Help save me from a D2X

[Frank Petronio]

My name is Frank and I'm a digiholic.

I am going to try a Nikon D2X this afternoon. With a zoom lens. I know this is depraved, but I keep getting tempted. I like my little D70 but now I want a bigger "high".

I am going to compare my 4x5 scans from my lowly flatbed to a raw 12mp file. I know I could spend $75 getting Tango scans that would be better, but I know myself too well, and that I'm too cheap to drum scan everything. So I'm kind of thinking that when it comes to making an 11x14 print, the 4x5 flatbed scans (as good as they are, I'm not a total idiot) and the D2X are going to be pretty competitive.

I also know that shooting a 4x5 with an Aero-Ektar handheld is a great way to spend a lot of money on out of focus film.

I may stash my Technika and a few lenses out back just in case, but I kind of like the idea of "getting the shot" no matter what the conditions, which is what a D2X with fast lenses and high ASA can promise.

Heck, I may even swap my old Dynalites for i-TTL battery powered shoe mount flashes on stand adaptors...

I know talking digi-trash is a no-no but I need some counselling.

[jjstafford]

My fear for you is not that you will experiment with digital, but that you will never recover from the requisite surgical alteration encumbant with The Fall: having your brains sucked out through your nose with a straw.

[TheFlyingCamera]

Frank- as a cure, I prescribe 30 days digital abstinence along with 50 sheets of 11x14 film, a Centennial View camera, and a barrel-mount 600mm apo-artar. Failing that, a spanking!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Go for it. Do it. You'll love it...

...For two months.

And then you'll say things like "this is stupid" and "how do I get any kind of selective focus with this thing?" and you'll end up just using it for selling things on eBay.

[Ole]

Frank, you need a real enlarger. One which can take a LF film, and project the negative on a big sheet of paper. Then you make one 16x20 print of a good 4x5" negative, and compare that to the results from any digital camera.

Colour is no problem either - if you want it pixellated, use your money on a really good scanner.

Here's a picture reduced from a 350 Mb scan of a 5x7" slide: http://www.bruraholo.no/images/Lodalen_GF.jpg and a small bit of it too: http://www.bruraholo.no/images/Lodalen_utsnitt.jpg

Camera and lens cost me less than my digitoy - significantly less.

[bobbysandstrom]

Frank, I started with digital 5 years ago, eventually bought a 1ds but simultaneously moved into film 4x5 mainly with a little 8x10. My 1ds sits in it's case in the closet! I have 3 words for digital capture... FLAT, FLAT, FLAT... and THAT's THAT!

Give me film, and give me depth.

[blaze-on]

This thread has the makings of a great F.A.R.T. !

cool...

[Nicole]

This thread has the makings of a great F.A.R.T. !

cool...

lol
I loved Aggies suggestion for the F.A.R.T. forum!!!

[david b]

yeah dude....buy it and get all the good glass. then i'll buy it in six months for about $500. cool.

[Paul Sorensen]

My name is Frank and I'm a digiholic.

I know talking digi-trash is a no-no but I need some counselling.

My wife is a substance abuse counselor, although her clientele is not wealthy enough to do digital, mostly they resort to meth and crack, I think I can use some of her experiences to help you. She tells me that a spiritual component is key to any recovery program. I think that what you need is a visit to the Church of Rodinal. When you give yourself over to Rodinal and admit your powerlessness with digital, you are on your way to recovery.

Oh, and don't forget to make amends for those images that you could have given a proper home on film, but instead captured only as electrons. You must take responsibility for those hurt by your actions.

Oh, and I trust you are not exposing any children to a "home digital lab." I hear that the fumes and waste from them can infect a child's mind and affect their ability to discern high quality images permanently.