Digital BW, The Print

Evan,

the lower the number the bigger the visible difference. So, from 1.5 to 1.6
it's huge, but from 2.1 to 2.2 it barely matters. That's just logarithms.
I'd say that in the range you describe, a meanigful difference in dMax
would have to be upwards of .5.
Keep in mind that differences in the order of +-0.01 are meaningless anyway
as they fall within the specs of the instrument "noise". Also readings on
canvas and similar fabrics are only an average - you can barely get the
exact same reading twice.

It's a good excercise to look at the different black scales or patches of
black and see what looks darkest. When you do, you realize that the 
numbers don't tell the whole story: the surface of the inked paper makes
a huge difference in how we perceive "black". The nice "charcoaly" rich
surface of the hahnemuhle papers or the Condor BW always seems
better than something with a funny sheen or a mottle even if the actual
number is higher. 

I would say that if someone picks a paper from my pdf based on
numbers alone, they really should get samples first and see for themselves
what the "look" of the dmax is for that paper.

Not to mention that different images have different requirements anyway;
lots of masterpieces in the history of photography that wouldn't win any
dmax wars.


Thanks for the kind words.



Antonis






--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "wolarsky" <wolarsky@i...> 
wrote:
> What a great job! Its nice to see some real data.
> 
> In your view, what is the minimal perceptible difference in dMax? Can 
> one see the difference between 1.50 and 1.53, or 1.50 and 1.55, for 
> example.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Evan