File size does matter!

Recently, Gerry and I had the opportunity to test Hasselblad's newer 39 megapixel medium format digital camera, the H3DII. This amazing piece of technology is every photographer's dream.

We used it to shoot our studio cat, Ziggy, reaching up from head to toe. Although we captured his entire body, the capability of this large chip allowed us to zoom in close on his face and retain all the detail in the whiskers, nose and eyes.

Using a another camera with a lower resolution would never have resulted in our ability to crop the image so tight and retain such a great close-up photograph. The $30,000 price tag is well worth the investment if you have the money to spend. Because the chip is so big, the photographer can shoot looser and crop tighter as needed. This exercise fails with a 12 or 16 megapixel camera. Hasselblad has successfully designed a digital camera that mimics the old fashioned quality of film.

The pistol grip and ergonomically designed body, allow fast movement throughout the studio and on location. Having a specialty in photographing children and animals, we appreciate the speed of this well thought out camera and are saving our dollars to purchase it in the near future.

However, within a blink of an eye, Hasselblad just introduced a newer and better version than the camera we tested. It features a 50 megapixel image - inconceivable - we'll have to try it out.

The technological improvements made over the past few years are monumental which makes it imperative that commercial photographers keep up with the trends and deliver assignments using the state-of-the art equipment. All the camera companies are trying to out size each other and the choices for the pro are really fabulous now. Does size matter? You bet it does.

For more information on our test, please buy this September's Shutterbug Magazine and read our findings. And then check out the other article about Bohm-Marrazzo in the same issue.