FLAAR initiates evaluation of the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 for fine art digital photography

This summer the staff of FLAAR and Bowling Green State University will be testing the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 in the art department next door to us, evaluating the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 in our own facilities, and continuing our review of the Epson Stylus Pro 9800 at Fine Art Impressions, an elite commercial giclee atelier in Charlotte , NC .

We have experience with the Epson 7500, Epson 7600, Epson 5500, and several earlier Epson printers from the late 1990’s (such as the Epson 1520 which we try to forget). We have noticed that Epson printers get better every generation, and hence with each new model their actual performance comes closer to the claims in the advertisements.

The issue that is most commonly reported by others is deliberately excessive ink usage, so we will check this, and will go over all the product specifications and see which are advertising claims are acceptable.

FLAAR is a research institute dedicated to fine art photography, so we have plenty of experience with quality. The Center for Applied Technology at BGSU prints giclee for artists throughout Ohio as well as scanning paintings for artists elsewhere in the US, since FLAAR is one of the few places at a university that has a Cruse scanner for giclee.

Nicholas recently acquired a Canon EOS 5D, so that is another source of test images. Naturally we would tend to test a Canon-produced digital photo on a Canon imagePROGRAF iPF 5000 , iPF 6000, iPF 8000 or Canon iPF 9000 printer, but since we have only HP, Mimaki, and Epson printers, these are the ones we will focus on.

Other printers of interest to digital photographers and giclee artists would be HP 8750 and the HP B9180.

Plus, since Sept 26 th, two new fine art photography printers have been introduced simultaneously at SGIA trade show in the US and at Photokina in Germany . These are the HP DesignJet Z2100 and Z3100. We will discuss their impressive features as soon as they are officially presented.

First posted May 12, 2006

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Medium Format Digital Camera Initiative For over 30 years Nicholas Hellmuth has used Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras to record the flora, fauna, and Maya archaeology of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Now, for the last six years, he is extending his medium format experience to digital photography. Since FLAAR works both in a studio as well as out on location, we are an ideal focus for judging portability. We have experience with large format digital scan backs (the excellent BetterLight) and we also use Nikon (D300) and Canon (EOS 5D) digital cameras. A full-service digital pro should have at least one medium format digital system and should consider large format digital options as well. FLAAR also has an 80-megapixel large format camera (yes, they do exist, we have a Cruse). Although we started with a Leaf Valeo 22 coupled with a Mamiya 645 AFD body and lenses, we are open to showcasing all bodies as well as other digital backs. Indeed we tested an Imacon 4-shot back on a Hasselblad H1 body. For a month (February 2006) it was possible to evaluate a MegaVision black-and-white dedicated back for fine art photography. We are also considering the Rolleiflex 6008 AF, one of the outstanding medium format cameras that still offers European precision. However in the last 40 years we have not received any Rollei (or Franke & Heidecke) equipment for evaluation, so we can comment only on the Hasselblad and Mamiya (loaned briefly two years ago by Mamiya America). Camera resellers or manufacturers who wish to have their cameras, lenses, and backs included in the digital photography evaluation initiative are welcome to send their equipment for evaluation. Curently all the medium format backs are coming from Global Imaging Inc, Greg Lamb, CEO (contact 800 787-9802, press 4, fax 212 722-0988). This is one of the few camera stores in the entire US or Canada that offers ALL major brands of medium format (so they have no incentive to push one brand over the other). However we are also open to receiving medium format backs directly from the manufacturer. Over 381,154 visitors came to this www.digital-photography.org web site to learn which cameras, lighting, tripods, and accessories have proven themselves during evaluation by FLAAR. Since we deliberately do not review low-end cameras, our reviews attract a sophisticated audience. The total "visit" count is 791.562 during 2007, but we prefer to use the visitor count, 381.154 as being more realistic. FLAAR is the de facto source of information on medium format digital cameras because we are university based, independent, blunt, and we are one of the few review sources that dares to review advertising specs, advertising claims, and advertising hype. We can afford to reveal all the pros and cons because FLAAR is a research institute. Photographers feel they can trust a university research professor who has devoted years to understanding the pros and cons of each aspect of a digital camera system and workflow. You can download our colorful FLAAR Reports on our medium format digital camera initiative.