----- Original Message ----- From: Christian Skofteland Subject: Re: K1000: Why a good student camera?
> How is 35mm format crippling the students? Not trying to start a war, just > asking. Students, by definition, are going to be a bit less adept at the technical side. It is far easier to get good results from a larger negative than a small one. This makes the task of darkroom work, which I also believe every student should learn, a much more pleasant and gratifying experience. Medium format negatives are also large enough to learn how to retouch, which I fear, is becoming a lost art due to computers and cloning tools. Now, you could argue that darkrooms are falling out of favour, and why learn something that they will never use. I felt much that way about calculus when I was learning it, but I believe my brain works beter for having learned it, even though it isn't something I even remember learning. Again, it is not so much teaching them how to develop film as it is about teaching them the process of photography. Learning the limitations of the medium is the best way of learning how to maximize the medium. William Robb