alan_agardi

Gary -

<p>

As an alternative, Gary, you could scan your 4x5 transparencies and

show them either on the computer's monitor, or on a television.

<p>

Since you wouldn't care too much about printing from the scans, you

could scan at 72 ppi, or whatever it takes to fill your monitor or tv

screen.

<p>

Ciao.

Ralph -

<p>

In some recent articles on scanning in PEI (PhotoElectronic Imaging)

Magazine, a comparison was made between a drum scanner and the $16K

Imacon FlexTight - which has been a highly-touted CCD-based scanner.

<p>

Interestingly enough, when the chips are down, the Imacon apparently

didn't measure up to the drum scan. This wasn't the first time that I'd

seen even the Imacon take a second place to a drum scan.

<p>

I've got an Agfa Arcus II - optical resolution 600 dpi. It's good - but

that goes only so far. Certainly nothing for printing at high quality.

My buddy has a DuoScan, and it, too, only goes so far.

<p>

Stick with the GIGO rule - and spend the few extra bucks on scanning

that will match the output you wish to achieve.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan Agardi

As I wrote Jason earlier this evening, I ran across an item for auction

on eBay. It's for a 4x5 camera fitted for microscope photography, but

the advertisement also says that it might be possible to modify it for

attachment to a telescope.

<p>

Check it out if you desire.

<p>

The link is: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=

1620859756

<p>

Cheers - and keep me posted if you get into this sort of thing. I'm a

bit interested in it myself, but I can't afford the proper equipment

right now.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan Agardi

Snowy -

<p>

I looked a bit further - Photobition has offices in many other US

cities - as well as in Europe and Asia.

<p>

For their list of US cities, go to - http://www.photobition.com/usa/

english/locations/usa.asp

<p>

Ciao.

Snowy -

<p>

Lightjet and other similar processes (Durst Lambda, Fujix 3000/4000)

are catching on, it seems, in a big way.

<p>

One of the proponents is Galen Rowell (I know, he onlu shoots 35 mm),

and he just had a seminar start yesterday, May 19th. The URL is: http:/

/www.mountainlight.com/workshop.pages/workshop.digital.html.

<p>

If you're in or near Seattle, Washington, Photobition Seattle (formerly

Ivey Seright) outputs to a Durst Lambda ad widths up to 50". A friend

of mine up there has had some of his stuff printed that way, and feels

that it compares favorably to Cibachromes.

<p>

One of the advantages is that even a small negative can be used to

print a very large image. Galen Rowell shoots 35 mm, yet outputs to

very large sizes (I believe 20 x 30). With a 4x5 or 8x110 (what my

friend shoots), you can achieve 40x50 prints without any stretch.

<p>

You'll probably have to pay a premium for an ultra high quality drum

scan for this output, but it'll be well worth it.

<p>

Ciao.

Peter -

<p>

Badger Graphic's web site is at http://www.badgergraphic.com/.

<p>

Curiously - based upon past recommendations about Robert White as being

the place to buy equipment - I checked their prices against Badger's

(at today's currency conversion rates), and found that Badger's prices

may actually be better. Of course, you may have to factor in sales tax,

which could put you over the top. But, of the 3 or 4 Ebony cameras I

priced, Badger was more economical.

<p>

Strange, isn't it.

<p>

Good luck.

Jon Paul -

<p>

I saw this product demonstrated years ago by LivePicture, Inc. and

Apple. The product is PhotoVista, and it used to be put out by

LivePicture, Inc. MGI Software has bought their products, and you can

download a trial version of PhotoVista from their web site. There are

Mac and Windows versions.

<p>

Their URL is http://www.mgisoft.com/webtools/photovista/pv_main.asp

<p>

They say it is for stitching 360 degree panoramas, but you can use it

for any stitching.

<p>

Another alternative, if you're using a Mac, is GraphicConverter and the

PT Stitcher plug-ins that can be used with it.

<p>

And, of course, any of the typical paint programs can be used, too:

Corel Painter (http://www.corel.com); Deneba Canvas (http://

www.deneba.com); and Adobe Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com). Any of

these latter can do the whole thing - but they have huge price tags

compared with PhotoVista ($100) and GraphicConverter ($35).

<p>

And, if you've got a Mac still using System 8.1 to 8.6, and can get a

copy of LivePicture 2.5.3 - then you'll be in heaven. It did things

that Photoshop and the rest are just beginning to understand - and it

did it back in 1996. It's no longer made, and works only on the more

vintage versions of the Mac OS, but it's a magnificent program.

<p>

Ciao.

I forgot the link to the article - http://www.inkjetmall.com/store/

DECOR-Magazine-Art-Feature.html

<p>

This page also contains a pulldown menu of Quick Links that can lead to

Articles about Cone Editions - some of which are quite interesting.

The Quadtone inksets that Jon Cone has invented are discussed, as are

the impressive results that have been achieved with it.

<p>

Sorry for the botched post.

<p>

Ciao.

There have been posts off and on about getting digital prints of either black and white or color LF photos.

<p>

Cone Editions is one of a select group of companies that seem to have some success with this. Another is Nash Editions (CSNY member Graham Nash is one of the owners), and Photobition Seattle (formerly Ivey Seright). Cone and Nash offer Iris inkjet prints on a 3047G - I'm not sure of Photobition.

<p>

An interesting article about Cone Editions (and some of their products) appears in an article on their site from from Digital Fine Art magazine Spring 1999. The article is entitled Photography's New Wave.

<p>

It makes for interesting reading - and shows what opportunities may lay ahead.

<p>

I might add that Cone has a separate business called inkjetmall.com, which sells various printing inks and papers, many geared toward fine art editions of photographs (and digital originals, too).

<p>

Ciao.

Mando -

<p>

A friend of mine in Seattle gets his 8x10 inch work done at Photobition

Seattle (formerly Ivey Seright). He has had enlargements of his color

work enlarged to 40x50, and has been very pleased with their work.

Their web site is at http:ivey.com.

<p>

Ciao

Paul -

<p>

In Seattle is a company called Ivey-Seright that has a very good

reputation for printing digitally - whether on photographic paper or

traditionally, color or black & white.

<p>

Check out their web site at http://www.ivey.com/.

<p>

I've seen some of their color panoramic prints that measure almost

24"x72", and they're beautiful. I believe they were printed on a Durst

Lambda, which is a process of exposing photographic paper to a laser.

They also do output to Fujix (I think), as well as traditional 4 color

work.

<p>

Best of luck.

<p>

Ciao.

Paul -

<p>

A couple of items that I've come across: the bicubic resampling is the

best in Photoshop. And, when you make the images extra sharp, and then

save as a JPEG, you're going to create much larger file sizes. Assuming

you're intending to use images on the Web, and not for print, then add

a bit of gaussian or other blur, and it will result in a much smaller

file size.

<p>

If, however, you're planning on printing the images, then Genuine

Fractals has been reviewed in an extremely favorable light. It's worth

the investment.

<p>

If you're using the images for anything but print, and are fortunate

enough to be working on a Mac, then I would suggest you try the program

GraphicConverter. It has a batch processing element (that works in that

mode only if you pay the fee) that is absolutely fabulous, to say

nothing of the other features that make this the best software

investment anywhere, anyhow, at any price.

<p>

If you're not using a Mac, well then....

<p>

Ciao.

Another thought: project the slide with a regular slide projector, and

use your digital camera to photograph that image. It may be crude, but

it could also be effective.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan

The Leica Digilux 4.3 (manufactured by Fuji - and the same as its 4700)

has an option called Digicopy. According to the Leica site:

"Slide Copying Accessory for LEICA DIGILUX 4.3 LEICA digicopy 4.3, an

optical attachement designed by Leica exclusively for the LEICA DIGILUX

4.3 is perfect for digitizing slide films from all manufacturers, but

also black-and-white and color negative material. High quality

reproduction and archiving of your valuable originals becomes very easy

by this means."

<p>

One of the earlier threads of a few weeks back also mentioned this same

item.

<p>

The Digilux site is at: http://www.leica-camera.com/produkte/compact/

digilux43/index_e.html

<p>

The camera itself is rather economical, as is the Digicopy accessory.

By economical, I mean less than $1,000 for the two items. There is also

a macro accessory.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan

Bill -

<p>

A couple of years ago I saw some Iris prints that had been made from

photographs. They were breathtaking. As good as a good photographic

print? I'm not sure, since the photographic print wasn't available. But

the Iris was absolutely beautiful.

<p>

Epson is coming out with the P2000 soon (Maybe it's already out - check

the site at http://www.epson.com for info on their printers. They can

send you samples for your approval.). Anyway, that printer is supposed

to offer a combination of papers and inks that will produce output that

is supposed to last 80 or more years.

<p>

A lot is happening in this end of the industry, and it's moving at a

pretty rapid pace the past year or two. Inks and papers are getting a

lot of attention from the manufacturers as the longevity issues loomed

so large for so long.

<p>

Of course, you don't have to own your own printer - especially since

the lowest priced Iris is in the neighborhood of $45K or so. The Epson

model, though, should be less than $10K - with comparable results.

<p>

Check out Cone Editions (New York), Nash Editions (Manhattan Beach),

and others to have your printing done for you. They have the expertise

and the equipment.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan

Richard -

<p>

Another possibility is to create your own resolution target(s), even if

you want to base them on the ones on the page referred to by John. All

it takes is a computer, a good drawing program (Macromedia FreeHand,

Deneba Canvas, and Adobe Illustrator come to mind), and a good laser

printer (probably 600 dpi minimum. Use the draw program to "reverse

engineer" one of the items on the page John mentions, or create your

own resolution target(s).

<p>

Another alternative that may provide some testing is to use a small

program on the Macintosh called Siemensstern, which produces an image

similar to the Figure I-5: Sector Star Target on the page John

mentions. All you do is select the number of segments, and print the

page on a good laser printer.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan Agardi

Don't follow the cows, or any other herding animals, Bob. Stick with

the Mac and you'll never go wrong. Besides, there are many options for

hooking it up to either a second monitor or a television.

<p>

Why, even an iBook can run Photoshop - just add the 320MB or RAM that

it takes, and cruise until you drop.

<p>

Show the herd what the lone wolf can do.

<p>

Ciao.

Michael:

<p>

The 5x7 that Toyo makes is not a field camera - it's a monorail. As far

as the European market goes, it's available at Robert White.

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan

MGI Software (http://www.mgisoft.com) bought out a company called Live

Picture, Inc. some months ago. They (Live Picture) had developed a

format (in conjunction with Kodak and Hewlett Packard - if memory

serves) called FlashPix. It was part of the original work done on the

program called LivePicture - multiresolution files that opened up to

screen resolution. Handling 500MB files could be accomplished with only

24MB of physical RAM. Their Zoom technology does the same thing you're

doing here, and for the same purposes (i.e., archiving, marketing

images to print, etc.). Special servers output the images that can be

zoomed in and out with the use of a plugin (maybe they've eliminated

this by now).

<p>

It's very good, and they have a good start on the market. They also

have (again, from Live Picture) several other technologies that produce

some interesting visualizations.

<p>

I suggest you visit the MGISoft site - there's a lot there. Besides,

why reinvent the wheel? And why run into copyright or other squabbles?

<p>

Ciao.

<p>

Alan