Four 8ft prints by professional photographer David Osborn of Britishpanoramics.com, taken with the 160 megapixel Seitz 6x17, are about to be shown for the first time. ‘There isn’t another camera anywhere in the world that takes larger digital pictures than the 160 mega pixel Seitz, and the files produce incredible results,’ says Osborn. You can judge Osborn’s prints for yourselves on the Innova Art stand at Focus on Imaging at the NEC from 22-25 February.

Innova Art Press Release

Bringing to Photography what IMAX brings to cinema.

Innova Art exclusive: the world’s first exhibition of 1:1, 8ft prints from a Seitz 6x17cm digital camera.

Innova Art unveils four astounding 8ft prints by professional photographer David Osborn of Britishpanoramics.com on its stand at this year’s Focus on Imaging show at the NEC in February. Taken with one of the industry’s most talked-about new products: Seitz’s acclaimed 6x17cm digital panorama camera, the display is a UK and world first: The inaugural public exhibition of Seitz panoramic prints by a professional photographer.

‘There isn’t another camera anywhere in the world that takes larger digital pictures than the 160 mega pixel Seitz, and the files produce incredible results,’ says Osborn. ‘In terms of scale, image definition and sheer drama, this camera brings to photography what the IMAX brings to cinema.’

Osborn was able to put Seitz’s latest through its paces after being offered a free roadtest by specialist supplier, Teamwork Digital, in London. His prints, which include images of the British Library next to Euston station, and Forty Hall near his home in Enfield, have all the detail, sharpness and tonal subtleties you would expect of any modern digital photographic print. The big difference is their sheer scale: here, size does matter. Osborn’s prints are a remarkable 44x96 inches (and bigger is possible); they offer the viewer what Osborn regards as a near visionary experience, entirely new to photography.

‘Of course photographers have been able to print big for years but there has always been a corresponding fall-off in quality,’ he says. ‘Here, you can see every little detail – the scrape of mortar around every brick of these buildings. Prints like this create an entirely different reality, so life-like you feel as if you are looking through a window on to the subject.’

‘As a specialist in panoramic photography, my dream has always been to create prints that entirely fill the viewer’s field of vision, to remove the obstacle of the photograph itself from the viewer’s mind and create a picture that is so sharp and intense you feel you could be stepping into it.’

Osborn firmly believes that the Seitz is the perfect tool for the job, but it has to be paired up with both a printer and substrate of equal quality for a brilliant concept to be made a reality, he adds. ‘I use an Epson printer and Innova Art’s award-winning range of digital media because I want to put together a world-beating camera with world-beating printing and paper technology,’ he explains.

He chooses Innova Art’s smooth cotton photo papers because they combine the distinctive feel, texture and tone of traditional fine art papers and the sharp detail, tonal gradations and wide gamut of a premium photographic substrate. ‘The watercolour paper works well with the pastel tones of the British Library print’, says Osborn, ‘whereas for more vibrant colours such as in my Canary Wharf image I chose FibaPrint Gloss – I often find the image will dictate the paper choice.’ Innova’s award-winning FibaPrint range incorporates the company’s unique ‘crystal layer’ technology. The barrier layer this creates between the fibre base of the paper and the microporous glossy coating guarantees market-leading detail, tonal range and d-max ratings of up to 2.7. The fact that Innova Art papers are both acid and lignin-free means his prints are built to last. Scrupulous quality control means that users need have no fear that large-scale images, costly in terms of time and ink to print, will be spoiled by dust or other flaws. ‘If I could sit down and design a choice of papers these would be it,’ Osborn says simply. 

The Seitz camera itself is very easy to use and also has some amazing, unique features. It uses a traditional large-format camera lens and the aperture is also set manually but all other controls, including taking the picture itself, are set via Seitz software on a laptop connected to the camera by a cable. ‘You operate the camera by a touch-screen from the laptop, which couldn’t be easier. You also see a much bigger image on your laptop screen of what your picture will be like than any 2.5” LCD screen can offer,’ explains Osborn. ‘Best of all, it means there is no risk of jolting the camera once it has been set up, which makes it multiple exposures in perfect registration – to the pixel! – astonishingly straightforward’ Osborn says. Creating flawless panoramic images that can easily sample elements from one shot to another is a huge advantage.

Fellow photographers and camera buffs will be able to judge Osborn’s prints for themselves on the Innova Art stand C4 at Focus on Imaging at the NEC from 22-25 February. The exhibition of four panoramic prints will be the first public display of pictures taken with the Seitz 6x17 anywhere in the world, the photographer adds. ‘I remember how I felt when I first saw these prints: my reaction was – jeez! I think my fellow photographers will be as stunned as I was.’

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