Getting High Quality Digital Captures

When seeking the highest quality digital capture file from a professional photographer, be sure to discover if your photographer is using a Better Light scanning back. This scanning equipment mounts to the back of a large format camera. The Better Light scanning back does not work like a single-shot digital camera, rather it gathers the information in a continuous scan. The light it gathers is by three, individual filtered rows of pixels, called a tri-linear CCD. Instead of a single click of the camera, this scanning back travels while capturing one row of pixels at a time. This translates into it taking several minutes to complete one large file. Obviously, this kind of photography is going to be suitable for subjects which do not involve movement, meaning it shoots stills and images with minimal movement. The pixels it gathers will be true RGB colors, and not ones that’s been interpolated by the camera’s software, as in ordinary DSLR’s.  Product stills and art reproduction are the two ways this will service your needs. Here, we use the Better Light scanning back for our product shoots, as well as fine art reproduction service.

The manufacturer of the Better Light describes the benefits as follows:

“Huge file size, pure pixel color, normal 4×5 view camera operation and lenses, adjustable resolution (file size) independent of the ISO range to as high as 3200, plus its award-winning software.” It also boasts that, ” you will not have the moir’e issues and noise problems that most other digital cameras experience.”

The image capture with this scan back camera gives you a native maximum resolution @ 100% as 6000 x 8000 pixels or about 137 MB RGB. When this camera came out over 10 years ago, nothing else even came close to this resolution. Now you can get a Hasselblad that’s comparable, but it costs around $30,000, and the new Nikons and Cannons are approaching this level of resolution as well.

The Better Light also has a panoramic adapter that enables a 365 degree continuous capture or any angle of view below that! You are tethered to a laptop and battery pack to do this, but the images are stunning. And Better Light is correct when stating there is not better solution when shooting for top quality fine art reproduction because it allows for total control over your image’s tonal range and density. This is what we recommend you use or check to see what your professional is using. When in the market for getting high quality digital captures of your product or artwork, give us a call 1-800-829-4562. If you are interested in our commercial photography services, please click below.