A 16-megapixel digital marvel

Kodak Professional ups the ante in dramatic fashion with its new, portable 16-megapixel DCS Pro Back, designed for use with the Hasselblad 555 ELD and Mamiya RZ67 Pro II medium-format film cameras.

It "marries" the unsurpassed optical superiority of medium-format cameras with the competitive advantages of state-of-the-art digital image capture. These combined advantages are specifically significant to advertising, fashion and even wedding photographers, benefiting not just them but their clients as well.

In industrialized countries and increasingly in Asia, advertising clients and art directors have come to expect the dramatically reduced turnaround time made possible by digital photography, from shooting day to final product. There are many other advantages, but photographers and graphic studios that do not offer this speed factor are, in fact, losing clients.

Probably the most distinct competitive advantage of digital imaging over traditional photography is the ability to use image-enhancing software – a thought that intimidates many traditional photographers. Not to worry: the DCS Pro Back includes software developed with such photographers in mind. Called DCS Capture Studio, it uses familiar photographic terms, giving traditional film photographers little reason to be intimidated.

To use a few technical terms, this gives better color control and the ability to use ICC profiles and excellent color-editing capability, enabling the user to adjust toning and color quickly and easily with RGB curves and histogram levels.

One very valid concern for photographers of any stripe is versatility. Unlike other digital backs that need to be always tethered to a computer, with a portable Quantum Battery 2 and an IBM Microdrive, the DCS Pro Back can easily be taken to location shoots.

The DCS Pro Back also enables the photographer to fully utilize the main advantage of medium-format photography over 35mm: superior resolution.

There are also incomparable digital advantages like instant review, focus check and even exposure verification through its built-in LCD, which are important when on location, where reshooting may not be feasible.

The Kodak Professional DCS Digital back is distributed by Digipower Corp. Interested parties may call 524-4604.