Answer:

While today's digital camera backs are capable of capturing large amounts of image data, as an integrated system the Cruse scanner offers the following significant advantages:

Focus: When using a digital camera back, focus can only be set visually on the camera's ground glass. Focus may look good in the viewfinder, but still not be optimized for the camera back's CCD sensors.

The Cruse scanner relies on a complex software algorithm to achieve extremely accurate focuses for all scanner setups./ While rarely required, focus can be optimized by the scanner operator for any particular job. Since the Cruse scanner does not utilize a focus knob or ground glass, no element of human error is introduced, ensuring maximum sharpness on all scans.

Lighting: Even illumination of any subject using portable lighting is extremely difficult. As a result, camera scans must often be digitally retouched, adding to both production time and labor costs.

Cruse scanners are available with our patented Synchron™ lighting system, which provides even illumination across the surface of the original, while subjecting it to far less light exposure than other methods of illumination.

Lens Resolution: Pixels on most digital camera backs are 8 microns apart, and most standard lenses will not resolve an image this small. As a result, data is not accurately placed on each pixel, lowering the resolution of the scan.

Lenses used in Cruse scanners are ultra high resolution, and are specially modified to address our unique needs.

Squareness of Camera to Subject: When using a tripod setup, it is impossible to "square" a digital camera perfectly to a wall-mounted subject. As a result, the out of square scan can be difficult to stitch, and sharpness across the entire original setup will be compromised.

Extreme care in design, manufacture and installation of our scanners ensures that our scanning head is perfectly square with our holders.

Squareness of the Digital Back: During the three-year development of the Cruse scanner, all available digital camera backs were tested for inclusion in our system. None tested was found to be perfectly square, resulting in one or more corners being out of focus. Since we could not use "off-the-shelf" components, we were forced to develop our own scan head to meet our stringent requirements.