Mark,

if you already have 35mm or advantix film camera there is the option of a film scanner. Nikon seems to be getting the best reviews and they recently cut prices. The newer ones (which you can get at $500) will give you between 16 and 20 MP and use USB or Firewire. My older one required a SCSI card (but I just love it).

As a Photoshop user you can use the Nikon software directly from PS to retrieve/scan your film. The scanner takes 35 mm negatives and positives, plus the 24mm Advantix format.

I would only do this if you already have a camera and don't mind the film development and picture scan processes, which you never need to think about in digital.

For me it is important to maintain the highest possible quality source for my pictures. Hence, I don't worry about increased pixels until I need them. Then I buy a new scanner and still have a good source.

Someone once told me that in practical terms 16 MP is equivalent to 35mm film, although light sensitive "cells" on a film frame is 100 million+.

For printing I guess you can mulitply up by using 300 dpi to find your megapixels. I.e. a 6x4 should have 1,800 x 1,200 pixels or 2.16 MP, etc.

If you want to print bigger than your "new camera" allows, using the rule-of-thumb, you could reduce resolution (240 dpi) or try Genuine Fractals which gets high marks in reviews (I have never tried it). www.dcpsystems.co.uk or a quick search on google!-)

You should always be aware of the 3:2 or 7x5 etc, print formats, though. Digital cameras, too, get a certain ratio on their CCD/CMOS sensors and you need to crop (quite a bit some times) to fit your picture on a particular paper size, hence, losing some resolution. I think this is why the camera manufacturers are pushing the megapixel game so hard and letting you see less in the view finder than is received on the sensor. I have a lot of 6x4 prints of people without feet!-) It was that or their face!-) However, once you get to know your camera you learn to manage your compromises.

No matter your budget, digital photography still requires you to compromise. I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered the Canon 10D which I will get in two weeks.

For the compact digital cameras I have used there is always the zoom vs megapixels choice, glass vs "plastic" lens glass, dark corners on long zoom vs distortions on wide angle, sRGB vs Adobe RGB, etc.

If you like to have a lot of fun with your camera and can break your budget, you "should" wait for the new Sony F828 to be reviewed (releases in November) or go for the Canon S45 4MP camera at $400 (instead of the S50 at $499). I just wanted to end this lengthy reply by putting a stake in the ground!-)

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Knut Vonheim

Knut_Vonheim

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