DIGITAL DIRECTIONS

The Canon-EOSDCS 5 Digital Camera

Shot as an original.

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Sue and Jack Drafahl

Shot as an original.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHYhas been a source ofcontroversy ever since it

hit the marketplace. Film was thebasis of early photography andmany wonder whether it is slowlybecoming a dinosaur. We feel thatfilm is here to stay for the timebeing, but so is digital photography.

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • DECEMBER 1995

Color Print copied on the copy stand. Transparency on the duper.

B& W neg on the duper. Conversions from B&Wneg. B& W Print copied on the copy stand.

The EOS Digital System.

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • DECEMBER 1995 23

When we put together an article on aspecific product for Photo Lab Manage-ment magazine, we use and abuse it inour photo lab, and if it doesn't work inpractical applications, we don't talk aboutit. Recently Kodak and Canon worked incooperation to develop the EOS-DCS 5digital camera, based on Canon's EOS-INcamera. It worked very well in our lab, sowe are going to tell you how and why itcan help your lab reach a new level ofsophistication.

Before we get into specifics about theDCS 5, we need to give you some basicsabout digital cameras. As we see it, thereare three groups of digital cameras de-termined by pixel resolution. The firstgroup is what we call screen resolution orlow resolution digital cameras. Theresolution of this camera ranges from320x200 to 600x800 pixels and is general-ly used for databases, screen ID photos,and applications where the images areonly used on the computer screen.

The medium resolution digital camerahas a pixel resolution on the x and y axisbetween 1,000 and 2,000 pixels. Thepotential applications for this camera inthe photo lab are limitless and it is thecenter of our attention for this article.

The high resolution digital camera hasresolutions above 2,000 pixels on both thex and y axis. This camera can be used foralmost any application that film can beused for, assuming the format is compara-ble to the film size, i.e., 35mm film vs. 35digital or 2 X film vs. 2 X digital.

The DCS 5 builds on previous versionsof Kodak's DCS camera line based on theNikon camera system. Customers wereasking for digital capability on other plat-forms, so Kodak teamed up with Canon.The DCS 5 offers many functions of theCanon EOS-IN and is compatible with allCanon EF lenses and EOS accessories.

Looking at the technical aspects of theDCS 5, we find a resolution of 1,524 x1,012 pixels with a total resolution of 1.5million pixels. The camera captures 12 bitsper color (36-bit color), which provides goodrange in the shadows and highlights. TheISO rating ranges from 100- 400 in colorand 200-800 in black and white.

Image storage is with PCMCIA-ATAremovable flashcards or a compatiblehard disk up to 260 megabytes. Eachimage takes up about 1.7 megabytes ofspace, so the flashcard or hard disk sizewill determine how many exposures canbe taken before they must be downloadedand/or deleted. A built-in microphoneallows the photographers to record impor-tant information about each shot, such asclient name or how the image was made.

By holding down the shutter button,

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you can fire off a 10-image burst in justmore than four seconds. The followingimages require three seconds per frame.The camera links to a Macintosh or PCvia a SCSI cable. The camera comes inthree models: EOS-DCS 5c (color), EOS-DCS 5m (black and white), and EOS-DCS5ir (infrared).

We started taking pictures with the DCS5 the second we removed the camera fromthe box and attached a lens. In less thanfive minutes, we were reviewing the photoswe had just taken. To set it up on yourcomputer, you need to know what SCSIaddress number is available for communi-cation. On the MAC you can directly pluginto a SCSI port, but on the PC you mustinstall a SCSI board. Install the softwareaccording to the instructions and you areready to become a digital photographer.

On the MAC side you will need 32-bitQuickdraw software and Adobe Photoshop2.5 or higher. The PC computer will run onany TWAIN-compliant application soft-ware. Software allows either direct shoot-ing while the camera is connected to thecomputer, or downloading of the imagesfrom the flashcard or hard disk.

When the first digital cameras came out,one complaint was that the actual imagewas much smaller than the viewfinder.The normal lens ended up being a telepho-to, and wide-angle lenses became normallenses. The DCS 5 has a similar viewfinderexcept that the actual image area ismarked with a box. Areas outside the digi-tal image area are still visible in theviewfinder.

You may not think this is important,but once you mount the EOS-DCS 5 cam-era on a copy stand or the slide duper, youwill see the difference. You can now seethe exact edge of the photo in reference tothe cropped shooting area. What once wasconsidered a negative feature has nowbeen turned into a positive one.

The EOS-DCS 5 was designed for pho-tographers who require quick turnaroundand high quality. The portrait photogra-pher can capture the wedding, school por-traits and events in rapid succession.Those photographers catering to the cata-logs and newsletters find the EOS-DCS 5their lightning-speed solution. This digitalcamera is the answer to medical, scientificand even law enforcement applications.

We took the EOS-DCS 5 and put itthrough the paces in our photo lab. Wefound it could do just about everything—only it was faster. First we compared it toboth our flatbed and film scanners. Thebiggest drawback to scanners is the timeit takes to adjust the exposure and color,crop, and make the pre-exposure andfinal scan. Much of this preparation takes

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • DECEMBER 1995

a couple of minutes even at low resolu-tions. With the DCS 5, we mounted thecamera on a copy stand, focused, croppedand shot. We could make several expo-sures in seconds compared with the min-utes required for a flatbed scan.

With the DCS 5 mounted on the slideduplicator, we were able to shoot as fast aswe could load the images. The only prob-lem we found was that the EOS-DCS 5was sensitive to color balance, and morecare had to be taken with color balance.Once we did have the balance, we coulddigitize 5-10 images in the same time itwould take to normally scan one image.

Some of our clients have us incorporatex-rays in their medical lecture slides. Wenormally would put the X-rays on ourscanner and then insert them into thestandard lecture format. Sometimes theX-rays were bigger than our scanner, sowe had to shoot a negative and then scanit. With the DCS 5 we photographed theX-ray directly and dropped it into theslide format in one easy step.

One area where the DCS 5 was a realworkhorse was in preparing a digitaldatabase. The image resolution necessaryfor a database is usually less than theDCS 5, but it takes longer to scan imagesinto the system. When databasing oldblack and white prints, merely set thecamera on the copy stand and startshooting. If you are databasing slides,mount the camera on the slide duper andstart shooting.

When dealing with stock photographyand you need a way to microfiche images,merely lay a page of slides down on atransparency copy stand and start shoot-ing one page per frame. If you record onepage every five seconds, you could mi-crofiche more than 200 photos perminute. There are dozens of other data-base application, and you will find moreuses once you start using the DCS 5.

So far all we have discussed are the posi-tive aspects of the EOS-DCS 5. So, let'stalk about the one point everyone tries toavoid—the price. At publication the sug-gested list price of the DCS 5 was $11,995.Now that may seem like a lot, but if youremember the time that the DCS 5 savesby skipping the film process completely,you'll find it a good investment. Of themany products we have reviewed, this isone that we did not want to give back. Wehave already added it to our list of equip-ment to buy. How about you?

Jack and Sue Drafahl own and operate a customlab in Portland, OR. They are also professionalphotographers, specializing in underwater pho-tography.

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • DECEMBER 1995

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