[Leica] Digital vs film cost

[scleroplex at gmail.com (scleroplex)]

yes!
it's called the mp3 effect!
awful!!

here is an excerpt from a Wired article -
"To a degree, the MP3 follows the classic pattern of a disruptive
technology, as outlined by Clayton Christensen in his 1997 book *The
Innovator's Dilemma.* Disruptive technologies, Christensen explains, often
enter at the bottom of the market, where they are ignored by established
players. These technologies then grow in power and sophistication to the
point where they eclipse the old systems.

That is certainly part of what happens with Good Enough tech: MP3s entered
at the bottom of the market, were ignored, and then turned the music
business upside down. But oddly, audio quality never really readjusted
upward. Sure, software engineers have cooked up new encoding algorithms that
produce fuller sound without drastically increasing file sizes. And with
recent increases in bandwidth and the advent of giant hard drives, it's now
even possible to maintain, share, and carry vast libraries of uncompressed
files. But better-sounding options have hardly gained any ground on the
lo-fi MP3. The big advance?the one that had all the impact?was the move to
easier-to-manage bits. Compared with that, improved sound quality just
doesn't move the needle.

Of course, there are those who appreciate the richer sound of uncompressed
files, CDs, or even vinyl records (regarded by some audiophiles as the
highest-fi format available). But most of us don't give it a second thought.
*In fact, there's evidence that consumers are simply adapting to the MP3's
thin sound. *Jonathan Berger, a professor of music at Stanford University,
recently completed a six-year study of his students. Every year he asked new
arrivals in his class to listen to the same musical excerpts played in a
variety of digital formats?from standard MP3s to high-fidelity uncompressed
files?and rate their preferences. *Every year, he reports, more and more
students **preferred** the sound of MP3s, particularly for rock music.
They've grown accustomed to what Berger calls the percussive sizzle?aka
distortion?found in compressed music. To them, that's what music is supposed
to sound like.*

What has happened with the MP3 format and other Good Enough technologies is
that the qualities we value have simply changed. And the change is so
profound that the old measures have almost lost their meaning. Call it the
MP3 effect. "


http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/17-09/ff_goodenough?currentPage=all

:-(
bharani



Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:02:13 -0400
From: Tina Manley <images at comporium.net>
Subject: Re: [Leica] Digital vs film cost
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
Message-ID:
       <CA+yJO1AYV-R_h7AC71hhNgh9QRVLDd2xz3HSHSYKAxhVBVDbSg at 
mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Agree totally.  It's almost impossible to make a living as a professional
photographer these days and I try to discourage everybody who asks.  You
have to be better than the prosumers but that's not often an issue since
"good enough" and "cheap" trump "best quality" most of the time.

Tina

On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 5:47 PM, George Lottermoser <imagist3 at 
mac.com>wrote:

>
>
> Today, if you're not shooting with a $30K plus digital camera
> you cannot hope to get near that day rate
> (with very rare exceptions)
> because everyone and their brother has a "prosumer" digital camera
> thats putting out "okay" images.
>
> Regards,
> George Lottermoser
> george at imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com/blog
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist