I am going to shoot for book publishing and I use 35mm (Nikon F6) with Velvia film. I was wondering if the 35mm format is enough for such project. Quality in image is what I concern about. I know large format is what I should think of when thinking in image quality but I am not going for big enlargement and I don't want to spend more money and effort on large format system when both 35mm and LF may do the same thing for my purpose.
Please advice.
Thanks,
Posted by Cliff Beittel on January 7, 2008 at 8:59 AM
Almost any book on wildlife has been shot mostly with 35mm film or a DSLR. I bought some copies of Frans Lanting's very large book Life as holiday gifts, and I doubt many people would find the image quality lacking. Books on other subjects, including landscapes, may rely more on medium or large format photography, so it really depends on the subject of your book.
Posted by Jerry Greer on January 7, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Not really the case with landscape either. I'm a book publisher and I gave up my large-format camera for a DSLR due to the fact that you just don't need that kind of resolution for books or calendars. Only making huge prints do you have an advantage with large format. I prefer the files from my EOS 5D over my drum scanned 4x5's due to the overall dynamic range when putting together my books and calendars. I've also put both large-format photos and images from my DSLR in my calendars and it's really hard for even a photographer to see the difference.
Many fine and high quality books have been published that relied upon 35mm film. The quality of the images on the printed page depends on many factors: the skill of the photographer to capture sharp and properly exposed images, the scanning equipment and the skill of the scanner operator, the pre-press work, the quality of the paper, and so forth.
You will need to work closely with the printer so that your artwork is presented at the highest quality possible within the budget allocated for publishing the book.
Discussion
3 repliesI am going to shoot for book publishing and I use 35mm (Nikon F6) with Velvia film. I was wondering if the 35mm format is enough for such project. Quality in image is what I concern about. I know large format is what I should think of when thinking in image quality but I am not going for big enlargement and I don't want to spend more money and effort on large format system when both 35mm and LF may do the same thing for my purpose.
Please advice.
Thanks,
Many fine and high quality books have been published that relied upon 35mm film. The quality of the images on the printed page depends on many factors: the skill of the photographer to capture sharp and properly exposed images, the scanning equipment and the skill of the scanner operator, the pre-press work, the quality of the paper, and so forth.
You will need to work closely with the printer so that your artwork is presented at the highest quality possible within the budget allocated for publishing the book.
Good luch with your project!
-PB