All About Getting into Digital Imaging 

Last revised: November 2007

I've been a photographer for most of my life. I shot weddings for over 12 years before retiring (just sort of burned out, I guess). I still shoot about 800 pre-school children every year. We shoot an individual and a group shot. Then we offer the Mommies Memory Mate packages. We used to shoot all of that on a Bronica medium format and send it out for processing and printing. Today we do it all on a D-SLR (digital SLR) and process it in-house at a MUCH higher profit level. We also continue to shoot the occasional commercial (product) shot, class graduations, family reunions, etc. - all digitally.

 However, there was a time when,  I was still shooting film and just fiddling with digital. It was a transition time. I had my toe in the digital water but didn't feel comfortable jumping in all the way.

I tell you all of this, to help you to appreciate that I understand where you might be, and how you might feel.

You probably have tons of film (slides & negatives) that you have already shot and will continue to need to make prints from for some time. You probably have good film cameras/lenses and understand how to use them. You probably have current and future jobs that need to be done without screwing them up by learning "on the job" how to use new equipment.

And, then there's the pure COST of new equipment and how to fit it all in to make it work with the least transition pain. 

I'd suggest this.....

Start by buying a computer and a scanner (that can handle your film) and an ink jet printer that can let you start to learn to make prints. Trust me, you've got a lot of learning to do. 

Also, trust me... this is NOT rocket science!! Yes, it will take a little time to digest it all, and yes, you need to WANT to learn it. The rest is just putting one foot in front of the other!

Let's start by talking about a computer for professional digital imaging. You need a machine that will be able to handle the software and file sizes that are the basis of professional digital imaging. Yes, you can cruse the internet and send Email with a $399 machine from Circuit City. But, that machine will NOT handle professional digital imaging.

You need a relatively fast CPU. I'd recommend the Intel (not AMD) Core 2 Duo., at about 2.0 - 3.0 GHz. However, you can certainly work with a nice fast Pentium 4D CPU at about 3.0 GHz. Do NOT get a Intel "Celeron" CPU... that is the equivalent of a "stripped Chevy".

Next, is the computer's RAM. A total RAM of about 2 GB is great. 4 GB is even better. But, be careful here. Some CPU's and some motherboards can't "see" more than 2GB of RAM. So, you could be paying for something that your motherboard and/or CPU simply can't use.

Next, is the hard drives. You need one hard drive for a "C:" drive. The C: drive should be used for your storing the computer's Operating System and the various Programs that you install on your computer. NOTHING... repeat, NOTHING else should EVER, EVER be put on your C: drive.... EVER!!! Your C: drive should be around 160GB in size and should be a SATA II hard drive (not a SATA I hard drive). Almost ANY brand of hard drive will do, except Maxtor. Do NOT buy a Maxtor drive. They have a long and bad history. I prefer Seagate if they are available. See my write-up on Hard Drive Back-Up Concepts.

Next, you will need, at a minimum, TWO more hard drives for your computer. These drives are used to store ALL of your data files. These are the things that you create on your computer. They are the letters, email messages, pictures, etc, etc. DO NOT EVER PUT THESE ON THE C: DRIVE..... unless, of course, you don't really care if they get distroyed. These two data drives should be identical size and both should be about 400 - 750 GB in size. See my write-up on Hard Drive Back-Up Concepts.

The computer's motherboard and CPU and RAM should all be "matched" as to the speed of data on the "bus".... current state-of-the-art speeds are 1066MHz. It will get faster in the months and years to come. Here is an Intel spec for an Intel CPU that would be a good one: Intel E6600 Dual Core, Boxed processor, 2.40 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4 MB Cache, Socket T, LGA-775, Conroe , currently about $250.00

The "FSB" (front side bus) mentioned in the spec above is should be the same on the motherboard... 1066MHz. And, the RAM modules should be rated at 1066MHz, also. Any mis-match between those 3 components will degrade performance of the computer.

The computer's Power Supply should be rated at at least 500 watts. You can't drive a spike with a tack hammer.

The computer's operating system should be at least Windows XP Pro (not Home version) and Windows Vista Business (not Vista Home version) would be better yet.

You will need Adobe Photoshop, the real, full, version. Currently the full version is CS3. It sells for about $650. After that, the once-every-two-year updates are about $175. Now, since you are just getting started, you can "get away with" Photoshop's little brother, called Photoshop Elements. The current version is version 6. It sells for about $80 from most places. You might even get a FREE copy when you buy your scanner. So, before buying it, get the scanner FIRST and see of Elements come with it!!

If you can afford it, go for the full version of Photoshop in the beginning. You won't know how to use it, so check with your local colleges and see if any of them are offering "adult-night-education" classes in it. I'll almost bet that they are. Go take the entry level course.

If you can't afford the full version of Photoshop and choose to get the Elements 6 version, fine. When you out grow it and are ready to move up to the full version, you will already know about 80% of how to use the full version. If you take this path... STILL go to the local college and take the Photoshop course. Most of what you will learn in an introductory Photoshop course will directly apply to Elements 6.

If you don't feel pretty comfortable using a computer, go back to the college and take a night-course in basic introduction to computers. Such courses are usually 6 - 9 hours long and last for about 2 weeks. They usually are two nights each week for 2 weeks.

These college courses take about 2 weeks and you'll learn SO MUCH you'll be amazed! I know. I teach such courses here at the Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC).

Depending on where you buy your computer, the hard drives will be mounted internally. That's OK. Yes, you can buy external, USB, hard drives, but they are slower (slower connectivity) and cost more (their housing and external power supply add to their cost) than internal hard drives. I prefer to mount hard drives in front-removable caddies for ease of maintenance and for monitoring and for cooling. The caddies that I use have a LCD that monitors the temperature of each hard drive (early warning when it is developing a problem) and a built-in cooling fan to help prolong its life and an indicator to let you know when it is being accessed by the rest of the computer (helpful when you are trying to trouble-shoot a problem).

I prefer to have liquid cooling on a computer for higher cooling and greater reliability. But, most computers that you buy will come with fan cooling. OK. Just accept the fact that part of the preventative maintenance is to ONCE a year, open the case, and use a can of pressurized air to blow the dust out of the fan's cooling fins. Otherwise, the cooling fins get clogged up with dust bunnies and the performance of the fan drops off and the computer partially or fully over heats, resulting in lowered performance and/or crashes that can result in endless hours of trouble and lost data. You keep water in your car's radiator, and likewise, you need to be concerned about keeping a hi-end, hi-performance, computer cool.

Your computer will come with a keyboard and a mouse. Throw the mouse away and get a Trackman Wheel by Logitech. It's about $30.00. Force yourself to use it. In the beginning it will seem awkward if you have experience using a regular mouse. When you feel comfortable with it (about 2 weeks) you'll love it and never want to go back.

In order to properly drive your monitor and in order to allow the calibration of the monitor (according to my method) you will need a video card in your computer that will work correctly. Get a video card based on ATI technology. There are dozens of perfectly good cards available. Here are the specs on just one:

Radeon X1650GT, 256MB GDDR3, PCI Express x16 interface, DVI-I, TV Out , Software driver and accessories included. 450Mhz Core Clock, 1200Mhz Memory Clock, Cross-Fire ready . Support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 programmable vertex and pixel shaders in hardware. This card sells for about $100

It will work well and calibrate correctly with Photoshop and the Viewsonic line of monitors. Others may not do so well. Do NOT accept a motherboard that has the video built onto the board. those are cheaper motherboards and will not serve you well in a hi-end machine.

Your monitor should be at least a 20" LCD with a contrast ratio of at least 800:1,,, higher if you can get it. Here are some specs for a great monitor: The ViewSonic VG2030WM 20" Black widescreen LCD display with multimedia. Features 1680x1050 native resolution. 300 nits brightness (typ), 800:1 contrast ratio (typ), integrated stero speakers, 5ms video response, 160 (H) / 160 (V) viewing angle, height adjust and 360 degree swivel, OptiSync digital/analog inputs, TCO '03 and energy star qualified. It sells for about $300.00

Here are some specs for an even better monitor. 28"(27.5" viewable) Widescreen Multifunctional HD LCD, Glossy Piano Black, 1920x1200 wide. OptiSync digital/analog inputs, HDMI (DVI-D) with HDCP, Composite, Component, S-Video, 500nits, 800:1 contrast ratio, 160 degree H/V viewing angles, ClearMotiv 3ms response time, sRGB color management, integrated power supply, Energy Star, RoHS.  It sells for about $750.

As you can see, I like (prefer) Viewsonic brand of monitors.

And, you will need a CD-ROM/DVD player and recorder. Both features (plays & records both types of media) are now commonly built into one device. you only need one such device on the computer. One device, with the proper software, will also allow you to make copies of both CD's and DVD's. We recommend that you use the software called Nero 8 (www.nero.com).

And, of course, you will need anti-virus software, anti-SPAM software, registry-cleaning software, back-up software, and, you really should have Microsoft Office Professional software. And, you will need a hi-speed, DSL or Cable, internet access account. Do not even try to make due with only a telephone dial-up account. DSL or Cable is a must (these days) for up-dating the software that requires CONSTANT up-dating and patching.

I'd suggest that all of this get put into what is called a "full tower" computer case. I prefer the full tower cases made by Thermaltake - VA8003BWS - Black Armor Case with side panel window and 25 CM Fan. about $180

It has plenty of room for growth when you want to add additional hard drives.

I prefer to use front-removable hard drive caddies made by Lantec.

And I prefer to use liquid cooling equipment made by Zalman, such as the Reserator 1 Plus model.

By the way, if you are going to go with only fan cooling, Zalman makes some GREAT, super large, cooling fans for the CPU which are MUCH, MUCH better than the cheap junk that Intel ships with their CPU's and are commonly used by most companies that sell computers.

So where do you go to get such a computer as I have been describing? I have no idea! I custom-build mine. I also custom-build computers for clients. If I were to build such a computer for you, it would probably cost $2000 - $3000 or more, depending on the details and accessories.

You might try going to Dell Computers or HP Computers and see what they might offer in custom features/options for one of their stock, hi-end, machines. You also might take the specs that I have listed above and go to a local computer repair shop in your town and ask them what they would charge to build such a machine.

If your interested in having me build one for you, you need to send me an Email and tell me a little about yourself and what you are interested in doing.

It will take me a few days to put together a no-obligation proposal for you. when you are ready to go ahead, you'll send me payment in full with the order. I will then take 2-3 weeks to custom-build your machine. when it is ready, you can either come to pick it up (and get a little free instruction at the same time) or I can ship it to you (that's be expensive as finished machines are heavy and we only ship then via 1st or 2nd day air - the longer they are in transit the more things that can go wrong) or, I can come to your location, set the machine up and stay over a few days to help you get started using it. I travel all over the USA doing just that.

On my web site I have posted a 20+ page document on how to color calibrate your computer system,... monitor, computer, and printer. DO NOT spend a penny on any calibration software or profiling, etc, etc. Go get a copy of my document and print it out and read it. Here is the link to where you will find it: http://www.colorbat.com/proddetail.php?prod=CFS-P1400   This is a "Details" page for a device that we sell... a CFS (continuous flow system) device. Such a device delivers bulk ink to your ink jet printer to lower the cost of buying ink in cartridges. If you buy ink in cartridges, it will cost about $2.75 per 8x10 picture that you make, in ink costs. My CFS devices will lower the cost of ink to about 10% of what buying cartridges will cost. The link (above) is for a CFS device to be used on an Epson 1400 printer (a state-of-the-art, 13" throat, 6-color, dye-based printer).

Epson is the manufacturer of choice for professional photographers. However, the top-of-the-line Epson printer is a $550+ machine. I am going to recommend that you start out with a cheaper machine. Here's why.

You have a lot of learning to do. Learn with a cheaper machine... cheaper ink. Later, when you know what you are doing, you can up-grade to a better machine and then use your older, cheaper, machine for your everyday, grunt, printer... and save the good machine for customer-production work.

We do not recommend, nor will we get involved with the use of Canon or HP printers. they just are not up to the task and will not color calibrate well.

Epson printers are relatively cheap. I bought my R260 (identical to the 1400 except that the R260 has a 8.5" throat... prints on 8.5" x 11" paper) from Epson for $59 and they shipped it free of charge. I bought a refurbished machine from the Epson Clearance Center on-line. Here's the link: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63068700  I use the printer daily. I do a lot of what I call "grunt" printing with it. I print advertising literature, instruction sheets, invoices, emails, etc, etc. I also use the R260 to print full-color labels (sometimes including photos) directly on CD's and DVD's that we make for our customers or sell on our web site. Of course, it ALSO makes SUPER GREAT photos!! However, because it uses dye-based ink (and not pigmented-based ink) the photos will only last 5 - 10 years before fading. Pigmented ink machines produce photos that will last for up to 200 years!

I use my Epson R2400 (top-of-the-line Epson printer that uses pigmented ink rated at 200 years of stability) for printing photographs. We do a lot of photo restoration work and other commercial photography jobs. All of our "production" photography gets printed on the R2400. I bought my R2400 from Epson as a refurbished machine. I get a better price buying a refurbished machine directly from Epson, then I would get if I bought the same machine, new, from my wholesale supplier! 

I also buy my flatbed scanners from Epson as refurbished machines for the same reasons. Several years ago, I bought a Nikon film scanner, The Nikon 8000 - a medium format, hi-end, film scanner. I paid $2400 for it at the time. I doubt if I will ever buy another "film" scanner since the use of "real" film has dropped off to almost nothing! 98% of all scanning that we do can now be done on an Epson flatbed scanner. We rarely use the Nikon film scanner any more.

Back to the printer.... Epson makes two models of dye ink machines that you should consider.... the R260 and the 1400. The R260 uses 8.5" x 11" paper. The 1400 will print on paper that is 13" wide (instead of only 8.5" wide). I'd recommend that you get the R260 (or the 1400) to start with. Later, you can step up to the R2400 which is a 13"-throat machine that uses archival, pigmented ink. You can learn all there is to know about printing with the R260. Do not get the R380. The R380 is nothing more than a R260 with a built-in digital camera memory card reader and an LCD screen to preview the pictures. With an external $25.00 USB Memory Card Reader attached to your computer, your computer will do all of that for you. The R380 is for housewives that don't know what they are doing.

The R260 prints great on plain paper, however, you really SHOULD use a special type of plain paper (for grunt printing) that is designed for ink jet use. I prefer Hammermill's "Laser Print" brand at 24 lbs for all of my so-called grunt printing. Get it at your local Staple's store. It has a smooth surface (not a coated surface) that will not "wick up" the wet ink during printing.

For printing photographs, go to www.redriverpaper.com and order a box of 8.5" x 11" Polar Gloss, 66Lbs or Polar Lustra 66Lbs or a box of both and see which you like the best. They are both imitations of Kodak's "F" and "E" surface papers that you should be familiar with.

About scanning your film that you are shooting or already have in your files...... get the Epson Perfection 4990 PHOTO - Refurbished, $279 from Epson Clearance Center delivered to your door with a one-year Epson warranty. Here's the link: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63063319

This Epson scanner will deliver electronic files that, when processed in Photoshop (or Elements, will allow you to EQUAL or EXCEED the quality and size of anything you would have been able to do in a wet darkroom from the same piece of film. Guaranteed!!

Go to the Epson web site and read all about it. You will be able to scan all film up to 8x10 in size and all reflective material up to 8x10 in size. I doubt if you'll get a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 with a refurbished scanner (usually comes with new scanners), but you can always go to www.amazon.com and buy Elements about as cheap as any place.

OK... so with that equipment, you can scan your negatives and/or slides and print 8x10's that will match or exceed ANY print that you ever made in a wet darkroom (except for archival stability... dye-based prints will only last 5 - 10 years). Your slides will no longer produce prints that are excessively contrasty. They will look like they were professionally masked by the best of lab technicians!

Now, let me talk a little about the next steps that you should be thinking about.....

I know that you love your film cameras.... but... they are all obsolete.

I recently bought a new Canon Rebel XTi, 10.1 megapixel camera for less than $800 including the zoom lens. It works great with my Sunpak 622 Pro strobe in TTL mode and in manual mode. For more information about the Canon D-SLR Rebel XTi camera, go to: www.dpreview.com and look for the camera review that they have done. The images that I get from that camera can be "worked" in Photoshop to produce 90" x 60" prints that are of BETTER resolution and quality than 16 x 20 produced from a sheet of 6x7 film !!!! Now, that's a fact. So, that means that I can do some pretty severe cropping and still produce top quality prints from a relatively cheap digital SLR camera. No, of course, I don't have a printer that will print a 90" x 60" print.... but, I can enlarge images to that point in the computer, then cut out an 8x10 "sample" of them and print that 8x10 sample!

You will not be able to do so well with scanning film... even 4x5 film. You see.... a digital camera file is of such superior quality to start with that it can be further interpolated "up" in Photoshop (or Elements) to about 50X the original file size without a loss of image quality. Unfortunately, scanner-produced files (even the BEST scanner files.... it makes no difference) can only be interpolated up to about 3X the original file size.

As for making 16 x 20 prints or even larger... Epson makes a bunch of great printers that go up to about 54" wide. Learn what you're going with the smaller 8.5" and 13" throat machines first. You can always burn large files to a CD and take them to a local print-shop (like Office Max or Staples... there are dozens of others in your home town... ask around or check your Yellow Pages) when ever you need the larger prints. You'll probably want to make a small (8x10) guide print when taking work to an outside "service bureau". It helps them to get the large print right the first time.