Ken: I'm really interested in what you find out. I did wet B&W
darkroom for years. But when I started scanning, I'd already been out of
the darkroom for some time. So I didn't have any same-time A/B
comparisons, just a couple of wet prints whose negs I later scanned.
I remember that there was some difference between what I could get
scanning and the wet prints, but IIRC it was a matter of where things
were on the curve, not what could be obtained at all. I've used two film
scanners, a 2700 dpi Nikon LS-2000, and my current 4000 dpi Canon
FS-4000. I used both the native software and VueScan. The Canon software
was terrible--it had built-in overcooked curves, leading to loss of
highlights and shadows no matter how I adjusted it. 4000 dpi was
essential for B&W film. 2700 dpi led to grain aliasing and apparent
grain that was bigger than the actual grains.
I now use VueScan exclusively, mostly on my old stuff, since I don't
hardly ever shoot film any more,. Using the "HDR" or "multi-pass"
scanning is essential for most B&W and slide film, less so for color
negs or CN400 B&W if the lighting wasn't too contrasty. The Canon was
horribly slow under WinXP until I got a SCSI card. With the new VueScan
drivers its speed is acceptable even with its old USB 1.1 interface.
Like many of us, I worry about what's going to happen if my scanner
dies. So if copy-with-camera method is satisfactory, I might go to it at
that point. I suspect there would be a way to take multiple exposures
and stack them in the image editor, which is effectively what the
multi-pass scanner feature does.
--Peter
-----------
> I have this sick feeling in my stomach that I bit off a bit more than
> I really wanted to chew. But I'll continue on. At the moment, I've got
> NikonScan plowing through it. Ooooo, not back NikonScan!
>
> This image I'm working with has the extremes of exposure. AA would be
> proud of me. ;) It definitely represents about the toughest you can
> get. I've chemical printed it so I know what can be done in the
> darkroom. I'm trying to get the scan to be as good as that. Uh huh. No
> toe/shoulder curves to lean into with digital.
>
> Would anybody be offended if I put this together for now as a PDF
> document? I'm not quite ready to do it on the new website and I'd like
> to kinda do a draft copy and keep it amongst ourselves until it is
> ready for prime time.
>
> --
> Ken Norton
> ken [at] zone-10.com
> http://www.zone-10.com
--
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