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01/12/2008 07:48:33 AM · #1 |
It all started like this a few years back.....
I bought a Canon Digital Rebel XT in October of 2005. This was the start of what would become a very, very expensive habit. I had a laptop that was capable of only displaying a 1280X1024 or something like that resolution. So I think to myself, if I buy a new laptop I can get a better resolution monitor in order to better see and edit my photos. So I buy a new Dell Laptop. I have built with the ability to go 1920X1200. Ah this is heaven, the display is sweet, I am really liking my purchase.
Spring of 2006 and the evildoers at Canon intorduce the 30D. Spot metering was the craze, and I just had to have that. Out with the XT and in with the 30D. The 30D served me well, and trust me, this cap[tion doesn't even begin to touch the lens purchases.
Fast forward to the Spring of 2007 and I come home one day and the laptop won't turn on. It keeps telling me HDD Error. Uh oh! Of course I backed up since this is not the first time I have a laptop go belly up on me, right? Wrong. Bye bye all those photos. Ooops.
So instead of just a new hard drive, as that of course would have been the cheapest way to go, I decide I really want to edit photos on a desktop. The laptop is great for surfing the web and travelling, but at home I want the ability to do it on a big screen and with a regular mouse and keyboard. So I build a computer. Over the last few months I have been rebuilding my fairly budget setup to get the performance I want, mental note, just buy it good the first time because it will cost more money just upgrade in the end. Same applies for lenses I learned.
So in September those evildoers at Canon decide to introduce the 40D. Oh the imporvements they made make my 30D seem like junk. So after a couple of months of watching how much people love their new 40D I make a drug deal with the spousal unit to let me pick one up. I love it. But then something happens. While working on photos on my 22" monitor the resolution of 1680X1050 just doesn't seem to do it for me anymore. I mean I can't view photos at 50% because they don't fit with the large resolution of the 40D and 33% just stinks because of the intoperlation going on by the software. But I make it work.
Then a trip comes up for me to go to Florida and I finally go down and fix my laptop. Now I see what 1920X1200 looks like again and I am in love with it again. Comparing it to that wimpy little 22" monitor resolution has me lusting after something with a bit more resolution.
So I start looking and looking. Finally I decide that is it, I have to have 24" so I can have that extra resolution. I go to the Yongsan Electronics Market to search for a new monitor. The market is like what you see in moviews with retailer after retailer selling electronics and crowds hording over deals like it is all illegal goods. It is really a cool experience to see once, maybe twice. After that the crowds become too much. So I find a couple of 24" monitors, and the price is looking good. But I want to keep looking to make sure I get what I really want.
Then I see it. This guy standing by himself in a store playing a video game (most Koreans in computer stores play video games like crazy, in fact there are cable channels where all you see if people playiung video games) and he has the biggest monitor I have ever seen. I stop and the wife almost shits herself when she sees the twinkle in my eye. 30" of real estate is being shown with those tiny little pixels. The twinkle starts to grow as I see the box and it says 2560X1600. The light bulb flickers on in my brain as I realize that editing photos on 1920X1200 just won't compare to that of 2560X1600.
So I get the new monitor home and hook it up. Uh Houston, we have a problem. The monitor is getting wierd signals from the computer. It works fine in POST and the boot sequence, but once Windows shows its evil little head on the computer I get the wier signals. So I take the manual down to the computer store and the best we can come up with is the video card just isn't going to cut it. Uh oh, guess I have to spend new money.
Fast forward to now and I can tell you that this thing is huge! I mean huge! Oh yeah babe, if you don't have 30", you don't have a monitor. And the resolution, oh yeah babe! 40D files in landscape orientation are swallowed on this screen at 50% in CS3.
In fact I have so much room that I think I might need to upgrade to that 5D, or maybe even the 1DS II. I better not mention that to the spousal unit right now. She is liable to knock a hole in this beauty.
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01/12/2008 08:30:39 AM · #2 |
They have pills for OCD! ;-p
ETA: want me to send some full res files from my 5D to help aid your decision making process?
Message edited by author 2008-01-12 08:32:26.
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01/12/2008 08:53:20 AM · #3 |
Interesting discussion here on the evolution of equipment. We always find that as the technology improves, we improve, and then we need to upgrade to match this new skill level, and etc etc. We continue to be behind the curve. It is fun, stimulates creativity, and helps the economy! Interesting, but...let me add my insight to the evolution of photography:
to quote BHuseman: "It all started like this a few years back..." MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN A FEW YEARS!
My family has been in the business of photography since it became a tool for capturing images. Back in '44 (1844 I mean) photographs were made on a sheet of film that was a difficult and time consuming process. No Kodak film at this time. You wanted to make a photo you made your film. Tedious.
Let me get to an interesting point, and see if anyone else has noticed how technology changes and is at the same time a bit "odd". My Great grandfather was a photographer in England and used glass plate negatives. This was an incredible improvement over a single use negative. All you needed to do was coat a piece of photographic quality glass with an emulsion to capture the image. The negative was the same size as the print that was to be made. He used an 11"x14" glass plate to make contact prints. The camera, tripod, etc weighed around 60 pounds! The film speed was down in the area of 10 (ten) ASA (ISO). After making the print, usually due to expenses and storage abilities, this original was destroyed by wiping the chemistry from the glass plate and making a second, maybe third photograph.
Now, in 2008, using a much much smaller rectangular piece of "technology" (compact flash card), we now create photographs and wipe the image off (electronically), and re-use this "negative" over and over....
Has anyone else noticed this? Hoping to hear from you out there who are old enough to know about this technology.
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01/12/2008 08:58:31 AM · #4 |
My wife said no thanks.
Originally posted by NstiG8tr:
They have pills for OCD! ;-p
ETA: want me to send some full res files from my 5D to help aid your decision making process? |
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01/12/2008 11:18:16 AM · #5 |
You're not done yet. Looking at your profile ... I see you need more lenses! More bodies. And, of course, that means strobes, flashes, backgrounds, etc.
Oh, and as long as you're editing your own images, you might as well start printing them too. Can you say Big Epson Printer?!?
It's best if you have a dark scary corner of the house that your wife doesn't dare walk into ... you can hide all of this equipment in there ... she need never know!
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01/12/2008 11:27:19 AM · #6 |
The printer is a definite need. I am just not ready to spend that money on the printer. Ink is just too outrageous to feed those large format printers. Strobes and all that I already milked out of her. Backgrounds are still needed.
I think my debit card was removed from my wallet when we got home though.
Originally posted by dwterry:
You're not done yet. Looking at your profile ... I see you need more lenses! More bodies. And, of course, that means strobes, flashes, backgrounds, etc.
Oh, and as long as you're editing your own images, you might as well start printing them too. Can you say Big Epson Printer?!?
It's best if you have a dark scary corner of the house that your wife doesn't dare walk into ... you can hide all of this equipment in there ... she need never know! |
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01/12/2008 12:24:36 PM · #7 |
I bought the Epson Stylus PRO 3800 from the company in the link. I also get my paper and ink from them. They happen to be local to me (a couple of miles away, is all). But 99% of their business is over the internet. It's not as big as some of the other printers, but it'll let you print 16x24" images without having to turn to an outside source to do it.
And while inks are a little expensive ($55 each ... and there are NINE of them!), the printer comes with a full set of ink, so you could basically deduct $500 from the cost of the printer and determine that the printer is a real bargain. The cost per print (ink cost) is fairly low, so the cartridges last a pretty long time.
Anyway, I think it was worth it.
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01/13/2008 02:11:40 AM · #8 |
Hate you, Bhuseman, for having a 30" monitor! Glad you had to suffer. By the way, what did you get? Along with learning post-processing a good monitor has priority for me over camera upgrade.
Interesting about sheet film preceding glass plate, photom. |
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01/21/2008 09:18:45 PM · #9 |
| after using my 24 inch samsung for a couple days i got used to it. now it seams a little small. to bad there is nothing bigger then a 30 inch for computers anyway. |
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