Digital Still cameras.. anyone using them?

Looking at a Nikon CoolPix 800, (1600x1200). Found it on line for $392 after rebate, through Comp Direct, 800-931-7070. Company was a little scary talking to them... locally it retails for $525 after $75 rebate.

I've tried one out at the local camera store...it's pretty cool, although the zoom is kinda crappy once you get out of the optical zoom range.

Let me know if you check it out; I'm still undecided.

Dance

Before you buy.

Yeah, my office just bought the one above that (3.3 megapixels, I think..., maybe it was 4.3). I work for a company that makes industrial laser imaging devices, and we output some 11x14' prints that you couldn't distinguish from real photos... pretty amazing (it's a $250,000 printer though... prints onto real photo paper using three lasers at up to 400 pixels/inch).

I'm gonna try some video on it this week (in the office) to see how it looks, but I'm told it'll do a full 30 frames/sec. Problem is: no sound. Fine for shooting my own dives, but not for doing tandem video. If it's good, I'll post it somewhere and let you know.

Kevin. B-4273

Looking at a Nikon CoolPix 800, (1600x1200). Found it on line for $392 after rebate, through Comp Direct, 800-931-7070. Company was a little scary talking to them... locally it retails for $525 after $75 rebate.

I've tried one out at the local camera store...it's pretty cool, although the zoom is kinda crappy once you get out of the optical zoom range.

Let me know if you check it out; I'm still undecided.

Dance

Before you buy.

'Kevin Cazabon' wrote: [snipped]

think..., maybe it was 4.3).

That's the new 900 series or something like that? I'm using mine for travelling (for work) this winter, so the new one was too expensive for me.

What's the printer? (brand/type)

Thanks! P.S. Just for fun, here goes... (Bet I get more frequent flyer miles than David!) (Wanna Bet, David?? Wanna Bet???)

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Before you buy.

I checked today, it's the 990 that we have... still didn't test the video though...

That's the new 900 series or something like that? I'm using mine for travelling (for work) this winter, so the new one was too expensive for me. > pretty amazing (it's a $250,000 printer though...

What's the printer? (brand/type)

It is a 'Cymbolic Sciences LightJet 5900' (actually, our new one is called the LightJet 430). We compete against the Durst Lambda. You'll find these (both) in high end commercial photo labs, graphics arts shops, etc.. They produce photographic quality prints on real photo paper... all the way up to 4x10 FEET. Of course, you're looking at 1.6GB of image data per print at that size, but our machine has a hardware interpolator to help out... q:]

Cool toys... fun with lasers. (Look mom, no eyes!)

Kevin, called the LightJet 430). We compete against the Durst Lambda.

Huh?

arts shops, etc..

Never been in the commercial photo lab industry, but HAVE been in the graphic arts/printing/prepress....

way up to 4x10 FEET. Of course, you're looking at 1.6GB of image data per print at that size, but our machine has a hardware interpolator to help out... q:]

Okay, so riddle me this, Batman... I've always been curious what the dpi/lpi corrolation is for large format printing (4x10 feet). And how in the hell do they do billboards?

At 1.6 gig, a 4 x 10 would have a resolution of .... Oh Christ! The *antiquated* Photoshop 5.5 doesn't calculate that high! What I was getting was 659 MB in RGB, 879 in CMYK, given a 120 in. x 48 in. dimension, at 200 ppi. So you must be at least 300 ppi, eh?

What monsterous machine can output such images? I want to see it!!!!

SHOW ME THE MONSTEROUS MACHINE!!!!

Oooh. *That* little tirade will surely spark unwanted NG innuendo.

Hell yeah, I know... just had LASIK myself <g

Before you buy.

called the LightJet 430). We compete against the Durst Lambda.

Huh?

What's so 'huh'? That's the name of it.... company is Cymbolic Sciences (actually owned by another company called Gretag now...).

Never been in the commercial photo lab industry, but HAVE been in the graphic arts/printing/prepress....

Well, you might be familiar with the PlateJet then... uses lasers to image on printing plates (known as 'CTP' computer to plate). That's another one of our products... (fun with higher power lasers!)

Okay, so riddle me this, Batman... I've always been curious what the dpi/lpi corrolation is for large format printing (4x10 feet). And how in the hell do they do billboards?

Well, it's a 'continuous tone' printer... meaning that it doesn't spray ink, but prints pixels in any shade of any color. It can print up to 406 pixels/inch... for a 50x50' image, that's oh, about 1.1GB of data (it uses RGB, but can convert from CMYK on the fly). At 4x10' (actually, 50'x120' max), the max we can do is 300 pixels/inch. That's 1.55GB of data. However, you don't HAVE to supply that high a res file... we can resize/interpolate/sharpen on the fly. The problem supplying that high res

300ppi. So, you either have to RIP PostScript (which we can do nicely), or interpolate.

Stuff like this 'can' be used for billboards, but the quality is way too high for that application... overkill. This is the kind of stuff you can look at with a magnifying glass and still think it's a professional quality photograph. The CIA and FBI both have our equipment... along with NASA, the NSA, DIA, etc... I'd hate to think what they get used for... q:]

What monsterous machine can output such images? I want to see it!!!!

SHOW ME THE MONSTEROUS MACHINE!!!!

Cool toy, eh? Check it out at: http://www.cymbolic.com It's called the 'LightJet 430', just announced at Photokina. There's a bunch of CTP stuff we announced at Graph Expo and Drupa this year too.

[snip] (known as 'CTP' computer to plate)

1.) Can CTP run on conventional offset presses? Or is it a 'digital' press designed for CTP?

2.) What is the life span of the plates, i.e. how does it compare to 'digital' digital printing (no conventional plate, like [heaven forbid] the Indigo)? What's the limitations of the print run?

3.) Is a Heidelberg GTO-DI 'plateless' like the Indigo, or does it use CTP?

Thanks for the link. O

Before you buy.

'Computer to Plate' is running plate material through an imagesetter. The plates are then mounted on the press (any press?).

It uses plates. Our (Axis Digital Print and Imaging in Michigan) Heidelberg Quickmaster DI uses 'Computer to Press'. The plate material is inside the press and laser imaged directly. No 'mounting' of the plates is necessary, nor and registration adjustment for the four colors as everything's locked in place.

The plates are supposed to be good for 10,000 impressions, though I think we've run them to 20,000.

The place that I work uses CTP and its an offset press, but we get about a million impressions in 24 hrs, this goes on for several days. Thats with 1000 and 3000 Heidelbergs. All this if Greek to me though, I'm a finishing

Thanks for the info, guys!

Before you buy.

Screw them. What does Penthouse use?

Tom B