Digital BW, The Print

This is interesting because I have never been able to make a B+W print from a 
color digital capture that had the look of a print from B+W film.  I believe 
I have tried every method and every plugin and the print never looks "real."

Converting color to B+W in Photoshop doesn't work, IMO.

Helene

> >"Simulate" is the operative word here.  You can make something 
> >look like Tri-X or Tech Pan, but if you compare it with the 
> >same scene actually photographed with these films, you may be 
> >surprised.  Almost all the information required to reproduce the 
> >response of most B&W films is missing from color images.
> 
> >You can certainly produce fine prints; but if you want prints 
> >that look exactly the way a certain film looks, you must 
> >capture the original scene with that film.
> 
> I've been following this thread with great interest.  It's a subject
> that has concerned me for a long time, as I've hinted at in past posts
> about my fear of losing the look and feel of particular films.  You
> have finally brought to the table a credible explanation for what I
> have only suspected.
> 
> I don't have a high end digi cam, but do have a 4mpx model with a
> decent lens, and so have been able to try making BW prints from a
> few images.  I even tried using the demo version of the software that
> emulates different films, and it's quite good.  The few images I
> worked up were sharp, well rendered, and made prints that were
> basically "good" in many ways, yet failed to fully satisfy by not
> "pressing my button" in the way my scans of Tri-X negs have.
> 
> I'm not giving up hope for an all-digital workflow.  Perhaps better
> cameras, software, and my own improving skills will make it possible
> someday.  In the meantime I'll save my shekels and shoot film.  6x7
> Tri-X negs made with Pentax 67 lenses are hard to beat.
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]