I don't disagree. The learning curve is steep and the equipment investment for doing serious work can be breathtaking. But you can get great results with less than top-end equipment. You need a decent cam, but it doesn't have to be a top of the line Nikon or Canon. The mid-range ones with a good lens do a fine job. Photography is still in the eye of the shooter: composition and lighting are still the foundation for all good images.

If you want to do truly pro-grade photo editing you need a monitor that can be properly color calibrated and ideally have it set up in a room with low ambient lighting that's the right color temperature. And you need to be good with Photoshop or Aperture. Plenty of pros work this way nowadays, but for general use and most hobby photography you can work wonders with a Powerbook and an inexpensive monitor calibration tool. Maybe a spectrophotometer if you're really serious.

As for the printer, $200-300 bucks gets you a 6 or 8 color inkjet from HP or Epson which will do the job fine. I know several shooters who use these with great results. For important stuff there are digital photo labs that can deliver what you need. BTW, toner doesn't work as well as inkjet for photography, with the possible exception of some very high-end (as in 6-figure) digital presses from Xerox, Kodak, HP-Indigo or Canon. Dollar for dollar, a moderately priced desktop inkjet device trounces a similarly priced desktop toner box any day of the week. And there's always dye sublimation as another printing option.

Aside from the equipment investment, this all requires time climbing the learning curve, but that's just as true for getting the most out of a traditional darkroom. People love to point to the work of someone like Ansel Adams as a pinnacle of silver halide photography, but forget that he used 8 x 10 view cameras, was a master of light conditions, and did extensive darkroom work to create his images.

However you shoot, have fun and keep at it.

• OT: C-41 B&W?, Eiron, Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:19:20
  • BW400CN lab scan example, McTeague, Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:56:36
    • d'oh, fixed link..., McTeague, Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:00:10
  • Re: OT: C-41 B&W?, jp498, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:37:54
  • Re: OT: C-41 B&W?, EGD , Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:29:24
    • Agfa Scala, Eiron, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:10:50
      • Re: Agfa Scala, EGD , Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:58:33
        • Re: Agfa Scala, EGD , Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:02:55
  • Try Ilford XP2, Ross, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:02:43
    • Re: Try Ilford XP2, Eiron, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:07:14
  • Your purpose? C-41 does not mean quick processing (+), vvk, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:01:54
    • They want prints tomorrow, Eiron, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:00:48
    • Agree that digital is not (yet) as good as film, Noel, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:15:32
      • Color laser, but no inkjet, Eiron, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:20:23
        • Yes and no. You pay one way or the other., Noel, Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:02:53 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Film? Why not just set a digicam to B&W?, Noel, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:11:14
    • So-o-o-o 20th century . . . . ., Eiron, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:52:21
      • Re: So-o-o-o 20th century . . . . ., oldsaab, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:29:15
    • Contrast!, BlaaSaab, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:07:44
    • Re: Film? Why not just set a digicam to B&W?, Erik919kt, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:04:07
      • Re: Film? Why not just set a digicam to B&W?, oldsaab, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:06:19
    • Why paint a picture when you could just make a photo?, LesH, Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:29:40

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