>> Hold off until you see what your favorite lab (or your dry darkroom)
produces in a 8x12" shootout of the two lenses
Obliquely related: Labs matter. And how! Back during the depths of winter I
shot a roll of Fuji 400 print film, regular consumer grade. One of the
subjects was a nearby lighthouse, with lots of snow, piles of clouds, and a
wonderful oval-shaped sunglade on the water beyond the lighthouse. Nice
picture in varying shades of white and gray.
Just recently used a semi-pro lab only 25 miles from home to make a 5x7.
Print was their custom print grade, which means operator, negative,
enlarger, dodge, burn etc. I was not particularly happy with the result. The
differentation in shades of white and gray wasn't all that great. Grain was
apparent. There was a bluish diagonal line across one corner of the print.
Very hard to see, but it was there. I knew some of what I was seeing--i.e.,
the line--was the lab, but I also thought most of it was a well-conceived
but poorly executed shot.
On a whim I had a super-pro lab 65 miles from home also make a 5x7. This one
scans the negative and outputs to a CSI Lightjet. The differences in the two
prints is nothing short of remarkable. The super-pro lab print is _exactly_
as I conceived the shot. The grain works in the shot's favor. The difference
amounts to this: First print would have gone in the drawer with a promise to
try harder next time. The second print will get mounted, matted, framed and
hung.
Of course the super-pro lab costs were significantly higher ($10 vs $30 for
the first print, _much_ less for subsequent prints), but the results were
stunning. (And no, I don't think my lowly IBM flatbed will scan the two
suckers well enough to actually put them up for viewing.)
FWIW,
--Bob
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