This T2 Shooter’s Guide is intended for the advanced photographer. The T2 manual covers the basics, how the interface works and how to make a basic image. This guide is more about how to make images crafted for the press. Many T2 shooters will make an image designed for the pre-press professional, who will get your image ready for the press. Some of you will shoot a T2 in a corporate setting, where files are optimized for the final target by others. This guide is written for the photographer, and suggests how he can use the T2 to craft images for the press.

Throughout this guide you will find comments designed to increase your level of competence, your awareness of professionalism, and hopefully, your understanding the reason why our camera and software work the way they do. You’ll also be asked questions designed to provoke a considered thought process from you about how you approach photography.

What are professional digital cameras all about? They are more than making a file that you can print. They're all about letting you get all the important reflectances on the straight line of the characteristic curve. What does that mean? It means making a professional looking photograph with all the nuances intact. Does that mean underexposing the scene and dragging the picture to merely OK status, by using a curve command in Photoshop? About as much as missing a film exposure or development and having the lab fix your mistake. Professional digital cameras, like professional film cameras need professional photographers to make them sing.

This guide is the result of the observations and experience of over 20 years of photography at a professional level. It includes digital photography and production pre-press experience dating back to 1992. It also includes teaching the T2 camera and software since 1995.

This guide is by no means the only way to shoot a T2. This guide is here for your consideration; adopt of it what you will. Test each and every concept presented herein. If something does not work out, if you don’t understand something, question us directly, by e-mail or by phone. Do not assume the concepts presented will work without customization by you, in your working environment. Test them. When you can re-create the result you want, place the technique into the production workflow. Evaluate the goodness of your implementation on a regular basis; modify it or cease its use when appropriate.

If you have questions that are not covered in this guide please let us know, perhaps the answers to your questions will be able to contribute to the completeness of this guide. As new technologies like ICC and ColorSync profiles become more commonplace, we will include them in this guide.

The computer platform you’re using is important. MegaVision’s tech support staff has some members who specialize in Mac and others who specialize in Windows based PCs. You’ll want to give us a call to introduce yourself and let us know which platform you’re on. We’ll be able to let you know who’s close to the time zone you’re in and who specializes in the platform you’re shooting on. This would be a good time to let us know what you’re shooting and what goals you have in your digital capture future. Let us know what kind of 4X5 you shoot and what kind of strobes you use. We keep a database on you and your operation, which helps us to handle your questions efficiently.

Descriptions of navigation through the software are indicated with “>” characters. These characters define menu selections through sub menus to the selected feature we’re describing. Typically, the instruction set starts at the menu bar atop the interface and progresses down through one of the menu bar options to a feature or a submenu containing features. For example; Setup>Preferences>Gamma. This progression is very much like the back slash function of DOS. Since we’re not command line computing, we’re using a different character, but it means the same thing. Whenever Photoshop commands are used in this guide you’ll need to substitute Control for Command if you’re on a PC.