Digital Prints

people, and now that we’re at the point where ‘more than acceptable results’ are possible
to obtain using digital capture, and given that most people are driven to expediency, direct
digital scanning is quickly replacing film for art reproduction.”
Advantages of Film Photography
■ Traditional, universal workflow with reliable results.
■ Medium- and large-format film advocates claim film still has the quality edge over digital.
■ Film is its own proof; nothing else is required to view it.
■ Film is the safe and permanent standard.
Since the ultimate goal of a film-photography-based workflow is to end up with a digital
file, the obvious question is: Why not just start off with digital to begin with?
Digital Capture
Digital cameras and digital camera backs are all the rage (41 million were sold in 2003
worldwide) and are gradually replacing their analog ancestors (film cameras). Here are
some reasons why:
Advantages of Digital Capture
■ There’s no lag time from exposure to the final image. You see it, you got it.
■ Lack of film grain means digital captures are very smooth and clean.
■ Since there’s no film, you don’t have to buy it, store it, or process it. Or worry about it
being X-rayed at airports!
■ Digital proponents say camera-back captures are sharper, clearer, and show more detail
than film.
Chapter 3 ■ Creating and Processing the Image 93
Photo lab owner John Castronovo
holds an 8×10 transparency after photographing
the traditional art of Liron
Sissman. “You can’t beat a large-format
transparency as its own proof,” says
Castronovo, who shoots either film or
digital depending on the requirements
of the job.
Courtesy of John Castronovo, Tech Photo
& Imaging