Digital cameras, digital photography for landscape and nature photography, flower photography, travel photography, architectural photography, and fine art photography of diverse subjects are the subjects of this website on professional and pro-sumer digital photography for 2009.

We welcome readers who are intermediate level, entry-level, and professionals. FLAAR Reports are popular among students around the world who are studying photography and Nicholas Hellmuth has often been asked by photography professors to come lecture to their classes including at universities in Slovenia, Croatia, North Carolina, and Guatemala. Dr Hellmuth has also lectured on digital photography in Greece, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, Dubai, and Korea.

If you have, or wish to learn about, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax digital 35mm SLR camera, Hasselblad, Contex, Rollei medium format, or Arca-Swiss 4x5, Cambo, Sinar and Linhof 4x5 digital camera equipment you will find plenty on this digital photography site during 2009 to assist improving your own personal equipment and capabilities.

FLAAR is proud to be the only photography institute in the world (that we are aware of) to have all five classes of digital camera: 80 megapixel Cruse (for Giclee), 48 megapixel Betterlight (for giclee and many uses), medium format digital (currently a 22 megapixel Phase One P 25+), plus good 35mm digital SLRs (12 megapixel Canon EOS 5D and Nikon D300), and point-and-shoot (we have several)

This insures our readers that we have personal experience in the complete range of digital photography cameras, from diverse manufacturers. We hope you enjoy your visit to FLAAR and our digital imaging technology reports during 2009.

Professor Hellmuth is not paid by any camera manufacturer nor do we get kick-backs from camera stores. Yes, naturally we have sponsors, they provide project funding and equipment, but we do not ask for, nor do we accept, sales commissions. FLAAR is the only independent digital camera review resource that does not feed our readers PR releases from the camera manufacturers either.

Instead we point out the fallacies, mis-information, and exaggerations, in these PR releases. We also do research before we write our reviews, as you would expect of an applied-science institute. Plus we are photographers ourselves. All this is how we distinguish ourselves from slick pseudo-reviews that smoother us all with endless hype on the Internet.

This FLAAR website is unique in its capability and experience with the high-end of digital photography including 48-megapixel BetterLight digital cameras. FLAAR is the only testing and evaluation institute in the world that has both a BetterLight and an 80-megapixel Cruse camera.

You benefit from the fact that Nicholas Hellmuth is one of the few photographers that writes independent reviews that has personal experience with all levels of digital cameras: point-and-shoot, 35mm SLR, medium format, and large format.

FLAAR evaluations are based on two rules:

Is this a camera we would want to utilize in our own studio? Is this a camera, lighting, or accessory that we can honestly recommend to a photography colleague?

FLAAR in general and photographer Nicholas Hellmuth in particular have preferred 4x5 inch (9x12 cm) large format and 645, 6x6 cm (2¼x 2¼ inch) medium format for decades. The Sinar Hy6 and Leaf AFi usher in a new era of options (since Contax is deceased and Pentax is not strong enough to produce a full medium format digital system). We attend Photokina every two years since 1998 and will be there again during Photokina 2010.

News for 2009

This year we will continue looking to see whether the Rollei/Sinar Hy6/Leaf Afi is a better alternative to the closed-system Hasselblad H3 closed-system. With Mamiya weakened after Photokina 2006 by the problems with its Z-series, with Pentax stagnated with its medium format offering, and with Contax and other medium format already deceased, it is nice to see Rollei surviving (even under a different corporate name, Franke & Heidecke). Fortunately Mamiya seems to be improving dramatically now that Phase One is allied with it.

I enjoyed my experience with the Canon EOS 5D, but it had too many issues with poor color balance and complete inability to handle lights and darks in the same image adequately. So I got rid of it and switched back to Nikon. I still have my trusty Nikon D100 but I went for the Nikon D200 as my personal camera for year 2007. I obviously did not throw the Canon away, because I do like the special 65mm MP-E macro lens, but I stationed all the Canon camera equipment at our office in Guatemala.

I tried the Canon EOS 1D Mark III: it had so many focusing flaws that I dropped it and am buying a Nikon D300 for 2008. If the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III can resolve its problems, we will consider it, but in the meantime we are finding that true medium format quality simply can’t be beat. So our primary camera is a Phase One P25+ and a BetterLight (especially for architecture).

The other problem is that Nikon zoom lenses made in Thailand are junk; they fall apart within a few months. I do not understand how Nikon can feel it worthwhile to have such cheap lousy lenses carrying their Nikon name. I have made the mistake to buy two different Nikon zoom lenses, and each one broke down within a few months. Nikon Japan should be ashamed of such bad products.

For 2009 we continue to work on giclee and also on UV-cured flatbed printers, the latter on our www.large-format-printers.org. A new focus from 2008, and continuing in 2009, is wide-format inkjet printing on silk, cotton and other textiles.

PMA 2008 trade show has evolved into a consumer electronics show, and we skipped PMA in order to concentrate on Photokina ’08 and Photo Plus ‘08 (and FESPA Digital ’08, SGIA ’08, ISA ’08 and two weeks of DRUPA ’08).

In the Nikon booth people smiled when I asked why the last two Nikon lenses that I bought fell apart within a few weeks: the Nikon people simply said: “If you buy one of our cheap lenses do not be surprised.”  Not one Nikon person was surprised that the lenses fell apart. What they were surprised at was that I expected their lenses to actually function after the first two months of use.

In the Sigma booth at PMA 2009 everyone was courteous, helpful, and ready to sit down and discuss digital camera technology (especially how easy it was to do digital infrared photography with their Sigma SD14 camera).

If you wish to meet Dr Hellmuth in person, you can usually catch him on the last days of ArtExpo (giclee) exhibits in New York every late winter.

FLAAR continues to evaluate medium format digital camera backs

FLAAR has one of the more popular medium format initiatives, so our www.digital-photography.org is a deciding factor in medium format digital cameras. What medium format digital camera will we decide to feature this year?

Our first medium format digital camera evaluation summer 2006 was the  Phase One P 30. This was provided by Global Imaging Inc, a unique resource for medium format digital camera backs because they have over 25 models in stock from all four leading manufacturers: Phase One, Leaf, Imacon-Hasselblad, and Sinar-Jenoptik. We then evaluated the Phase One P 25, the P 45, and took the P 20 to Photokina 06.

Two years ago Nicholas experimented with the  MegaVision E-4. This is a B&W-only dedicated digital back for Hasselblad. Yes, black-and-white only. This means there is no Bayer Pattern RGB filter, there is no moiré pattern filter. The result is a cleaner RAW capture with full-focus quality that you simply can't get with any other digital technology.

FLAAR Reports on B&W digital fine art photography are now available as a free automatic download.

Fine art digital photography & giclee, especially black-and-white digital

FLAAR always covers giclee, decor, and fine art photography. FLAAR is one of the only giclee ateliers in the world that has both a  BetterLight system and also a Cruse reprographic scanner for digitizing paintings. Our  www.FineArtGicleePrinters.org is read by over a quarter of a million artists and fine art photographers every year. For 2009 we will test medium format cameras for digitizing paintings for giclee. We will also continue writing about black and white digital photography.

What is happening with digital photography at FLAAR during 2008-2009?

The demand for personalized print communication is the driving force behind one-to-one marketing. This in turn is fueling growth in sales of variable data short run digital presses such as the Kodak NexPress, HP Indigo, Xeikon 5000, and Xerox iGen3 and now Xerox iGen4. What is not commonly understood is that digital photography and photos that speak directly to the customer is a critical part of one-to-one print communication. To better support the industry, FLAAR has initiated a new site, www.variable-data-digital-press.org. We will be developing reviews and reports on printers, workflows, software, archival printing, as well as 1-1 marketing that will be available for download to help you succeed in the digital imaging industry.

Dr Hellmuth has already been invited several years ago by Xerox to bring a team from FLAAR to inspect the iGen3 at Xerox headquarters in Rochester. During 2008 Nicholas inspected the HP Indigo factory in Israel and then also inspected the HP Indigo factory for their electric ink.

Additional evaluations of digital imaging products during 2009

• Sometimes simple things such as backdrop paper are overlooked. So we evaluate background paper from Savage Universal Corporation, Superior Specialities, Westcott, and others. Later we will cover muslin backdrops.
• Using reflectors is one way to distinguish serious photography from when you are just getting started. I did not even know reflectors existed when I was beginning photography (I never studied photography in school; I learned the hard way, through trial and error).
• FLAAR and Nicholas Hellmuth are now beginning to do digital photographic “printing” with CO/2 laser engravers. Already in recent years we began to print full 3D (yes, with HP printheads, printing objects 9-inchs thick. Not printing on objects, but creating the objects themselves. See our 3D page on our other website.

Our strength is evaluating wide-format printers, which we do on our related sites, www.wide-format-printers.org (water-based inks) and www.large-format-printers.org (solvent and UV-cured inks).

Most recently updated January 7, 2009.

We tend to update individual pages within the site; these frequent updates are not listed here on the Home Page. The updates listed below are only those for the home page itself.

Previously updated: Feb. 4, 2008, March 1 2007, June 22 2006, May 6 2006, April 28 2006, Feb 25 2006, August 2 2005, April 25 2005, Feb, 9 2005, Jan 28 2005, Extensively updated May 27 2004, after 10 days at DRUPA trade show in Germany. Previously updated March 8 2004, Feb 18 2004 , Feb 9 2004, Jan 29 2004, May 14 2003, Jan 20 2003, Oct. 26 2002, July 10 2002, June 17 2002, May 20 2002, September 20 2004, March 23 2005, updated repeatedly during April 2005, Updated May 24, 2005, September 16 2005.