View camera printing - scanner vs darkroom
Dec 25, 2017 15:02:29 #
clint f.
Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa
There is nothing like the thrill of an image emerging out of a pan of developer, however it is much harder to accomplish a good photographic print than to use a computer. In these days of instant gratification 99% of the photographers are unwilling or unable to justify the time it takes to make an analog print vs. a digital print. I suspect that most people looking at the final product care one way or the other.
Dec 25, 2017 15:51:23 #
kmocabee wrote:
I got an offer for a 4x5 view camera and enlarger ... (show quote)
If I had the choice to scan 4x5 neg or contact print them, I'd contact print them every time. You don't need a real dedicated darkroom at all. You have the enlarger, now all you need is paper, a piece of glass, and a timer. For $99.00 you can print 500 prints of Adorama Glossy and have something to hold in your hand.
As for going the other way, what happens after you scan them? They sit on a hard drive? Sometimes you print them if the ink doesn't clog...?
Not for me.
Dec 25, 2017 16:28:42 #
ORpilot wrote:
I have yet to see a InkJet printer B&W print t... (show quote)
Have you ever seen any of the the giclee (EPSON inkjet) prints from Nash Images?
Once I scanned and printed Kodachrome slides and HP5+ negs on a high end Epson, I mothballed my darkroom stuff.
Dec 25, 2017 17:31:10 #
rpavich wrote:
If I had the choice to scan 4x5 neg or contact print them, I'd contact print them every time. You don't need a real dedicated darkroom at all. ....
If those were my only choices I would not limit myself to a 4x5 contact print. It still requires a dark room (even if it isn’t a darkroom) and it’s almost impossible to dodge and burn at that size.
Fortunately the papers available today for digital printing are very high quality. The results are virtually indistinguishable from silver prints if you use good paper and ink. The workflow is much more convenient.
If I had a place for a darkroom I would probably set my enlarger back up to do B&W but color would still be out of the question since Cibachrome is gone.
Dec 25, 2017 17:32:22 #
Dec 25, 2017 17:50:01 #
selmslie wrote:
If those were my only choices I would not limit my... (show quote)
I have a large, completely dark basement bathroom that is perfect for a darkroom setup. But I have zero interest or motivation to set it up.
Dec 25, 2017 18:03:22 #
burkphoto wrote:
I have a large, completely dark basement bathroom that is perfect for a darkroom setup. But I have zero interest or motivation to set it up.
Almost no basements in Florida. I would have to darken a bathroom.
Dec 25, 2017 18:35:27 #
selmslie wrote:
Almost no basements in Florida. I would have to darken a bathroom.
Yeah, basements would flood here in New Smyrna Beach (We’re visiting family here this week).
Dec 25, 2017 19:31:50 #
ricardo7
Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile
rpavich wrote:
If I had the choice to scan 4x5 neg or contact print them, I'd contact print them every time. You don't need a real dedicated darkroom at all. You have the enlarger, now all you need is paper, a piece of glass, and a timer. For $99.00 you can print 500 prints of Adorama Glossy and have something to hold in your hand.
As for going the other way, what happens after you scan them? They sit on a hard drive? Sometimes you print them if the ink doesn't clog...?
Not for me.
As for going the other way, what happens after you scan them? They sit on a hard drive? Sometimes you print them if the ink doesn't clog...?
Not for me.
I agree. A contact print on silver gelatin paper has an intrinsic value that just
doesn't exist with a digital print. I would go with a semi matte/luster
chlorobromide paper myself.
Dec 25, 2017 20:10:52 #
I regularly scan 4x5 negatives, as well as other formats. I've been using an Epson Perfection 3200 for some 15 years. I don't print, as it isn't cost effective. I take my processed files to a local camera store/lab and have them print them. I could enlarge and print them myself, but the quantity is so limited it isn't cost effective to do so.
The only dark I need is to load the negatives into the developing tanks. I use Jobo processors and those can be used in daylight.
--Bob
The only dark I need is to load the negatives into the developing tanks. I use Jobo processors and those can be used in daylight.
--Bob
kmocabee wrote:
I got an offer for a 4x5 view camera and enlarger ... (show quote)
Dec 25, 2017 23:05:57 #
burkphoto wrote:
. Have you ever seen any of the the giclee (EPSON inkjet) prints from Nash Images?
Once I scanned and printed Kodachrome slides and HP5+ negs on a high end Epson, I mothballed my darkroom stuff.
Once I scanned and printed Kodachrome slides and HP5+ negs on a high end Epson, I mothballed my darkroom stuff.
I'll have to check them out. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 like you, I copy transparencys via my Macro lens.
Dec 25, 2017 23:43:29 #
ORpilot wrote:
.
I'll have to check them out. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 like you, I copy transparencys via my Macro lens.
I'll have to check them out. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 like you, I copy transparencys via my Macro lens.
Nash Images is owned by Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash fame... When not playing music, he does photography.
Dec 26, 2017 09:46:04 #
I think that was one of the big questions I had was not just resolution, but things like the shadow and highlight details, and that "glow" a great B&W print has that is elusive on a digital print. But I have a friend who did large format prints from negatives and they were beautiful.
Dec 26, 2017 09:50:41 #
burkphoto wrote:
Have you ever seen any of the the giclee (EPSON inkjet) prints from Nash Images?
Once I scanned and printed Kodachrome slides and HP5+ negs on a high end Epson, I mothballed my darkroom stuff.
Once I scanned and printed Kodachrome slides and HP5+ negs on a high end Epson, I mothballed my darkroom stuff.
No, I need to check that out. Sounds like what I need to do. A quality printer (or print house) is probably what I need to do. And I'm afraid my nostalgia for a darkroom will fade quickly anyway <g>.
Dec 26, 2017 10:14:10 #
kmocabee wrote:
I think that was one of the big questions I had was not just resolution, but things like the shadow and highlight details, and that "glow" a great B&W print has that is elusive on a digital print. But I have a friend who did large format prints from negatives and they were beautiful.
Shadow and highlight detail is a feature of the negative or sensor, not the print.
Both a wet and a digital print can cover the range from maximum black to paper white. That depends on the quality of the paper and of the ink.
The difference is that you can capture a lot more information above middle gray with film. Digital blows out at about the top of Zone 8. Film can go a lot higher.
On the other hand, film blacks out at film base plus fog, about the bottom of Zone 1, whereas digital can go a little lower.
For more about this see Film vs. Digital Characteristic Curves.
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