Mike, I think there is one aspect where 67 beats digital. That is in cost for amateurs (meaning not making a living from their photography). Until your shooting quantity goes up quite a bit, cost will probably be one of the last strongholds of the film world for awhile.
Not only that, we live in a "good enough" society right now, where price/cost is more important than quality. I believe that for many uses, 6MP D100 and D60 quality is "good enough" and that most won't want to pay much more than that. One more interesting note: I have watched a few photographers shooting digital and talked with a few, who indicate that they shoot more frames per session/subject than they did with film. The usual cited reason is lack of cost to shoot the frames. By shooting more, they insure/improve the likelihood of getting the shots they need. Doesn't seem to be that much different in mindset than taking a video camera and just let it run and then pick the best frame out of it. One starts to wonder if that will occur (whether with a vidcam or digicam). It would certainly change the style and role of the photographer. Bruce Wednesday, January 15, 2003, 3:18:47 PM, you wrote: MJ> Can digital beat 6x7? MJ> I thought the denizens of the PDML might be interested in these comments MJ> from my friend Michael Reichmann, who runs the Luminous Landscape website MJ> and publishes "The Video Journal," a photography magazine on DVD. I have MJ> Michael's permission to quote from his private e-mails: >>>>> MJ> I'm using a Canon 1Ds. The most remarkable photographic product I've MJ> ever owned. Almost large format image quality from 35mm. It's hard not MJ> to sound too enthusiastic about it. MJ> I sold my Pentax 645 outfit when I got the 1Ds. No contest. MJ> I have hung on to the Pentax 67 for the past couple of months, but with MJ> every test I did, including side by side shoots the 1Ds images always MJ> came out on top; resolution, colour purity, grain, everything. MJ> So last week I took it all to my favourite online dealer and he's going MJ> to be selling it for me. MJ> I'm hanging on to my Hasselblad XPan and M Leica gear. Other than that MJ> I'm now all digital. MJ> <<<< MJ> Michael favorably reviewed both the Pentax 645N and 67 on his site, and has MJ> used both extensively in the field along with his previous Rollei 6008 MJ> system. In parallel, he was going digital with the D30 when it came out. MJ> By the way, when Michael says "every test I did, including side by side MJ> shoots," he really means it--he actually runs the tests and looks at the MJ> results. In my experience of him, he truly has no particular axe to grind. MJ> Looks like it's really getting to be a new world now. MJ> --Mike