--- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Moore" <miguelmas@qwest.net>
To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 6:42 PM
Subject: Re: filmscanners: Nikon 8000 ED or Polaroid Sprintscan 120 ??
> Richard: I earn my living as a professional photographer... I do not scan
for
> fun... I scan because I have to have a reliable source of scans that I can
> manipulate in Photoshop and be able to hand my clients a CD or
photographic
> print made from a digital file that matches the iamge I visualized at the
moment
> I shot the picture.
>
> I do not have the time to wait for PhotoCD Master scans to be made, nor am
I
> inclined to trust my scans to lab scanner techs who are trying to meet
> production schedules. I have my 4x5 film scanned by a custom lab at $29
per
> scan...(I plan to buy a Linocolor 1400 very soon) I scan my own 35mm...
that is
> why I, and a lot of other PROFESSIONALS are buying these Minolta and Nikon
and
> Polaroid scanners... We must adapt and change in order to survive... I
used to
> shoot film and leave it at the lab and then go back and explain to the
counter
> person, who would hopefully explain it properly to the printer (who
hopefully
> knew what I was trying to achieve, etc) and three or four or five days
later, I
> would get a print... if it was close to what i wanted, great.. if not,
back in
> for a redo... I had one lab tech do me the favor of giving me ragged black
> borders on what were supposed to be full frame prints from 35, no borders,
for
> an architectural competition... this all on deadline.. the client was with
me at
> the lab, he went ballisitic... Now I control this myself... I scan my own
negs,
> I do the appropriate manipulations, I print out on my Epson or send them
to a
> lab with a Fuji or Noritsu (for up to 8x12) printer that will spit out
real
> silver based photographic prints... and I can hand my client a CD with
those
> same scans as PSD or TIFFS and they can get all the prints they want, that
look
> like I want them to look, and I can keep shooting...
>
> You may be retired, but I am still in the fray of this digital
revolution.. Just
> as we saw the computers become smaller and into the hands of the end
users, so
> we will see more pro photographers take the scanning into their own
control...
>
> If you want to see one photographer who has already handled the whole
deal, from
> taking the photo to making the final scans for his glossy coffee table
show
> book, check out this link
I am quite prepared to believe all you say but that is hardly the point.
You will, at some future stage, have to chose between taking the picture and
reproducing it, simply because the time scale will eventually force you to
decide between the two processes. One is creative and the other largely
photomechanical and therefore technical rather than creative.
No doubt there are photographers who will act as their own publisher and
wish to have control over the whole job, well, unless they wish to work 24
hours a day for ever, at some stage they will have to prioritise and perhaps
they will decide it is cheaper to put the work out.
I must say your paying a lot for a 5X4 scan set.
In the uk these sizes are usually called a "min" and where a batch are to be
scanned, in my time they were usually priced at between £7-9 sterling each.
Richard Corbett
I hope you get paid for your scans, it is my impression that many
photographers do not.
Richard Corbett
