**********Original Message*************
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 00:15:24 EDT
From: NSURIT@xxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] OT aaaaaaah, I'm soooooo weak!!!!!
> I'm not going to blame anyone but myself and I just ordered the Sprintscan
> 4000. That doesn't sound so bad to some of you . . . but I have no
computer
> that will work with it. Guess I'll have to buy a new computer to scan my
> Zuiko images to share with the list. Last month in one of the digital
> magazines there was a piece about getting a good computer for use as a
> computer darkroom to run Photoshop, etc. The parameters were to keep it
> under $1600 or $1700. I intended to go back and buy the rag and didn't do
it
> before they were all gone. Does anyone out there in Zuiko land recall
seeing
> this piece? If so please share it with me as I don't remember which
> publication it was in. A photographer had written in to ask for a
> recommendation and the author responded with about 4 choices. Would also
be
> interested in list recommendations. This all may seem very strange, but
when
> I decided to build an Olympus system a couple of years ago, the first
thing I
> bought was the 50 mm f 3.5 macro. This was before I had a camera body.
List
> input is appreciated with computer recommendations. Bill Barber
Building or buying a computer system for photo work can be very expensive, I
would advise trying to do it bit by bit if expense is a problem (Oh, you
already have!) Obviously a good scanner is an important base. The computer
itself should have a relatively fast processor, mines a 1 MHZ Athlon, which
is fine, though you can never have too fast! Memory I would advise 256MB as
reasonable, 128MB as a minimum, and 512MB & above if possible. Be aware
many motherboards have only 3 memory 'slots' and you should make your
initial purchase to fill only one slot if possible. I started mine with
256MB in one slot, and added another 256MB as memory prices fell, & I could
afford it, so I still have one spare. Memory is important for Photoshop if
you make lots of adjustments, have lots of undo states etc, also it gives
you a degree of 'futureproofing'. A 30GB hard disc should suffice, though
20GB is adequate. Most important, though, is a CD writer. You probably
prefer negatives/slides as you use OM gear, but having scanned in images you
need somewhere reliable to keep them, which is NOT your hard disc! Plus
they are now reasonably cheap & do other things like record music. An 8x
write speed is good enough, but go for 12x or 16x if you can afford it, it
saves time if you use it a lot. Many people would consider a good printer
essential, but you can do without. For the times when you want manipulated
shots printing, you can simply write them to CD & have them printed by your
usual lab, though I've just bought an Epson 890 for under GBP200, which is
excellent, and gives much more flexibility. A good monitor is nice, but I
make do with a reasonable 15" model, as it's the photographs themselves I
value. I use a Nikon Coolscan 3 for scanning slides & prints, & have a Epson
1640SU flatbed for prints & large format negs/slides. A Wacom Graphire A6
tablet is much easier to use than a mouse, & completes my system. I see it
as a darkroom substitute, & have put a lot of thought & time into building
it, from components, but it has been worth it. It's somewhat ironic that I
choose to use a 20 year old camera system (my OM1 I especially love) to take
the photographs to feed it! Don't be too tempted to buy very cheap,
bundled systems, they tend to be built from cheap components, which
compromises both performance, speed & reliability. You have started well, I
would suggest the next step is look for a system unit, i.e. the box, with
the above points in mind. Consider secondhand, but not too old, as
technology means the lifespan of a computer may only be 4 or 5 years. E-mail
me off list if you need any more advise.
Andy Gilbert
Exeter
Devon
England
>
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|