Digital BW, The Print

Martin,

I would make an interesting test to shoot a target with texture in zones 
I, II and V and see if you can dig the detiails out of the shadows. 
Actually this what I have started doing and it seems to be working 
fairly well.

Truman

Martin Wesley wrote:

>
>
> Truman,
>
> My thoughts were running parallel to yours on development but I recently
> read that scanners can read some pretty high densities. Epson 1640 - 2.6,
> Nikon 8000 - 2.8, Imacon Flextight III - 2.7, Howtek HR8000 - 3.3, Howtek
> D4500 - 3.5. From Ansel Adams, The Negative, he puts Zone X densities of a
> negative in the 1.5 to 2.2 range with plus developments rising to 2.5 and
> minus developments falling to 1.0. So it would appear that scanners 
> have the
> capability to handle the highlights in normally developed negatives.
>
> However it is not just density but the fact that film starts to "block up"
> due to the vigorous crystal formation in the more highly exposed 
> portions of
> the negative resulting in a loss of sharpness and detail.
>
> On the other end of the scale the old "0.10 + Base Film + Fog" rule 
> may not
> apply since scanners can reach down much lower and extract usable info. I
> have heard 0.02 quoted as the limit. You also have the ability to 
> expand the
> density range when you scan. This suggests that shifting the range down on
> film may then make sense. A little less exposure and development 
> knowing you
> can get more out of the shadows and bring your maximum Zone (VIII, IX,
> whatever you use) down a bit to increase detail in the highlights.
>
>
> Martin Wesley
>
> <http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html>




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