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Re: [OM] Albert's quest

Subject: Re: [OM] Albert's quest
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 2003 14:09:11 -0500
At 04:54 AM 9/1/03, you wrote:
Sorry to bring up the digital again, so in the wedding case the E20 will be
the winner, it is a SLR with shutter quieter then RF, no winding or
rewinding noise, the viewfinder will not totally black out during exposure.
The resolution is good for protrait, the color accuracy and skin tone
rendering is perfect, it also provide excellent highlight and shadow
details.

C.H.Ling

I think not . . . starting with color accuracy . . . I've seen too many questions on other forums about "how do I fix this" after the automagic camera fails to do so. It's not just getting pleasing colors or skin tones, it's getting very exacting ones and having them consistently the same across hundreds of proofs. Don't underestimate a bride's ability to remember *exactly* what color *everything* was at her wedding, including the color of the church floor and the draperies on the reception hall windows. She **will** complain and demand rework of everything that doesn't match exactly. Some of them have been planning the event down to the very smallest of details since they were three years old. There's enough "back end" work as it is handling hundreds of proofs without having to spend enormous amounts of time trying to color balance 30-50 digital images and make all the colors look exactly the same across all of them *and* all the rest of the photographs.

Working available light inside some of these places is not that easy and digital falls down completely in low light. Many are deceptively *dark* inside. Press 1600 is OK most of the time but I've been in places where TMax P3200 (or Ilford Delta 3200) at Push 2 may not be quite enough speed if someone is in one of the darker corners. Opening up beyond f/2.8 is asking for trouble with depth of field. Most of the photographs are done with focal lengths longer than 50mm which demands a minimum 1/60th shutter speed for a reasonable yield rate. The E-20N has a max ISO 320, and that's definitely, without any doubt, not enough speed . . . 2-1/3rd stops slower than 1600 and 3-1/3rd stops slower than 3200.

I've read several books on "digital" weddings and the work flow presented in each of them includes assistant*s* (emphasis on plural). At least one is required as a "grip" on site handling memory, batteries, file downloads and backup on a laptop. 128MB of memory will hold 32 images (1:2.7 EXIF JPEG) and I wouldn't think of using an incredibly lossy 1:8 compression EXIF JPEG to cram 80 images in. At least one more "master printer" is needed to handle "back end" work with the files afterward. The alternative is BIG $$$ for a pro lab to do this with each proof made from a digital file. Everything I've been able to work out for a "digital" work flow at least doubles the price simply to recoup all the labor and/or lab costs, and that's minimalist.

For me, using a digital for anything at a wedding is a very expensive, big **loser**.

-- John


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