Re: color neg drum scanning
Re: color neg drum scanning
- Subject: Re: color neg drum scanning
- From: Martin Orpen <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 15:05:42 +0100
on 23 May 2002 at 09:32:54 -0400 Rick McCleary <email@hidden> wrote:
>
1) The moving target presented by different orange masks from film to
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film,
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2) Inconsistencies in the orange mask within one film type due to
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processing variances,
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3) Characteristic curves that are radically different than those of
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transparency film (particularly at each end),
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and perhaps most importantly -
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4) Unknown colors
We mustn't forget that you also need to factor in the second stage of the
production process - making a print. As a scanner operator, you not only
have to account all the variables for the object on the drum, you also have
to account for the paper type, darkroom skills and whims of the
photographer.
>
"tell the scanner operator to do as little as possible, and just grab
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the raw high-bit data from neg-to-pos conversion. That means not setting
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black and white points, not doing anything to gray balance, etc. There
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should probably be at least 20 levels of headroom at the shadow end and
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about 30 or more at the highlight end"
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>
Perhaps high-end service bureaus running Tango's could offer color neg
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scans in this way. If a customer comes in and asks for a color neg scan
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"flat and unsaturated", that would convey the message.
I wish it were that easy :-)
We could have the scanners pumping out 16 bit data all day and leave the
rest to the photographers. I wonder what percentage of photographers have
the time, equipment and skills to make consistently good images from raw 16
bit negs?
In my experience:
They want the digital equivalent of a perfect hand print
They want it yesterday
They send the contacts to the ad agency and we have nothing to match
It also has to look right on their monitor at home and print correctly on
their 100 quid inkjet.
--
Martin Orpen
Idea Digital Imaging Ltd -- The Image Specialists
http://www.idea-digital.com
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