Digital BW, The Print

Hello Amadou,

>Ignoring what the histogram looks like, are you saying that an 8bit
>file, converted to 16bit, with various adjustments applied yields a
>superior print when compared to the same file with identical
>adjustments that has stayed in 8bit? You've done a side-by-side 
>print comparison in which the only variable is the 8bit to 16bit 
>conversion?

Yes, the first time I tried it was after my trip to Death Valley NP
two years ago.  I had a number of nice images on my pocket digicam
that were worth printing and weren't on my bigger camera.  One in
particular had a large smooth dark gray area of early morning sand
dune (see photo #4, Morning On The Dunes, here  
http://www.cjcom.net/cal05-a.htm) with a lot of very subtle tonal
transitions.  The difference showed in this area. That was my only
real attempt at a comparison test.  I'd read about it somewhere, and
after that I was convinced and made it a normal part of my workflow
for that camera.  BTW, as Paul mentioned, part of my procedure is to
convert the jpg to psd or tif as well.


Also want to add my congrats on your new book.  It looks really well done.

Regards,
Clayton


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