Digital BW, The Print

> Hi Folks --
>
> Forgive me if this is a *very* basic question that has been answered
> before, but a web search hasn't turned up much useful information.
>
> The well-known advantage of using B&W film is the ability to expand
> or contract developing times in order to obtain both shadow and
> highlight detail in the finished print.  When using a digital camera
> to make what will eventually become a "fine art" B&W print, is there
> any known technique that mimics the N-1 or N-2 film development
> process?  Thanks!
>
> -- Darrell

Hi Darrell,

You can not do tonal compression using digital sensors, but you can do
expansion in post processing.  But, note that the expansion does not give
you the same thing as you would get with film, as you will not have actual
intermediate values, which is true with any digital expansion.

That does not eliminate using some aspects of the Zone system though.  You
can meter your highlights and meter your shadows and set your zones so the
scene tonality range can (if possible) fall within your sensor's usable
range.  If your overall density range is outside the usable range of the
sensor, you must clip either the shadows or the highlights, but at least the
choice is yours if you meter this way, and metering this way means that if
it can fit, you can make it fit and not clip something you don't need to.
Don't worry about how it looks on the little LCD, as you can do tonal curve
adjustment to adjust the tonality to your liking.

Regards,

Austin