I own a postcard company in Florida and as might be expected, I take hundreds of aerial photos (medium format, as we often make 11"x17" printed placemat enlargements) a year. I'm thinking about going to a digital camera but I'm confounded by the lack of memory "affordable" (under $5,000)cameras have when shooting uncompressed TIFF images. Is there a camera out there that can shoot 30 frames minimum of TIFF without breaking my budget on 96K memory cards at $350 each? I'd sure appreciate any help...and I'm hoping that maybe there's something new on the market that will solve my problem. Thanks, John

-- John Nyberg (jpny@n-jcenter.com), February 10, 2000

Answers

Fuji makes a camera with a 6.0Mpixel CCd which translates to a 2000X3000 image. This is the same resolution as a standard CD. apparently it is under $5000 and takes Nikon leneses. The real advantage of digital is speed. If you need it yesterday, then this is the medium for you. Why would you not consider a scanner for your medium format stuff. You still have better exposure latitude than you do with digital, plus the dynamic range of a 12 bit image rather than an 8 bit image. A minolta dimage multi scanner is half the cost and will give you a better image.

-- jonathan ratzlaff (jonathanr@clrtech.bc.ca), February 10, 2000.

For memory storage I suggest a laptop. You can buy one 96+MB card, and stick it in your laptop for a quick download when it fills up. It's super fast and easy to do so. Any old laptop with a decent size drive will do. I use a 2 pound pentium 166 I got used on ebay for well under $1000. With this method you're never going to run out of space, and you don't have to buy multiple expensive flash car

-- benoit (foo@bar.com), February 11, 2000.

Jonathan, thank you very much for your response. I've heard of the new Fuji, but don't know its model number. Do you? The reason I want a digital is to take aerial photos "on spec," which is to say, I don't have a customer, but expect to get a buyer when I have a photo they can see. This is too expensive to do with medium format film, hence digital. Print the pix, send it in a letter and hope for the best. No buyer, just erase it. Benoit, thanks too. I don't think that downloading pictures to a laptop while in a helicopter that costs $350 per hour is feasible. I have to shoot 30 or more frames in 40 minutes to be cost effective. The is really difficult when changing film in my Pentax (10 frames a roll), and I'm hoping to solve the problem digitally. Any other thoughts?

-- John Nyberg (jpny@n-jcenter.com), February 11, 2000.

You hire helicopters for these 'on-spec' photos, but the cost of MF film is too high??

You need MF quality, but current digital cameras don't yet have the quality of 35mm.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan@snibgo.com), February 11, 2000.

Alan, that's a thought-provoking response. Thank you. Actually, I have taken MF photos from a fixed-wing aircraft (usually under $100 an hour) for 15 years, but never done spec work. The advent of digital had made me think about changing, going rotary at the higher price and sending color printed pix to spec customers. I think I can accomplish the same thing with MF (220) a good color scanner and a color printer. And then I have top-of-the line film that I can enlarge to 11"x17" or bigger. Some times the trees get in the way of the forest. Thanks again.

-- John Nyberg (jpny@n-jcenter.com), February 11, 2000.

A good medium format scanner and epson's new 1270 printer, fast, prints to 12.76"X44 inches should be a fairly affordable investment and still give you a few hours of helicopter time. Besides a helicopter is way more fun than a fixed wing aircraft anytime.

Jonathan

-- jonathan ratzlaff (jonathanr@clrtech.bc.ca), February 11, 2000.