capture system. This can be upgradeable with downloads from Kodak’s website, www.kodak.com.

There are only three menus that drive the DCS 760, making it quick to learn and easy to use. There is also an optional choice to display an image on an NTSC or PAL television monitor. The manual supplied as a PDF file on a separate CD-ROM deals more with the operation of the Nikon F5 body in all of its modes than it does with the operation of the digital systems.

One of the best features of this camera is in the image file itself. None of the captured data is permanently affected by any of the menu choices. So, if a photographer is shooting indoors with a tungsten color temperature setting in the white balance menu and then works outside in daylight without changing it, the setting can be reset in the Photo Desk software at a later time without altering any of the original data. Kodak accomplishes this by altering the header data in each file, not the pixels. The only setting that seems to alter the captured data is the ISO (80-400), which is set on the camera the same way it is in the film version of the Nikon F5.

Software

The not-so-great news is that Photo Desk, the software developed for working with the Kodak Professional DCS 760 files, is not designed for professional needs. It has no documentation, save the help file that’s accessed by clicking the question mark icons on each screen. Though it’s somewhat intuitive, this and any professional package needs some form of user guide beyond the built-in help menu for using it.

Photo Desk works on either the Macintosh or Windows platform. And for a first version effort, isn’t

Maasai warriors from several manyattas gather on a plateau to dance the ipid, jumping high to demonstrate their vigor. Young women watch to see which warrior jumps the highest, signifying his strength and attractiveness. Handheld, 1⁄200 second at f/4, ISO 400 (Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 D AF-S lens).

PEI • NOVEMBER 2001 • 45