Digital BW, The Print

Stephen,

We'll see what some of the more knowledgeable members of this group have to
say but, like you, I always try to get the most information from the neg
that the scanner can deliver. I used to tweak the scan capture quite a bit
early on, but now about the most I'll do is to set the black/white points if
the dynamic range of the neg does not cover the 0-255 range. Even then I
tend to stay on the conservative side to avoid any clipping. I think a
"better scan" is whatever you make of it. It seems that some time and quite
a few scans are required before you arrive at what you consider to be
"best." I've been at this for about 3 years now and still don't think that
I've produced my best scan...there's always something to be learned.

Good luck. Push the envelope a little...the trash can is always available
and no one has to know! ;>)

Alan Huntley

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Kobrin" <skobrin@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 6:35 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Scanning


> There have been a number of recent posts about scanning that make me
> wonder if I am missing something.  When I scan, my sole objective is
> to get as much information off of the negative as I can -- shadow
> detail, highlights to the extent possible and as smooth a range of
> tones as I can.  I typically do not play with contrast or even adjust
> the mid tones a great deal, assuming I am better off doing all of
> that in PS when I have more precise controls and a much better image
> to work with.  The Nikon scan software seems to work well in this
> regard.  ( I scan in rgb and convert in ps as the Nikon scanner seems
> to be problematic if set to B&W.)
>
> Should I be doing more than working with the equivalent of levels and
> curves at the scanning stage?  I guess the real question is what
> a "better scan" would entail.
>
>
> Steve