Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/10/03

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Subject: Re: [Leica] neg scanners - opinions please
From: dmorton@journalist.co.uk (David Morton)
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1998 14:02 +0100 (BST)

Alex wrote:

> Thanks a lot for this link, definitely the best yet (though not
enough
> scanners tested so far - no Polaroid or Nikon LS30).

If you do decide to by a scanner that's not on the list, then do get
in touch with Tony (tell him I sent you). He's happy to lend the test
slide to people in the UK in return for the scans.
 
> Didn't want to spend as much as the LS2000 costs, but am beginning
to
> think
> that anything less might not be a good investment (is anything
> digital?).

The higher priced scanners do little for the cash-flow (especially if
you can't write them down against tax) but I know a few people who've
bought low-end scanners and found it necessary to upgrade quite
quickly. That's always an expensive route to take.

> The more I learn the more it seems to me that thinking of buying
one of
> these things is far more fun than owning one - exchanging dreams
about
> the
> opportunities of a digital future for sleepless nights making it
all
> work as
> promised.

Oh dear me yes. I review digital cameras for a couple of UK
publications, and while the specifications are usually enticing, the
reality is often a disappointment. The pay rates for such reviews are
on the low side of awful, but it's worth it to stop myself spending
my own money and being out of pocket when they're not up to the job!
For example when I first saw the Kodak DCS315 specification, I
thought I wanted one and looked at the financial implications. Once
I'd used one for two weeks I was glad to see the back of it!


>
> Particularly liked the quote from Tony Sleep's site, ' Halftone's
Law' -
> ''The success of a technology does not depend on enhanced utility,
> technical
> elegance, aesthetic superiority, economic efficiency, nor any
> contribution
> to quality of life, but upon the extent to which it  transfers
power and
> control up the food chain.''

He's a bright lad, is our Tony.


David Morton
dmorton@journalist.co.uk
David.Morton@openconsulting.co.uk
(+44) 171 917 6272