You know that old joke about cars... the most-dangerous part is "the nut
holding the wheel." You can draw a parallel with cameras -- the "quality" of
the picture is far more dependent on the photographer than it is on the
equipment.
I belong to several clubs and take lots of pictures, both 35mm (IS-30) and
Polaroid (SLR 680). People _love_ my pictures (which are rarely more than
snapshots) because they don't know how to take good pictures. I sometimes
see other members' photos, and as a rule, they're just plain awful. (If you
don't own an SLR 680, _get one NOW_. It's the best way to learn how to
(photographically) interact with people.)
Other than owning a D-620L for casual shooting and eBay photos, I have not
yet switched to digital because, as you all well know, I have no desire to
replace my OM lenses. But I saw something Saturday that showed just how
close digital is to literally wiping out color-print film.
At the Mike & Key Christmas party, one of the members called me over to her
table. "I want to show you something." She opened a thick folder with dozens
of incredibly beautiful prints. The colors were rich and accurate, densities
were dead-on, and the images reasonably sharp (though not quite up to what I
expect from 35mm -- but still acceptable). I was particularly impressed with
shots of a sunrise and a sunset that were perfectly printed. "Those are
really beautiful prints. Who did the photofinishing?"
She dropped the bombshell -- "Nobody. They're digital photos from our Kodak
camera. They were printed by sticking the memory chip in an Epson printer
and pushing the Print button."
!!!
So there's no question about it -- for those who can afford a digital camera
and photo-quality printer, conventional color-print film will soon be
"dead."
By the way, this woman is a better-than-average photographer -- she knows
how to take interesting pictures.
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