LF+scan+print: Case study, with prints

Sounds ambitious, and maybe it is. I propose to show
you a 24 x 30" print, made from scans of LF film. Alas, I
can only show you a mere /scan/ of said print. It's the
best I can do with this medium.

I had some fun putting this together, maybe it'll be
food for thought or discussion without too much
ranting.

Try to keep the scaling in mind. Forthwith.


http://www.terrapinphoto.com/prscan/theprintlores.jpg
Low res scan of an 8x10" print made yesterday on LTR
size paper with an Epson R1800 at max quality. Minimal
cropping.

The image was captured on Portra, with a Shen Hao
4x5, using a Nikkor 90/f8. Real nice lens.

The film was scanned at 2500 dpi on a Microtek 2500.
Given that the print was only 8x10", I had to throw away
buckets of pixels. (There are enough pixels to print
8x10" @ 1170 dpi without resampling.)

http://www.terrapinphoto.com/prscan/loresprintscan.jpg
Scan of a section of the print. Its only purpose is to show
context/placement/positioning of the standard crop.

http://www.terrapinphoto.com/prscan/hiresprintscan.jpg
300 dpi scan of 0.41" x 0.26" /on the same 8x10" print./

I figure that metal fence post in the lower-right corner is at
least a quarter mile (0.4 km) from the camera.

On a 100 dpi monitor, this is the view with a 3x loupe.
On a 72 dpi monitor, it's an 4x loupe.

http://www.terrapinphoto.com/prscan/hiresfilmscan.jpg
Corresponding area of the /film scan/ at 2500 dpi.
Far better than the print, which isn't surprising. At
2x enlargement from the film, you can certainly
make a sharper print in the darkroom. The fence
post is very clear now.

http://www.terrapinphoto.com/prscan/7kprintscan0.jpg
This is a crop from a scan of a 24"x30" print, made on
an Epson 7000, from the same film scan. (Got that?)
The print is a 6x enlargement from the film. Check out
the fence post. The print now shows most of the
detail and tonality that's in the scan.

Depending on your screen res, you're seeing this
print as if through a 4x or 3x loupe.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com