Kodak DCS Pro Back Plus Reviews

dragra

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
11-20 years

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
4 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:this is the first digital back able to operate completely untethered - just the same as a normal filmcassette. media storage, (flipable) preview screen and power supply is onboard. untethered operatio is straight forward, fast & simple. capturing can be done also over a firewire directly to a external computer harddisk. after checking captured images I have noticed blackouts every time after a longer break. the first image has almost no color and it can be trashed. this has probably something to do with the power management, internal software, storage media management or all those three. this occurs only when you use internal media storage. working untethered on long shootings results in increased image noise. the results are not consistent at all. (you have to adjust a lot later, which means lot of work!) the reason is probably the increased temperature inside of the back during long operation. the image noise is much lower (but still noticeable) when used with a computer (capturing directly to external hardisk) looks like kodak is discontinuing all their digital backs (at the beginning of march 2004) why so?

Strengths:untethered operation, solid metal body, flipable screen

Weaknesses:blackouts after standby operation, increased image noise in extended operation (noise is higher when working untethered) fuzzy and not satisfactory software

Similar Products Used:Sinarback 43 & 54, PhaseOne H20

Customer Service:not so good as sinar, but better than phase one (in Vienna/Austria)

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
0-1 years

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
9 votes

Price Paid:  $14795.00 from www.MDISI.com

Summary:The Kodak Pro Back Plus is a very fine product. I shoot both off computer and via FireWire with a Mac G4 or Windows 2000 Computer. Kodak's Camera Control and Photo Desk are excellent with Adobe Photoshop v7. We use the TrueWide Sliding Back Cameras, Horseman DigiFlex II and Hasselblad 555ELD.

Strengths:10 GB of Internal Storage via 2 Toshiba 5 GB PCMCIA Cards, Flawless, dependable with all systems mentioned above.

Weaknesses:We like the Kodak Pro DCS Digital Cameras and have yet to find a problem. I did wait for the Firmware improvements and am pleased.

Similar Products Used:Nikon D1, Kodak DCS 660, Kodak DCS 760M and Kodak DCS 720x. All are powered by DigitalCameraBattery Power Suppplies.

Customer Service:I have had zero (0) customer service issues. Our dealer provides strong support and instruction. They are in the Kodak Developer Group and set up our computers for correct color and performance.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
2-5 years

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5,
12 votes

Price Paid:  $14795.00 from ISI

Summary:Kodak DCS Pro Back Plus is a versatile and dependable imaging tool. Improved Firmware with "long exposure processing" excludes dark current noise. Imaging System Configuration should optimized to achieve full performance envelope.

Strengths:Solid, Mature, Dependable, Useful for all skill levels.

Weaknesses:Would like Kodak to upgrade from KAF-16801CE to KAF-16801CE CCD (for obvious reasons)

Similar Products Used:Kodak DCS 760M, Kodak DCS 760, Kodak DCS 720X, BetterLight Super 8K-2, TrueWide Sliding Back Camera, Horseman DigiFlex II, Sinar p2 (Digital), etc.

Customer Service:Kodak Professional DCS Customer Service has, in my experience, always provided knowledgeable and professional service (on-time). I can not say this about many companies.