Not dorm life!
FYI, for those not already receiving.
tOM
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Tim Grey - DDQ" <tim@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <Tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lens] Tim Grey's DDQ - 1/30/06
Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 22:09:58 -0800
Digital Darkroom Questions e-mail list
January 30, 2006
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition
The Natural History Museum in London has opened their call for entries
for the 2006 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is
widely considered to be the most prestigious competition for nature
photographers. I have written an article that provides recommendations
on preparing your digital images for submission to a photo competition,
and that article has been posted on the website for the Wildlife
Photographer of the Year competition.
You can read my article here:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/comp-
winning.html
Details on entering the competition can be found here:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/comp-
enter.html
Enjoy today's questions...
Tim Grey
(See my books at www.timgrey.com/books.htm)
tim@xxxxxxxxxxx
www.timgrey.com
##########
I intend to spend more time with black and white. I have a Canon 5D
and have the following questions. To produce the best printed B&W
image, is it best to photograph in digital color or black and white?
Assuming the former, is it best to covert from color to black and
white using CS2 (e.g., channel mixer) or with a plug-in and which
one? Regarding printing, I'm assuming using RIP software to
control tones of gray will produce the best quality print. To further
complicate the choices to make, hardware is somewhat limited
because not all printers are supported by the available software. A
desktop, such as, Epson's Stylus Pro R2400 is supported however
by Bowhaus' RIP software (IJC/OPM for Windows), whereas, other
software manufacturers do not support "small format" printer
drivers. Along with Nik Sharpener Pro 2.0, the total price (plug-in for
BandW conversion, a small format printer, and RIP software) is
approximately $1500 when Epson's R2400 can be used instead of
purchasing printer drivers that support only larger format printers.
What do you recommend?
==========
It is absolutely best to capture your images in color, even if you think
you'll only ever output the image in grayscale. I always advocate for
capturing (and retaining) as much information as possible, and a color
image ultimately produces three times as much data as a grayscale
image (in fairness, the imaging sensor is arguably not capturing three
times as much data owing to the fact that the sensor is only recording a
single channel per pixel, but through the Bayer pattern and subsequent
de-mosaicing there is more information resulting than if you only
captured luminosity information to begin with). So, by all means, capture
in color.
As for the process of converting your color images to black & white, I do
recommend channel mixer. It is the process that offers the best
combination of control and retention of detail in your image. To use this
process, start by going to the Channels palette (Window > Channels) and
click on each of the color channels in turn to view it. You want to get a
sense of which channel represents the best starting point (most likely
green), as well as what each individual channel has to offer the image.
Once you've reviewed them, click the RGB channel and return to the
Layers palette. Then create a new Channel Mixer adjustment layer.
Check the Monochrome checkbox in the bottom-left of the dialog box,
and then set all three channel values to zero percent. Start increasing the
value for the channel you felt was best during your review, and then
adjust the value of all three to achieve the desired result. As a general
rule, you may want to avoid using the blue channel at all unless it
contributes a significant benefit, as the blue channel most often contains
the most noise and other problems in your image. It is also a good
general rule to have all three channels add up to 100% in order to
maintain the original luminosity of your image. This isn't a hard-and-fast
rule that you absolutely must abide by. Think of it as a good general
guideline, but let the appearance of your image (in particular, whether
you're losing highlight or shadow detail) guide your adjustments.
When it comes to producing the most neutral prints, there are two
options in my mind. The first is to use one of Epson's latest inkjet printers
that employ the Epson UltraChrome K3 inkset (which includes the Stylus
Photo R2400 you mention). These printers do an excellent job of
producing perfectly neutral grayscale prints with excellent tonal range
and detail. The other option is to use a RIP, which will help ensure the
most neutral output possible with any supported printer. If you're using an
Epson printer I highly recommend the QuadToneRIP from Roy
Harrington (www.quadtonerip.com). This is an inexpensive and high-
quality solution that I highly recommend (and thanks to the DDQ readers
to repeatedly harassed me about testing this RIP when I plugged other
options in the past!). The other options for those not using Epson printers
include ImagePrint from ColorByte Software
(www.colorbytesoftware.com) and ColorBurst RIP
(www.colorburstrip.com). These additional options are more expensive
than the QuadToneRIP, but they do produce excellent results.
##########
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,__@ tOM Trottier
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more,
~~@~~~~@~~~~~~ to whosoever will think of it. --Thomas Carlyle
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