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Author Topic: Help on choosing digital back  (Read 1144 times)

Moz168

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Help on choosing digital back
« on: April 27, 2014, 10:42:46 am »

Hi,

I have a Hasselblad 500C/M with Planar 80 which I use occasionally. I use it mostly for architecture, portraits and landscape. I process the B&W negs myself and scan using my Canon 9000F. Right now, I don't print the files and normally just post them on the web. I plan to get a "cheap" digital back for the 500C/M to have the convenience of being able to see the images right away.

I am looking at a back that does not need to be tethered so it should have internal or CF memory. A good LCD is not that important because I would like to retain the discipline of shooting with film where there is no preview. I am looking at something < US$4k as a budget. Right now, I see a Kodak DCS Pro Plus, an Aptus 65 and Sinar eMotion 54LV on eBay within this price range on eBay.

Which of these would you suggest for my purposes? What would be the merits of each one?

The DCS is the cheapest (and therefore most attractive) though it has 12 bits. Will a 16bit back give that much of a jump in IQ?

Secondly, it's hard for me to imagine what to expect from these backs and I have no rental option or way to try one. My only reference would be my other digital cam which is a Leica M9. Can anyone tell me how a 500C/M with these backs would compare to something that the M9 produces? What I mean is if I took a photo of the the same scene with the M9 and a 500C/M and a back which is around 7-10 years old, will the clarity, noise, shadow detail, etc be different on the MF combo?

I know these systems are worlds apart so please bear with the stupid question.

Thanks in advance.
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MrSmith

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Re: Help on choosing digital back
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2014, 10:46:47 am »

"I plan to get a "cheap" digital back for the 500C/M to have the convenience of being able to see the images right away.”

a polaroid back?
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Joe Towner

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Re: Help on choosing digital back
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2014, 12:30:15 pm »

Where in the USA are you?  You might want to chat directly with DT or CI directly, as they have options and you're MUCH safer than a random purchase off ebay.  Otherwise, post where you're at and put a bounty on someone who's local to you to show you what they're using.
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Jim Kasson

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Re: Help on choosing digital back
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2014, 12:45:44 pm »

The DCS is the cheapest (and therefore most attractive) though it has 12 bits. Will a 16bit back give that much of a jump in IQ?

If you're ultimate use is posting the images on the web, you'll be happy with 12-bits unless you plan on some pretty extreme editing moves. I used the DCS many years ago and was very happy with it. I remember it as being noisy enough that another bit or two of resolution would not have helped.

But in general I'm a doubting Thomas on the advantages of going, say, from 14 to 16 bits, especially with CCDs. Being able to more precisely image the noise is not a big win.

Jim

Doug Peterson

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Re: Help on choosing digital back
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2014, 01:42:00 pm »

Where in the USA are you?  You might want to chat directly with DT or CI directly, as they have options and you're MUCH safer than a random purchase off ebay.  Otherwise, post where you're at and put a bounty on someone who's local to you to show you what they're using.

Agreed. You've stated definitively that there is no way for you to test or rent a back.

But unless this is a very pressing need (eg you need to buy one this week) then there is almost always a way to put your hands on a unit prior to purchase. Forum members live everywhere, we (as a dealer) travel extensively (I'll be in Utah, Colorado, California, and Washington this week), and rentals can be delivered via ups anywhere.

If you're outside the US it can be a bit more challenging, but still perfectly possible.

torger

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Re: Help on choosing digital back
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2014, 10:14:07 am »

I've seen some DCS raw images as I quite recently fixed some format support issues in RawTherapee. Although they are only 12 bit the files are very clean. Haven't done any side by side comparison but I'm guessing that the real dynamic range difference is very small compared to older "16 bit" backs, as the last of those bits are only noise. So I don't think you'll be disappointed by the image quality.

Just to show an example I've attached a 100% crop of a dark shadow pushed 4 stops from a Kodak Proback645, so you can see how clean the noise profile is (there's no noise reduction applied, not hidden automatic noise reduction either as I've used RT). The black corner is from the same area without pushing. So you see you need pretty extreme processing before noise would become an issue. Noise is well-behaved too, no patterns or something like that.

If you intend to buy private I'd look on this forum and getdpi first, and ebay second. Dealers can have really nice deals too and that can feel safer, but I think buying off a forum and apply some common sense is pretty safe too.

The DCS Pro is 37x37mm 16 megapixels with 9 um pixels. The pixel-peep sharpness will be very high indeed, so you won't be disappointed by that. The M9 doesn't have any super dynamic range so I imagine that shadow detail won't differ that much, but it's hard to say for sure. The look of lenses will of course be different, and if you're a Leica fan you'll of course say that Leica is always better, but it will much be a matter of taste.

Concerning color the Kodak is known for a rich slide film-like look, which probably is quite different from what you get from the M9, what's better is a matter of taste.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2014, 12:21:42 pm by torger »
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