mr._smith

"I'm interested in pushing the outer limits of print size from the D50, without resorting to interpolation or Genuine Fractals"

Then there's only one solution: resizing without resampling. Print and image at 240ppi, then at 200ppi, and then again at 180ppi or untill the print quality is no longer acceptable to YOU.

But I wonder: why would you refuse to use interpolation?

Get an Epson V700 or V750 for your 4x5 negatives and a Nikon LS-9000 for your others negatives.

If the LS9000 is over budget, than get the Epson V750 for all your negatives.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson%20V750/page_1.htm

Don,

It's priced way too high!

There's one guy selling it for US $434.68 and he's for real: first auction, 0 feedback, new account. Go with this guy. You'll have memories to last you a lifetime.

BTW, I have this brand new private toll bridge located in the Sahara, that's for sale real cheap. You'll make tons of money.

Contact me at www.theresoneborneveryminute.biz

Get the Nikon D50 and use the Nikon lens you already have.

When you have ready for an upgrade, keep the D50 body and get the 18-200mm Nikon lens. It is sharp, has vibration reduction and will do macro; equals 28-300mm in 35mm.

John,

Part of your solution resides with Picassa2. My wife tried all the usual graphics software and now uses Picassa2. She absolutely loves it. And it can show Photoshop a trick or two.

Chris,

If you think that buying a dslr will get you into fashion photography, then you have just as much chance getting into major league baseball by buying a baseball glove.

If you know what you're doing and have confidence in your skills, you'll get the job whatever the equipment you happen to have.

Do I need to upgrade my Minolta Dual Scan IV to Nikon V?

Absolutely not. I've owned both a Coolscan V and a Minolta Dual Scan III.

I preferred the DS3 and printed to 12"x18" without resampling.

The scans were so sharp that very little sharpening was needed.

I sold the Nikon V and kept the DS3 until I switched to digital.

Dpreview and Steve's Digicam.

I've stopped buying digital camera related magazine a long time ago.

"Bad low light shots and flash seems crappy!"

Before you spend money on a new digicam, you might want to try this:

Shoot at ISO 400 indoor and use flash. And then use NoiseNinja/Noiseware/Neatimage to denoise your pics. You might be surprised at the results especially the Photoshop plugin version in batch mode.

Why would you exchange a better dedicated film scanner scanner for a flatbed that is good enough.

As good as the V700 may be, a dedicated mf film scanner is the top choice. Better scans always produce better prints, even on the R2400.

"I tried a few times to print b/W but I get a green colorcast most of the times. I'm using an Epson 2200 printer"

Yep, Epson's black inks have a greenish tint. That's why a lot of users dedicate a printer to b&w using a grayscale inkset and another one to color.

That's something that has been adressed by the Epson R2400 printer in that the ABW mode produces neutral prnts on all kinds of paper.

Your have three choices: 1- Use a RIP like Harrington's QTR 2- replace the color inkset with a grayscale inkset from MIS 3- print in black only mode using the black inks from MIS. (Clayton Jones site has info on B.O. printing with an Epson 2200)

"D50 or "prosumer" model"

Nikon's D50 is a prosumer model. You probably meant digicam as opposed to dslr. And some of the top digicams with extensive controls are no less complicated to use than a dslr.

The D50 is in fact an entry level digital camera.

Did I say manufacturing ?

Development took place at Dalsa's in Bromont, Quebec.

http://www.dalsasemi.com/company/bromontliving.asp

Waterloo seems to becoming the new hot bed of technology here in Canada

Manufacturing is being done in Bromont, Qu颥c.

"Adobe will of course release a 'much improved' CS3 with 'better performance' than CS2 so those irritated with CS2 and Bridge's pokey performance will go out and upgrade."

Adobe has a new product called "Adobe Lightroom" specially designed for digital photography, still in beta development. I wonder how it will impact on Photoshop and it's future development.

Photoshop is starting to look heavy and burdensome compared to amateur lightweighs like Picassa2 who can handle some tasks a lot better than PS.

Picassa2 still need some further enhancements but it's showing the way to what tomorrow's photo editing will be. Adobe Lightroom seems to be heading in the same direction.

The Epson 7800 printer uses K3 inks (three blacks of different shade) for more neutral b&w prints.

Have you used the ABW mode (Advanced B&W mode) when printing in B&W ?

Also don't forget to read this:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/a100.htm

Epson Enhanced Matte is a great paper. Some people sells prints from it, other consider it just a proofing paper as it is not acid free and will yellow over time.

There are many acid free buffered matte paper available today. Epson has Velvet Fine Art and is heavier than EEM.

Here's a description of some of the most popular papers:

http://www.cjcom.net/articles/digiprn5.htm

Scott,

You're absolutely right. Most digital camera's viewfinders are crappy but judging from comments above, people aren't very demanding and will buy most everything as long as it's the latest and the credit card isn't max'ed out. So why mfg's should change anything ?

From the link to Battery University above:

"Do charge the battery often. The battery lasts longer with partial rather than full discharges.

Avoid full cycle because of wear. 80% depth-of-discharge recommended. Re-charge more often. Avoid full discharge. Low voltage may cut off safety circuit"

Inkjet paper technology is moving away from plastic.

As of this year, a new kind of inkjet photo paper has appeared from three different mfg's. And they are a perfect match for the Epson R2400 printer.

Crane Museo Silver Rag: http://www.crane.com/museo/

Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl: http://www.inkjetart.com/wc/hahnemuhle/FineArtPearl.html

FibaPrint Gloss 300gsm F-typegloss)

http://www.innovaart.com/product.php?id=15