Is ‘going digital’ – wise? or even dangerous?
I would like to open a discussion about digital technology.The last time I tried to do this I was insulted and told to go back to my ‘time machine’ (analogue of course).I’m sure that a sensible debate is possible-here goes-I used as an example digital photography..years ago I took a photo at night with daylight film ( i took photos during the day and had film left) standard lens at something 300 yards away. i got a picture, enlarged it – i still have that photo.Had I used digital I’d get one pixel. Pixels are regulated grid..film is random fine grain.I can scan the film or print so it will be ‘pixel happy’.Digital TV doesn’t work-picture breaks up..it stops and starts I cant guarantee getting a picture-analogue I could.Digital feels ‘brittle’ to me.no smoothness..You hear of systems crashing..causing mayhem..records lost-also a worrying dependance on ‘the system’ like it was a god.Planes crash due to ‘computer failure’..would you trust your life on ‘digital’
I am a veteran piano tuner. I have tuned for some of the most renowned musicians in the country. When I tune the strings of a piano I tune at the 4th harmonic of the fundamental frequency, so you can appreciate that I have spent a lifetime training my ears to hear all the pitches in the human spectrum. I have also trained my ears to detect the tone, and timber of strings, and organ pipes.
So, with that in mind, I will make a few comments about analog and digital recording and playback. When digital audio was introduced I immediately noticed a sever deterioration in the quality of recordings of piano and organ. The full spectrum of sound was there, bass and treble, but the sound was flawed, the simple beauty was harmed by the digital process.
For example, the 32′ pitch low C of a pipe organ speaks at 16 cycles per second. With analog, the sound is faithfully reproduced, with digital it sounds more like a switch being turned on and off 16 times a second, with artifacts in the sound which did not come from the organ pipe.
The electronic organs also took a serious degradation when they went to digital. The flute based sounds are tolerable, but the strings and reeds have a lot of digital artifacts added which do not resemble music
The digital buffs will argue about this forever, because they are unable to hear the problem, or they don’t know what a piano or pipe organ really sounds like. But to me the digital sound has a hard metallic effect which I call digital distortion. The pure tones I have always listened to simply do not come through the digital process without being harmed
As far as dangerous. The digital fire alarm systems are not safe. There are so many false alarms people have quit evacuating buildings when they go off.
Photography Tips Techniques : How to Enlarge Film
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Pantograph $29.99 This pantograph is the perfect tool for easily and rapidly enlarging or reducing drawings, pictures, or photographs. Trace elements with outstanding accuracy with the sturdy pivot shoe. It eliminates slippage by mounting securely to your working surface. Positions for enlarging and reducing ratios are clearly etched. Provides 25 fixed enlargement ratios (1-1/8 to 8 times larger) and reduces from 8… |
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Leica Viewfinder Magnifier 1.25x Black – Magniefies The Viewfinder Image By 25% $299.95 The Leica Viewfinder Magnifier M 1.25x is an equally practical and easy to use small accessory which facilitates considerably easier picture composition with telephoto lenses by enlarging the central area of the viewfinder image by 25%. At the same time it increases focusing accuracy…. |
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Fotodiox macro bellows for Canon EOS Cameras, Fits Canon EOS 1d, 1ds, Mark II, III, IV 5D, 5D Mark II, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Rebel xt, xti, xs, xsi, t1i, t2i, 300D, 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 1000D $38.56 Macro bellows are great accessory for close-up, macro, micro, stereographic, slide/negative copying, and panoramic photography. The precise rack and pinion gear allows very minute fore and aft movement of your camera set-up for very accurate focusing. It does not slip when pointed up or down. It has a very secure locking mechanism. It can accommodate heavy cameras and lenses. Any camera with the a… |
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Beseler Cadet II Black & White 35mm Film Enlarger with Lens & Negative Carrier. $251.11 This addition to Beseler’s family of high-quality American made enlargers, the CADET II is ideally suited for both beginners and experienced amateur 35mm photographers. Its compact, lightweight design, plus ease of assembly, setup and storage offers the perfect solution for the temporary or traveling darkroom. The CADET II comes equipped ready for use, complete with a 50mm Beslar lens, 35mm negati… |
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RPS Studio Heavy Duty Copy Stand with 42 Column & 24 x 24 Baseboard, RS-CS1070 $169.95 The RS-CS1070 Copy Stand – This is a copy stand only with baseboard and column. It can support up to a medium format camera and is good for general slide copying. Key Features: |
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Bromide Printing and Enlarging A Practical Guide to the Making of Bromide Prints by Contact and Bromide Enlarging by Daylight and Artificial Light, With the Toning of Bromide Prints and Enlargements This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery…. |
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How to achieve perfect results in the darkroom Although there has been a huge move towards digital cameras and mobile phones with cameras because of their obvious convenience, there is no doubt that prints produced in the darkroom still yield the best photographic quality.There is still a large contingent of photographers who prefer to develop and print their own images and it is for this reason that this book has been written.The book is base… |
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Darkroom Techniques Manual This is a comprehensive 280 page book covering every aspect of processing, enlarging, printing and image manipulation in the darkroom. It also includes basic manipulation techniques using image processing programmes on the computer.This book is unique because it explains not only how to develop and print high quality images but also shows how to manipulate your images with your darkroom equipment … |
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Complete Digital Photography (Paperback) $48.98 Teaches digital photography techniques and skills, explains the difference between traditional and digital photography, and explores editing and special effects. |
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Digital Photography (Paperback) $87.1 This comprehensive introduction to digital photography equips students with the cutting-edge skills and techniques required to produce great digital images. Thorough introductions to the camera and its controls, editing and image manipulation processes, and digital capture and output make this textbook ideal for introductory photography and photographic imaging courses in the digital age. |
