Did I make a big mistake???

[JohnnyQuest]

For about 6 years, I shot film with a Canon Elan IIe and a 28-105 USM. I was happy with the results, but decided to go digital about 4 months ago. I bought a Canon Pro1. It was difficult deciding between the Pro1 and an SLR. I travel a lot and haul a lot of diving, video, and camera gear. The smaller size of the Pro1 convinced me that was the way to go. I figured the one lens would cover 95% of my needs.

I've experimented a lot since I got the Pro1. I've shot in many different conditions with many combinations of settings. I've read the manual several times, talked to local camera nuts, and read on-line tips. To my dismay, the results are horrible. I've had prints developed at 5 different locations. I always had my film developed by a local Cutler Camera. They use the same processing machine with the digital media. The results are that the prints I get from the Pro1 don't come close to what I got with film. They are not sharp/crisp, the colors are just off, the exposure is just not right, and they just look artificial. The exposure seems to vary greatly across the photo. I've experimented with all different exposure settings. On my computer screen, they just don't look right either.

Was I completely delusional to expect the Pro1 to deliver shots as good as the Elan IIe with the 28-105? I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews, so I'm really surprised at the dreadful quality of the prints I get from this camera.

I'm ready to give up and go back to film. I'll sell the Pro1, take my losses, and buy a film camera again.

Before I throw in the towel with digital, can anyone think of anything that may tell me that the Pro1 is actually capable of delivering prints of film quality? I don't know what else to try. I'm depressed. :confused:
Thanks.

[Ray Schnoor]

Before I say anything, yes, you should be able to get good photos with this camera.

That being said, it's hard to determine what your problem is without seeing your photos, the conditions that they were taken under, or the settings in the camera when you took them.

I haven't actually tried any of the new crop of 8MP cameras, but from what I have read in the reviews, it seems that they all seem to have a problem with noisy photos except at the slowest film speed of the camera (50-100 ISO setting), so with your camera I would keep the ISO set at 50.

Other than that, your problem could be anything. Are you not using the full resolution of the camera or using too much image compression in an attempt to put more photos on your card(bad move)? Are you using too much or too little image processing in the camera? Do you have the correct white balance setting?

If we could see some original photos along with the exif data from the photos, I'm sure that you will get some replies with useful information.

Ray.

[JohnnyQuest]

Thanks for your help Ray.

I shoot everything at ISO 50 and either the highest resolution and size JPEG format or RAW. I've tried auto WB and manual; I've tried standard and Adobe RGB color space; I've adjusted the camera's sharpness, contrast, etc. The photos always come out below my expectations. l'll get some photos and post them. If I post a full resolution, the files will be huge. How should I compress them for posting? And the problems are more obvious in print.

The term “good” is obviously relative. My real question is should the Pro1 be able to match the quality of my Elan IIe with the 28-105 USM? I realize that’s difficult to answer. But after several hundred shots with the Pro1, I think the answer is no way (at least with my particular camera.)

[speaklightly]

JohnnyQuest-

Please stop blaming yourself. I purchased a Pro-1 and had the very same experience. The camera does not have adequate auto focus capabilities in my opinion. Because the exposure is off, the photos are blurred and the colors are off as well. I return my Pro-1.

The solution:

(1) Stay away from 8mp digital cameras.

(2) I purchased a 7mp Canon G-6 and love it. It takes wonderful digital photos. No complaints at all. If you want more zoom, look atb the Panasonic FZ series or the Olympus Ultra Zooms.

Good Luck! I hope that helps.

Sarah Joyce

[Ray Schnoor]

Being a former Pro-1 owner, you may want to listen to Sarah.

Personally, since you were originally debating between the Pro-1 and a d-SLR, I would have gone with the dSLR. I have a D70 with a Tamron 28-200 lens and am quite happy. I know that Nikon had a rebate on the D70, but am unsure if it is still valid. This combination with rebates if they are still valid would run you about $1150.

Since you had a Canon, though, you may want to go with the 20D. It would be more expensive, but you may not have to buy a lens.

To get the equivalent of your current 28-105 lens, though, you would have to go down to an 18-70 lens with the dSLR multiplier. I have seen some new lenses around with this approximate zoom.

If you still want to post your photos, you could probably downsample the photos to make the size manageable, but the exif information would be equally if not more important to have.

Ray.

[D70FAN]

JohnnyQuest-

The solution:

(1) Stay away from 8mp digital cameras.

Sarah Joyce


I think Sarah means 8MP all-in-ones, not dSLR's. ;)

[Rhys]

I think Sarah means 8MP all-in-ones, not dSLR's. ;)

I think all the consumer grade digital cameras have lousy focussing systems. Personally, I can't see anything wrong with good old style manual focus. I'd much rather do the focussing myself and leave the electronics for picture-taking only.

I do notice that most digital camera users use the highest quality settings, 90% of the time. That means that whatever speed a camera will do, they always use ISO 50 or ISO 100. It makes sense therefore, in light of the other problem of purple fringing, to use something like a Foveon sensor. These work best at 100 ISO and would eliminate purple fringing.

Actually, I wonder whether a 10 megapixel Foveon based manual focus SLR has merits that others have overlooked. I note Epson has a manual focus digital compact that's styled on the Leica M series.

[speaklightly]

George-

Many thanks for bailing me out. You are so correct, I did mean 8mp all-in-ones! I apologize.

Sarah Joyce

[D70FAN]

I think all the consumer grade digital cameras have lousy focussing systems. Personally, I can't see anything wrong with good old style manual focus. I'd much rather do the focussing myself and leave the electronics for picture-taking only.

I do notice that most digital camera users use the highest quality settings, 90% of the time. That means that whatever speed a camera will do, they always use ISO 50 or ISO 100. It makes sense therefore, in light of the other problem of purple fringing, to use something like a Foveon sensor. These work best at 100 ISO and would eliminate purple fringing.

Actually, I wonder whether a 10 megapixel Foveon based manual focus SLR has merits that others have overlooked. I note Epson has a manual focus digital compact that's styled on the Leica M series.

The Epson in question is the RD-1. Very retro-art-deco digital rangefinder.

This has Rhy's written all over it. ;)

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/epson-rd1.shtml

[JohnnyQuest]

Here are examples of what I was describing. These are NOT my worst shots; they are some of the best. These are examples of the "quality" that I get with pretty much every shot. Pictures were taken on clear sunny days. WB set to auto (set to sunny changes nothing).

The overall shots are reduced in size to fit on a page. The close ups are NOT zoomed. They are crops.

As you can see, the colors are off (I guess you have to trust me on that), areas are over-exposed (a lot of the light color things are glowing), and the focus is off (nothing is sharp). In the crops it's very obvious how fuzzy the focus is.

[John_Reed]

Here are examples of what I was describing. These are NOT my worst shots; they are some of the best. These are examples of the "quality" that I get with pretty much every shot. Pictures were taken on clear sunny days. WB set to auto (set to sunny changes nothing).

The overall shots are reduced in size to fit on a page. The close ups are NOT zoomed. They are crops.

As you can see, the colors are off (I guess you have to trust me on that), areas are over-exposed (a lot of the light color things are glowing), and the focus is off (nothing is sharp). In the crops it's very obvious how fuzzy the focus is.OK. I looked at all of your images. I thought they had some redeeming qualities, though I would agree slightly overexposed. I downloaded the first one, and to me, the stamen of the lilies and the brown, dead lily in the foreground, are perfectly in focus, not fuzzy at all. I fooled with the levels a little and re-uploaded it, but nothing major. Actually, lilies per se can be a challenging subject, as their stamen and petals are so long that it's not always easy to get a sharp focus on all parts of the flower. Your eye is definitely more discriminating than mine! :o

[speaklightly]

Dear JohnnyQuest-

Yes, indeed your samples bring back memories. The inconsistencies are what were so frustrating to me. Results used to vary widely from photo to photo. That is not what you should expect from that price digital camera. Today, I am a happy G-6/EOS 20D user.

Sarah Joyce

[JohnnyQuest]

Thank you for your comments everyone.
I called Canon, and they told me to send it back for them to check it out. I shot about 100 photos today just as a final sanity check. Amazingly, the camera died! It's just dead. It won't power up or show any signs of life. I fully charged the battery and tried a different battery. It's dead. I realize this sounds too nuts to be true, but, unfortunately, it's my reality.

I'm sending it back to Canon to see what they tell me. So my story went from bad to worse. I guess that answers my original question!!!

Thanks again. When I get some sort of resolution, I'll post a follow up.