Kodak DCS 14n improved?

I know, it got slaughtered early for noise issues. But, there have been a
few upgrades, and I was wondering if the camera has fixed any of the initial
problems. Can any 14n owners comment? Is it better? Is Kodak working on the
noise issues?

 

From: "Bowser-"

I doubt that either one of them reads this NG.

 

Yes, there have been many improvements, though it's still a bit of a mixed
bag.

See the kodak forums at www.dpreview.com and also www.bythom.com has a
review of one and comments about the newer firmware.

 

I wonder how many of these things have actually sold? The DPReview forums
are busy, and the local Ritz has sold 6 (!) of them, but I wonder?

The lure of full-frame is strong. But not that strong. I'll wait until Kodak
issues the 4.4 firmware upgrade, which is supposed to address noise issues.
I have been watching, and there have been improvements, but for this much
money, I can't live with the limitations imposed by noise at higher ISOs and
longer exposure times.

In the meantime, I'll try not to do anything really, really stupid like
switching to Canon.

 

I know this question may open a can of worms, but I just gotta ask: What
is YOUR beef with Canon digicams, SPECIFICALLY? Thanks.

dave

 

I was ball-breaking. The Canons are wonderful machines, and the comment was
directed at Annika. Which I feel compelled to do since I admire his
ball-breaking ability. He's very good at it, you know.

For the record, I do shoot with a Canon digicam; a G2. It's a nice unit.

 

Thanks! I'm still going to wait. I won't buy a D-SLR that isn't full-frame,
so it limits my choices to a mediocre unit, or one that's just plain
over-priced.

 

I for one have adopted the Kodak DCS 14n as my primary camera for my
studio and location product photography. I also have a Nikon D100, and
I like the results much better with the Kodak. I regularly make 20x30
display prints for my clients for their use in trade shows and they are
very happy with the results.

There is no noise visible in the kind of photography I do.

For a while I was shooting catalog photography with the D100, and prior
to that I was using a Betterlight 4000 scanning back on my 4x5 for
digital. My clients prefer the images from the DCS 14n.

Gene McCluney
McCluney Commercial Photography

 

Hi Bowser,

Sure, we are always working on improving.

From the first firmware release, Kodak has siginificantly improved
performance, quality, noise, etc. Of course, there are still physical
limitations. Best thing to do is to visit your local dealer and make sure
the camera will fit with your intended applications. As to how they are
selling, the mill is grinding away all the time meet the demand.

Talk to you soon.

Ron Baird
Kodak