Digital BW, The Print

Hello Roy,

>I think you are right on in your assessment of the
>situation.   Anthony's explanations seemed pretty clear as
>well but the nagging thought is -- does it make any difference
>in the real world photography?  

I think only to the degree that this subject matters to the 
photographer.  Even with my 4mpx P&S I've taken some good images and
turned them into small BW prints that look pretty nice.  But no matter
what I've tried (including that neat BW conversion plugin), they still
fall short of what I'd like to see.  For several years (during the
80's) I tried most of the new films that came out and always came back
to good old Tri-X.  I just love the look of it.  So for someone who is
so attuned to a particular film the subject may be more important. 
Digital is growing, and the possibility of leaving film behind grows
more tempting every year.  Upon what will this decision be based?

For months I have simultaneously been tempted by the new cameras
(especially the new 10d) and nagged by doubts about whether I could be
happy using them.  I've brought up the question 2 or 3 times over the
past year, with nobody really weighing in on it.  I was delighted to
read Anthony's ideas because they finally gave a plausible explantion
for what I've been experiencing.

>The question is: if you take a B&W picture with a filter and
>B&W film, can you get the same grayscale response by
>taking the picture in color and then channel mixing the RGB.
>My first reaction is that you can do pretty well 

Yes, amazingly well.


>There's no way that channel mixing from RGB can come
>close to that shape of response curve and selectivity.  So
>at this point I'm inclined to think that Anthony not only has a
>theoretical point but an issue that can in some cases has
>a very real effect on an image.

I agree, and it may not matter to some.  But just having the idea to
chew on at least affords some insight into the process.  As soon as I
read "Anthony's Theorem" my "Ah,Ha!" lights flashed and suddenly my
long time question was clarified.  I still have to make my own
decision, but now at least I have a handle on it.   To me that's the
most important thing from this thread: I can see the question more
clearly.  All the theoretical debate completely missed the point.   

Thanks, Roy.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm