Friedrich --

While digital movie images strain to approximate the quality of traditional film imagery, these days digital still photos have a gleam -- and they're getting denser and tighter by the month. Already, many of the photos you see in magazines, especially those with short schedules, come from digital cameras.

The latest high-end digi-still cameras have 6 million pixels, and take photos so sharp they almost hurt. You can sample what they look like here.

Be prepared for how scarily detailed the facial closeups are. Pretty models, attractively made-up -- and their skin, if you stare at it long enough, looks like Verdun, the morning after. Any more pixels, and the resulting photos will be drilling down past the bumps and follices to the sub-pore level. We'll be looking and staring, and finding ourselves being stared back at by sebaceous glands.

As we move into a world where most imagery is generated digitally, one job-market prediction seems safe: the better makeup artists and lighting designers are going to find their services in urgent demand.

Best,

Michael

While it isn't quite up in the 6 mega pixel range, Leica's foray into digital camera's has me licking my chops (and of course wishing I had the $1000 it costs).

It's a reportage grade camera, mostly meaning it can take a rapid series of exposures all with a slightly different setting all with one button push. This is nice, as you KNOW you'll get one of them spot on, and of course it takes pictures about as fast as a traditional auto-winder.

Oh and of course it has a hefty Leica body (not flimsy plastic!)

Not meaning to sound like an ad, but yes, the digital stuff is getting quite good!

Posted by: David Mercer on November 4, 2002 2:02 AM

David -- You sound like someone with lots of traditional as well as digital photography experience. How do you find the imagery the two kinds of cameras compares? I love my Nikon 995, for instance, but find the images -- especially facial closeups -- almost cruel. They need some softening in Photoshop to be bearable. Other people tell me similar things. Has this been so for you too?

Thanks for stopping by.

Posted by: Michael on November 7, 2002 9:48 PM






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