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[OM] Re: Software for photo editing-scanning

Subject: [OM] Re: Software for photo editing-scanning
From: AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:13:26 -0800 (PST)
> This is something I have wondered about before but have never
> had it 
> explained. Doesn't a scanner just produce a raw file that is
> modified 
> by exposure adjustments in the software? So how do you get
> more dynamic 
> range than is in the raw file and why not just adjust it in
> Photoshop 
> or whatever you are using?

I'm answering this with a Yes, No, and Explanation.  Yes, a
scanner essentially just produces a raw file modified by the
scanner driver software.  No, a scanner is able to be controlled
by some scanner software to increase the exposure (usually
through increased time per step). Vuescan is the classic example
of software that is able to milk everything possible out of your
scanner.

I'll use an example here.  I've got an ancient Nikon Coolscan II
which Joel was eagerly awaiting to pawn off on some poor sucker.
 Being a broke bloke, I succombed to his sales pitch and niavely
hooked it up to my ancient Windows 98SE computer. The Nikon
software is garbage.  There are a couple nifty things to it, but
I quickly found myself fighting the scanner to get anything
usable. Enter Vuescan. The Vuescan has allowed me to get amazing
results from this piddly machine. 

One particular set of slides is of crashing surf and cliffs in
bright sunlight. These pictures are with the camera pointing
nearly straight down and the surf is in bright sunlight while
the cliff is partially in shadow. If I scan for midtone exposure
level, the breaking surf is a blob of white, while the shadows
are noisy and lack detail. By doing two scans, one +1 stop and
the other -1 stop I've managed to get detailed foam as well as
having clean shadows. In the editor, I merge the two pictues and
then apply curve controls to make sure that Zones III-VII are
correct then I squish the ends to mimick the shoulder and toe of
film. The end result is very close (closer if I work harder) to
the original slides.

I consider three things to be absolutely the best photographic
purchases I've made in the last five years:  RH Designs
StopClock Professional, RH Designs ZoneMaster II, and Vuescan
software.  If you see me selling the RH Designs stuff, it's
because I went 100% digital. IF you see me not using Vuescan,
it's because I went 100% B&W analog.

Yes, I usually have my Vuescan software updated within minutes
of when the Version de jour is posted.  Nearly every update
improves something I use.  Now, if we can just get live
focusing...

AG


                
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