Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/01/29

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Subject: [Leica] Moderately OT: Scanner or Digital Camera?
From: Martin Howard <mvhoward@mac.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 13:14:13 -0800

The Internet is a great way to keep in touch with people.  Posting 
photographs on the Internet doubly so.  However, at the moment, I find 
myself with lots of friends, but no way of getting photographs onto the 
Internet.  If money were no issue, then it wouldn't be a problem, but 
one of the things that makes life so fun and challenging is that money 
is always an issue... ;)

Right now, I have no digital camera, nor any scanner.  I'm trying to 
decide what I should do about this, and I'd like to hear how you have 
addressed the same issues.  At the moment, my options appear to be 
these:

A) Get a "cheap" digital camera.  Since I'll pretty much only be using 
it for web stuff, I could get away with buying something like a 
point-and-shoot.  The high-end ones, like the PowerShot G3, seems like 
an interesting alternative that has the advantage that you could do 
more serious things with it too.  Major disadvantage is that it's going 
to be obsolete pretty damn quickly (18 months? 24 months?)

B) Get a "prosumer" digital camea.  This means something like a Nikon 
D-100 or Canon D-60.  Interchangable lens SLR that would also work with 
35mm film bodies.  Advantages include better quality, more versitile 
equipment, and will become obsolete less quickly (since I can use 
lenses on several bodies).  Lots of fun with new toys.  Major 
disadvantage is, of course, cost.  Figure on $2,000 for the body, plus 
lenses.

C) Get a film scanner.  I pretty much am never going to make digital 
prints -- I use my Leica's and Bessa's for that.  I prefer shooting 
with them (small, useful, lots of lenses, accessories, etc).  So, I was 
thinking that maybe I should just shoot film and get a reasonably 
decent scanner instead.  All the advantages of doing my own 
development, along with not having to buy a new camera outfit.  But 
what about cost?  I'd not want to spend much more than about $800 on a 
scanner (since it'd have the same lifetime disadvantages as a 
point-and-shoot digital).  Can you get decent quality for that?

Any thoughts?  What did *you* do?  A, B, or C?

(And for our Swedish audience, the answer: "På A svarar vi nej, på B 
svarar vi D-100, och på C vet vi inte" is not considered an acceptable 
answer... ;)

M.

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Replies: Reply from "animal" <s.jessurun95@chello.nl> (Re: [Leica] Moderately OT: Scanner or Digital Camera?)
Reply from Craig Zeni <clzeni@mindspring.com> (RE: [Leica] Moderately OT: Scanner or Digital Camera?)