last year.

However, at the show, they had a whole bunch of almost-identical 30x40" prints set up side by side. Some were shot with Canon D60, some with other digitals, some with Canon film cameras, some with other film cameras, including Hassies.

You could tell who the real photographers were, as they walked around. They were not looking at the prints from five feet away. They were looking at the prints from about five inches away.

From five feet, you absolutely could not tell any quality difference between them. There were some subtle color saturation differences and subtle color shifts. From five inches, the digitals won hands down. The D60 and the others of that calibre were the best, IMHO.

The argument could be made that the digitals had their images post-processed a lot to make them look good. OK. If you check it, to get a film printed to look good at that size, it takes a bit of darkroom work.

Let's see. Darkroom vs. computer. Computer vs. darkroom.?

I trust my computer skills.

---Bob Gross---

[kingstonphotography]

Bob-
Thanks for the info. I have another question. The lab I currently use processes my film and digitally uploads my negatives to my online 'darkroom' that they host. Used most for weddings, my customers are able to order directly from my website once I edit the images. However, 8x10 is pretty much the maximum size that is an acceptable print - anything bigger is reordered from the negatives.

When I go digital, do I simply upload my images from the camera to my 'darkroom' and order online, or do I physically take the image card to the lab (all of this assuming I am not investing in a photo-quality printer yet)? Thanks.

kp

[robertwgross]

Your first paragraph. I don't see any reason that digital images should be limited to 8x10 UNLESS they are simply doing a medium resolution scan. With a high res scan, you should be able to take that much larger. I scan my 35mm slides _large_ and each makes up a file of about 100-150MB.

Second, for small scale work, you can physically transport your memory card to the lab and let them do prints. Some do that and some don't like that. Some have digital transfer capability to their lab. Pros and cons. That probably costs you some money, but it saves a lot of driving. If you can pass that directly on to your customers, then it sounds like a good deal.

However, I would recommend you to purchase a good photo quality printer for you to do your own tests and proofs. Use it a little or use it a lot, take your pick, but it is such a valuable tool to simply pick a file off your computer and print it right then and there. Many people do this with 4x6 or 5x7. I do it on half of an 8.5x11 sheet, but my Epson 1270 does fine all the way up to 13x19. You just have to use Epson ink and (I recommend) the best Epson papers. No ordinary inkjet paper.

I took a couple of dozen of my most recent outdoor shots printed on 8x10 and 11x14 to a local group of outdoor types. They were pleased and pulled out their wallets. They asked me which lab did my prints for me! (my Epson 1270).

---Bob Gross---

[brunz]

KP

I am currently editing my wedding photography and saving them on a CD(burned) after which I send them to my lab. The prints are breathtaking even at 16x20. I use a D30,D60 and a D10. I use photoshop and make sure to have a colorvision spyder (optical)or something like that to set your monitor up with so that the lab has embedded colors. I also have a Walgreens Drug that I get really good 4x6's from for $.27 each. They use a Fuji machine and I don't let them adjust color...results are great. Good Luck Brian