Digital BW, The Print

> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "craig" 
> <craygc@y...> wrote:
> >As my thoughts will undoubtably be construed as a personal 
> >attack by some, I'll apologise upfront - "if I'm wrong, then please 
> >enlighten me"
> > 
> >I am curious as to why people who engage in a hybrid-digital 
> >B&W workflow (shoot film and scan) would really want to use a 
> >chromogenic film. As for being true B&W, these films are 
> >conceptually as B&W as printing greyscale with a cmyk inkset 

I don't follow that at all. Though that would be true of shooting true
color film for B&W conversion. XP-2 is monochromatic, there are not
multiple dye layers for color.

> >and without offering any of the traditional characteristics of 
> >silver based film over that of colour print film - eg expanded 
> >exposure ranges.

It seems to me to have a rather extraordinary exposure range. You can
easily capture ranges that would require several zones of developement
compaction on traditional BW films. Add to that the advantage of high
densities being translucent dye instead of opaque metal, which makes
those contrasty scenes easier to scan, and to print in the darkroom.

>> Almost all the chromogenic are softer 
> >(resolving ability) than colour print alternatives;

Really? I don't have the numbers, but there is no shortage of
sharpness. I regularly print 120 XP-2 images at 17x22, most people
think they are large format.

> and as 
> >Photoshop (or similar software) is an inevitable component of 
> >the the digital B&W end-to-end workflow, shooting in colour 
> >print and converting to B&W in the computer surely 
> >offers greater flexibility and control over contrast and tonal 
> >adjustments ...and surely colour print conversions cant be 
> >considered any less B&W than the using a chromogenic!

This is not an opinion based on tech stuff, but for me, you have to
commit. Do you have enough of a clue at the scene to know whether this
will work in B&W or color? Learning to see is a never ending learning
process that requires discipline. The best artists always talk about
limiting options, commiting to a vision. The more options I leave open
for myself later, the less I knew, and now know while printing, what's
going on with that image.
I've been using 120 chromo film since the first crummy agfa stuff came
out, for 120 I like it a lot. Unless you underexpose, it's creamy and
grain free, and does well in a lot of lighting situations. Not trying
to enlighten you, but those are my experiences with it. Some people
hate it.
Tyler