Digital Prints ?

[AAFO_WSagar]

Just wondering, where you guys who have gone ditgital are getting your prints done? I've used a lab here in Portland, as well as made a sizable investment in a high quality "lab quality" large format photo printer..

but for day to day stuff, mainly stuff shot with a digital point and shoot, it's not worth the effort of firing up the printer, I mean for about the same type and size shots we all used to get at the local photo lab...

So... if you just wanted to get a disk of digital prints, where would you get that done?

Wayne

[Curt]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Well I am a Neanderthal, I still shoot film but I do mine the simple way, off to Kodak my undeveloped goes and I let Kodak develop and burn them onto cd in there pcd format.

It’s worked well for film but since my shooting eye is roached I am looking for a good digital w auto focus cuz this years stuff sucked!

who has a good idea on a new digital to buy?

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Well I am a Neanderthal, I still shoot film but I do mine the simple way, off to Kodak my undeveloped goes and I let Kodak develop and burn them onto cd in there pcd format.

It’s worked well for film but since my shooting eye is roached I am looking for a good digital w auto focus cuz this years stuff sucked!

who has a good idea on a new digital to buy?

Curt, bummer on the eye thing!

WHat to buy is going to depend a lot on whether you were shooting an SLR that has lenses that you can transfer over to a new body.

I'm not at all an expert on the digital cameras, be they P&S or SLR, but what I do know, the "pro" bodies possess a lot faster autofocus systems.

It's a real dilema actually... Some of the best looking images are being shot with the "lower end" DSLR bodies but the image is going to depend a lot on the focus skills of the shooter with them..

I think the absolute best body, not yet released as of last check, is going to be the Canon 1dmkII. It will have two cpu's for the autofocus system! And should prove to be the fastest thing going.

I have to rely on af also because of quality of vision. I can see great at a distance but looking in the viewfinder, I'm sort of lost... is it in focus or isn't it..

Given enough time, I can get a clear shot but we don't have that luxury when shooting airplanes do we

If you're on a tight budget, there are a lot of Nikon D1 bodies for $1000. or less. If you looked at the quality of the unit, you could get a pretty able machine for that price. I believe you'll see a few, or more than quite a few D1H bodies out there for maybe $2000. or so... Canon 1d bodies will likely be going for around $2000 to as high as $2800 for a really nice one... then, of course, the 1dmkII is gonna come in at the killer sum of $4500.

OUCH!

[Curt]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Im getting a pretty good check from taxes thi syear so i relly have to make the jump to digital, im going to have to get the body and a relly good lense and with only 40 % vision in my right eye a fast auto focus is mandatory but again with digital i wont have the old developing bill hanging over my head!

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Im getting a pretty good check from taxes thi syear so i relly have to make the jump to digital, im going to have to get the body and a relly good lense and with only 40 % vision in my right eye a fast auto focus is mandatory but again with digital i wont have the old developing bill hanging over my head!

Again, bummer about the eye!!

Any chance of changing shooting eyes? I'd have to go pick up my body to be sure, but I think I use my left eye to shoot... Yep, just tried it and I do use my left eye. With the D1, at least, if you were to use your right eye, your nose will smash against the LCD screen on the rear of the camera making it an uncomfortable affair.

I think some of the LCD's are closer to center now though...

Man, if you can afford it, get on the list for the Canon 1dmkII and get one! All the samples I've seen are just amazing. Huge image, should make great prints all the way up to poster size, focus should be lightning fast... color quality out of the camera, remains to be seen but post processing can take even the flat and sometimes off color Nikon D1 shots and make them look just fine..

It is nice to not have to pay for film processing but then there is the digital print thing..

If I need large digital prints, my printer does great, I suppose I could just figure out how to put several on one sheet and then cut that sheet up but it'd be a pain ... and the cost would be pretty high (high quality ink and photo paper costs add up really quick!)

I'd like to be able to just shoot off a batch and then get nice prints, like standard hand held size... It's sort of interesting, the program serving the ads on these pages have beat most people to an answer... though I can not click on my own ads or encourage anyone else to, it is still interesting how fast they seem able to pick up the content in these messages!

Curt, if you need some links to digital forums, I'll dig them up and post them, there are a couple that I frequent and you can ask questions and get good answers on most DSLR's or any digital camera..

Wayne

[W J Pearce]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Wayne,

For snap shots I print stuff out on 4x6 photo paper on my hp 2210xi (all in one). It does a really good job. I also have a little hp 245 printer which will print from the card. It's neat to take along at events and you can print out photos right there. Just little snapshots though, like family reunions or whatever (although my family does not have reunions). It is not super good quality though. What big printer do you use?

Curt,

There are also lenses that have a focus motor in them that really speed up the process. Canon calls it USM, Nikon AF-s or SWM, and Sigma calls it HSM. My camera has a sort of crappy AF system. But it is lightning fast with a motor lens. Without it, not so good. Canon has the largest line of motor lenses. So, the quicked way to go, I think would be the 1d markII and a Canon USM lens. K-ching, k-ching.

I too am sorry to hear about you eyesight. I have what I would call poor vision and wear contacts. With out the contacts, things are clear for about 9 inches. With the contacts, I have trouble seeing in the itty-bitty viewfinder on my DSLR. Also my eye dries out after a day of heavy shooting. I am totally dependent on Auto Focus!

I really like this photo site and find it's forum section helpful: http://www.dpreview.com/

Bill

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Wayne, For snap shots I print stuff out on 4x6 photo paper on my hp 2210xi (all in one). It does a really good job. I also have a little hp 245 printer which will print from the card. It's neat to take along at events and you can print out photos right there. Just little snapshots though, like family reunions or whatever (although my family does not have reunions). It is not super good quality though. What big printer do you use?

Bill, I bought the Canon S9000 when it was about $500. (ouch) if you use their ink and the *expensive* Pro Photo Paper, it produces prints that are every bit as good and durable as lab prints. Can't smudge the ink, no matter how hard you try.

I really never even thought about running the smaller paper through it (duah) <hits self on head> though, I'm not sure, with ink costs, that it would be as cheap as getting them done.. That is, if the quality was up there at least..

My problem is, right now, Beer Nazi and I (mostly her) shoot a LOT of stuff with a little Fuji Fine Pix (can't remember the model) and it'd be nice to be able to get prints made easily.

Key word, EASILY! I'm not big on running the printer, mainly trying to keep it in good working order (read that, not wear it out) for large format prints.

Largest size it prints is 13x19 and they are flat amazing!

You are sure right about the Canon 1dmkII "ka-ching!" Hoping that by next year, bout this time, it'll be down around reasonable in price.. I'd LOVE to get one... I really don't have much hope of selling stuff to magazines shot with the D1.. though I've done it a few times, with the competition out there for available slots, stuff has to be better than first rate to even have a chance.. that or, downright lucky enough to be "exclusive" as with my early shots of the Hughes Racer Replica..

It costs a ton though, to try to be where you need to be to get shots like that session! If not for the generosity of the late Jim Wright, I'd never have had a chance.

Anyway... I love this photo talk stuff! Hope we can all keep it going.

Some of you guys are shooting one heck of a lot better than I ever thought of and I could stand to learn a bit from you guys!

Wayne

[rpzo]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Wayne,

If your looking for a place to take a disk full of images and have 4x6's printed cheaply check out your local Costco. They can work with both memory cards and CD's. I've taken memory cards right out of the camera, plugged them into their machine, and had prints made. The cost was relatively cheap, somewhere around 19 cents a print, and the quality was decent. I've seen similar setups at some of the local grocery stores as well.

For "my prints" I've got an Epson that is capable of 13x19 prints with amazing quality and archival rated. It also has the capability of accepting 4" and 8.5" wide roll paper which makes it nice for printing batches of pics.

The advances in printer technology over the last couple of years has been amazing.

Cheers,

Rick

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Digital Prints ?

Wayne,If your looking for a place to take a disk full of images and have 4x6's printed cheaply check out your local Costco.

Hummn... good old Costco ey!.... never even thought of them..

Here's another question, actually, one of the racers asked me about getting some poster size prints made, I can do 13x19 but they are not cheap and he wanted really cheap poster size prints to give away.

Has anyone had any experience with Kinkos or anyplace like that for that size? I mean CHEAP BIG prints...

Wayne

[FlyinLo]

Re: Digital Prints ?

I've used Shutterfly, Ofoto and ezprints on various occasions, mostly when I am looking for large quantities of prints or specialty items like photo mugs. They all did a reasonable job, although sometimes the color balance was a bit off. I haven't yet tried the in-store offerings where you stick in a memory card and print right there. Some of the online printers like Shutterfly are doing larger prints now, up to 20x30 or so. There's a lab local here in Santa Clara called Calypso Imaging that does Lightjet prints up to 48x96, but although very high quality, properly color balanced, etc. for pro-level display, they are not cheap. If you hand them a file without their color profiles, etc., set up, it is $108.30 for the first 30x40, $60 per add'l print. At 48x96 you're looking at $416 and $345. Any idea what Kinkos charges for poster sized prints on foam core?