Digital BW, The Print

Hi,
I've found with portraits that I am often having difficulty getting smooth gradations in caucasian skin tones without posterization - and I've been using a Canon G5 camera in the last couple of days and have just found that the same tone of grey in the overcast sky - about the tone of a grey card - has attracted noise, but the rest of the photo has not. This seemed an odd coincidence. I suspect it is just a coincidence, but it seemed interesting.

Details:
Epson 1200, UT inks
Minolta 5400 scanner with Vuescan
35mm cameras and Canon G5, 50 iso.

1. Is this sort of mid-grey tonal gradation often a problem area?
2. Could it the posterization very likely be improved if I installed Linux and ran Quadtone Rip?
3. Any other suggestions???

thanks,
Richard 
--
http://smallfield.vze.com
http://photos.smallfield.vze.com

   "A liberal is someone who won't take his own side in an argument."
   --anon

Richard--

I've had some of the same problems (or at least i might describe it as 
posterization). I shoot film and scan on a Nikon ls8000, and print with a 
1200 and VM ink. My most recent prints have been better. My theory is 
that it's a combo of:

-dot size of the 1200
-getting all the alignments right
-perfect film/perfect scans do better
-and of course, alignment of the planets.

I've been thinking of moving to a 1270 or 1280 to see if that fixes my 
problems. 

I also theorize that we don't hear much about this problem b/c relatively 
few on this list shoot (caucasian) people much.

I'd be curious to hear other theories.

matt

> Hi,
> I've found with portraits that I am often having difficulty getting smooth gradations in caucasian skin tones without posterization - and I've been using a Canon G5 camera in the last couple of days and have just found that the same tone of grey in the overcast sky - about the tone of a grey card - has attracted noise, but the rest of the photo has not. This seemed an odd coincidence. I suspect it is just a coincidence, but it seemed interesting.

--
Matt Haber
dance, portrait and fashion photography
http://www.matthaber.com

Hi Matt,
At 04:33 PM Wednesday 2/4/04, you wrote:
>My most recent prints have been better. My theory is 
>that it's a combo of:
>
>-dot size of the 1200
>-getting all the alignments right
>-perfect film/perfect scans do better
>-and of course, alignment of the planets.

Thanks for that - I think the dot size is very likely a part of it too. 

But I've also wondered if it's less likely to happen with FS inks, which is why I've wondered about changing over to UTFS inks when they are released. (I do like the delicious warm tones you can get with the UT though.)

I think I've found it happens more with Tri-X than T400CN, though I love the skin tones I get with Tri-X. So maybe grain is part of it.

If anyone can comment (Paul?) on whether having the extra two shades of grey in a non-variable mix set would help, I'd appreciate any input.

BTW Matt, I notice that you're into dance photograhy. I did a website for a friend who was Margot Fontein's main photographer. The url is: http://www.fairprospect.co.nz/photographer/ (but the domain name is going to change soon).

Richard 
--
http://smallfield.vze.com
http://photos.smallfield.vze.com

   "To the  unknown Wehrmacht deserter. 
   To the victims of Nazi military justice. To all those who 
   refused to serve the Nazi regime.  Be sand, not oil, in 
   the works of the world!"
    --from a German 'Deserter Memorial' in Erfurt, Germany