Rangefinder Magazine
April 2002

Digital Photography: by John Rettie
More 6-Megapixel Cameras and Upgrading Operating Systems

From some aspects the annual PMA show held in Orlando at the end of February was a disappointment. That’s because there was nothing really new unveiled by the photo or digital imaging companies. That’s really a little unfair, after all no less than three new digital camera bodies with six-megapixel chips were announced along with one 16-megapixel camera back and another camera with an all-new image sensor design.

I guess the reason the announcements were not earth shattering is that none of them really move the needle in price or overall sophistication, except for possibly the Sigma camera with a chip designed and built by Foveon. Early rumors had suggested that one or two companies might introduce a whole new line of digital camera bodies with lenses specially designed for digital capture. Other rumors suggested that 35mm-based digital camera bodies might drop substantially in price. Nothing of the sort, although the new introductions are at least going to be the same price, despite the increase in specifications.

We must be getting spoiled as a Canon D60 with a six-megapixel CMOS chip for $2999 and a Nikon D100 with a six-megapixel CCD due later in the summer for maybe a few hundred dollars less is not all bad. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about these new six-megapixel cameras is that they all use mid- to low-range bodies with slower operation and less ruggedness than is available in the high-end cameras such as the D1X and EOS-1D. It seems as though we are still going to have to wait a few more years before we can have speed and high image resolution in the same camera.

Foveon uses a new CMOS sensor with each pixel capturing all three colors for improved image quality.

From a technical point of view the most significant digital camera announced was undoubtedly the Sigma SD9. This camera, which will be available later in the year, features a totally different image sensor developed by Foveon. Foveon has been selling a specialist high-end studio camera for a few years that used Canon lenses and a Macintosh laptop to capture still life images. The quality was extremely high but it was not very practical. Now the company has developed a three-megapixel CMOS chip where each pixel captures red, green and blue light in three layers. Each pixel in a regular sensor can only capture one color so that the camera has to interpret the three colors to produce an image. Foveon claims that its sensor will be much more efficient at capturing detail and avoiding color artifacts that are introduced during the integration of data from each pixel. In effect the three-megapixel Foveon chip should be similar to a regular nine-megapixel sensor. It will be fascinating to see how well this camera performs as there are some people who think this design will revolutionize digital cameras, while others are more skeptical.

This is an image made with the new Foveon chip. Image quality seems startlingly good.

As mentioned briefly last month the Canon D60, which should be shipping by the time you read this, is a direct replacement for the D30. It has almost identical specifications but with a 6.5-megapixel CMOS sensor for twice as many pixels. It should prove to be ideal as a studio/portrait camera but is probably still too slow for many photojournalists and sport photographers.

Nikon will now have a direct competitor to this “mid-range” Canon camera with its upcoming D100. It sports a 6.3-megapixel CCD in a body loosely based on the low-end N80 film camera. Early reports indicate that it might actually be faster in operation than the Canon D60.

It’s interesting that the new Fujifilm S2 Pro is also based on the Nikon N80 body, giving Nikon users a choice of two mid-range cameras. Although the Fuji uses a 6.1-megapixel Super CCD sensor it interpolates the images up to 12 MB for an image size of 4245x2848 pixels. Its predecessor, the Fuji S1 used a 3 megapixel CCD that interpolated up to six megapixels and many owners are more than happy with the results, so it’ll be interesting to see if this camera produces a decent quality 12 megapixel file.

Kodak added another medium format camera back to its lineup with the new Professional DCS ProBack 645C and 645M models. Respectively, they fit on the back of the Contax 645AF and Mamiya 645AF. These 16-megapixel backs do not have to be tethered for operation, making them ideal for field work as well as studio jobs.

Upgrading to Mac OS X (and Windows XP)
It was somewhat surprising that Adobe chose to reveal details on Photoshop 7.0, which will run under the Mac OS X operating system, at PMA. Obviously the company realizes that photographers are one of its most important groups of users. Like so many Apple Mac owners I have resisted upgrading to the OS X operating system until Photoshop could run natively. Of all the programs available on the market Photoshop is the one that will probably cause more people to upgrade than any other. Of course the improvements in the new version of Photoshop may not be that great under Mac OS X, we will have to wait and see. It’s really been more a case of “why upgrade when Photoshop will not run under the new operating system?” In anticipation of the imminent release of Photoshop 7.0, I decided it was time to upgrade to the OS X and see what all the fuss is about.

The timing was also appropriate, as I have been running Windows XP Professional on my PC for the past couple of months so it was a good opportunity to compare the two operating systems. I’ll admit that, even as a Mac fan, Windows XP has favorably impressed me. It is much better than previous versions of Windows, although it has still been crashing all too regularly for no immediately obvious reason. Apart from the modern graphical look of the interface, what I like about it is the easy way in which new peripherals can be added. Even old ones for that matter—I plugged in my four-year old Brother parallel port multi-function laser/fax/copier/printer and it immediately worked, without having to install any drivers. What’s more the printer was also accessible for remote printing from other PCs on the network without requiring any arcane network settings or needing a print server.

The underlying architecture of XP is different from Windows 98 as it based on the much more robust Windows 2000 operating system that is mainly used on network servers and high end computers. Although there were many programs and peripherals that would not run under Windows 2000 initially, most have been upgraded in the past couple of years so that incompatibility is less of a problem for Windows XP than for Mac OS X.

The Mac OS X has an elegant look to it as demonstrated by Graphic Converter and an open file folder	Painter 7 was one of the first graphics programs to run natively under OS X. Model is Ventura-based Amanda Henry.

Compared to Microsoft, Apple has taken a much bolder stride with OS X as it is a totally different operating system from any previous Mac OS. It is in fact based on UNIX, which is the de facto standard on network servers and the like. Unix is a solid industrial-strength operating system that is well respected by IT professionals. Because OS X is an entirely new operating system, old programs cannot run under the new OS without being re-written. Needless to say this is quite a task that will take several years to accomplish.

In order to get around this quandary Apple has made it relatively easy for Macs to run both OS X and the latest edition (version 9.1 or 9.2) of the original Mac Classic OS simultaneously. In this way older programs can continue to be run alongside the newer versions of other programs.

All new Macs come with both operating systems pre-loaded and it is only since the beginning of the year that OS X has been the primary operating system that boots up first on a new computer. If you purchase Mac OS X it includes a full version of Mac OS 9.2 in the box.

Both operating systems can reside on the same hard disk, but I decided it was wisest to load OS X on a separate disk. I therefore took the opportunity to add an 80GB Seagate Barracuda hard disk as my second drive. The price of hard drives has dropped so much that it was a no-brainer at a cost of $90 after a $50 rebate. I now have my Mac set up so that both OS X and OS 9.2 load up every time I turn my Mac on. It obviously takes longer to boot up but once done it’s fairly transparent to have both systems running at the same time. It’s a little confusing at times as there are many differences between the two systems.

Unlike Windows XP I had to install new drivers for the Epson Photo Stylus 1280, as it was not done automatically. So far the only three programs that I have running natively under OS X are Internet Explorer, Graphic Converter and Painter 7, so it is a little difficult to really judge how much better OS X behaves. One frustrating thing that does not operate correctly is the scroll wheel on my optical Intellimouse, as it no longer works on programs running in OS 9.2. It works fine in OS X, however.

What really surprised me is how the Mac has adopted some good features from Windows. For example when a window is minimized it drops down into the “dock” at the bottom of the screen which is similar to the way it works in Windows. The dock is fascinating as it expands as more programs are opened and icons are magnified as one runs the mouse over them. It seems gimmicky at first but after a while it proves to be a good way of keeping track of files and programs. Another minor feature borrowed from Windows is that it’s now possible to have the scrolling arrows at the top and bottom of a window instead of both being at the bottom, which is less logical.

After using OS X for a couple of days I must admit that I like it’s appearance far better than Windows XP. It is much more elegant and the way the graphics appear and disappear is much better. I am not yet convinced on the improved functionality but if we listen to technical gurus it’s apparent that the underlying structure of OS X is potentially better in the long run as well. Now if Apple can get more companies to produce upgraded programs and drivers that will work under OS X the future looks good for the Mac platform.

My advice is that it’s now a good time to upgrade your Mac to OS X and learn to live with the future. Incidentally, Windows XP is also a well worthwhile upgrade for PC users.

Quick Book Review
Most programs nowadays seem to skimp on manuals and training guides. This is great for authors and book publishers as it creates a large market for how-to books. Operating systems are no different and there are several books in the stores that can help one get running in OS X and Windows XP.

Visual Quickstart Guide Mac OS X by Maria Langer, (published by Peachpit Press) is a 247-page paperback that sells for only $18.99. It has a straightforward layout with pictures of the relevant computer screens placed side by side with the text throughout the book. It is aimed at first time users of the Mac as well as those with some experience who want to know how to get the most from many of the new features in OS X.

Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional, published by Que, is a big 1200 page book that delves more deeply into the XP operating system. For example, it offers a lot of advice on setting up a network, upgrading a computer and other items that are not necessarily specific to Windows XP. The book costs $49.99 but it does include a CD-ROM with a 45-minute video on it.

John Rettie is a photojournalist who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been using a camera as a professional for 32 years, a computer for 22 years, and has combined his knowledge of both for the past nine years. Readers can contact him by e-mail at john@johnrettie.com or by snail-mail c/o Rangefinder.