leonard

<p>As far as I can tell, this project tries to conform the GIMP's menus to photoshop. That's a noble goal, but it is not the same as true compatibility. If you're a photoshop "pro" and have invested in plug-ins and have a bunch of actions that you've saved, you won't be able to use those with this version of the GIMP.</p>

 

<p>That said, the GIMP itself is a solid program, and I find that its features far outstrip my capabilities and imagination as a photo retoucher or manipulator. Be sure to get the <a href="http://ptj.rozeta.com.pl/Soft/RawPhoto">RawPhoto</a> plugin if you use RAW files.</p>

<p>Hutech sells a 300d with the IR filter removed, which they call the

<a href="http://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/canon/index.htm">EOS SLR Digital Astro Camera</a>. </p>

The March, 2004 issue of Sky & Telescope has an article on capturing star trails with digital cameras that might be helpful.

 

I haven't tried star trails with my 300D, but I have taken comet images from a tripod and long-exposure astrophotos using a telescope. Noise is definitely an issue for longer photos. You can take a dark frame (cover the lens cap and make an exposure of equal length as the star trail photo) and then subtract the dark frame from the main exposure to get rid of some of the noise.

If you want to try a free command-line converter, check out <a href="http://www2.primushost.com/~dcoffin/powershot/">dcraw.c</a> from Dave Coffin. It says that it supports the D60. I don't have a D60, but I have used it with RAW files from my G5 and it works fine. If you use photoshop, it will write a PSD from a RAW file.

<p>I have a G5, which I'm using to get back into photography after a 15 year

absence. My last serious camera was a manual-focus Nikon SLR, and boy is there

a difference between the two. For Winogrand-style street photography, you'll

have to deal with the autofocus lag and develop techniques to work-around.

You'll miss a lot of shots until you're used to the G5, then you'll only miss some

shots.</p>

 

<p>Also, you left a biggie off of your list of issues. Does your Winogrand-style

shooting include low-light conditions? If so, first note that the 28mm prosumers

(specifically Nikon 5XXX) are all <i>f</i>2.8 rather than the G5's <i>f</i>2.0.

Then, look at some of the ISO 200 and ISO 400 shots on some of the photo review

sites. Basically, the dirty little secret of the prosumer-type digital cameras is that

the sensors are noisy. When you use ISO 400, image quality degrades

drastically.</p>

 

<p>I've seen the purple fringing in a couple of shots, but it is not a major

problem. 5 MP is enough for big prints at ISO 50 or 100, but your quality

standard might be higher than mine.</p>

I find that the average photo print filesizes for my Epson 820 are quite large - similar to your experience. I assume that the issue has to to with how the photo is rasterized for the printer.

 

My guess is that the printer has very little image processing logic, and that the printer driver does the hard work of converting an image into printing instructions. This means that the output from the printer driver to the spooler is a very large file with detailed information on how each print head should be fired, which, for high-res output, could be extremely detailed and therefore large.

I bought a G5 about a month ago. My previous "serious" photographic experience was with a manual Nikon SLR, B&W film, using my own darkroom, in the late 70's and early 80's. When I moved and could no longer have a darkroom, I didn't do much photography other than snapshots with a point-and-shoot 35mm.

 

I have really been enjoying digital with the G5, but there are two major issues compared to a SLR: picture-taking speed and low-light performance. Together, these limit the range of photo opportunities. I'm using the G5 to develop my whole digital workflow, but I think you're right in waiting for a DSLR.

 

You mentioned battery life as an issue with digital. For the G5 at least, this is one problem I haven't experienced. The battery seems to last forever.

<p>On the topic of printers, take a look at

<a href='http://www.linuxprinting.org'>linuxprinting.org</a>.

Support quality tends to vary with the manufacturer's desire to supply information. Epson and HP are both pretty forthcoming and their newer printers are well-supported.</p>