Rob Geraghty schrieb:
> PSP will open uncompressed 16 bit TIFFs. But it immediately converts them
> to 8 bit. You can't edit in 16 bits in PSP.
Hi, Rob,
damn, you're right. PSP seems to immediately degrade those files to 8
bits - at least there's no option to work with (nor convert to) 16 bits,
so PSP is suspicious of clipping those 2 extra bits that the LS-30 will
give me...
> > So my current
> > workflow is bound to getting as much out of the 10 bits of the LS-30 as
> > I possibly can, which means tweaking it very close to the result I am
> > looking for prior to scanning, so that oprimized 8 bits are handed over
> > to my image editing application.
>
> OK, but you can't get 10 bits per channel with Nikonscan, and Vuescan
> doesn't give you a levels tool.
The data width my files "go public" with is 8 bit. Now it's the decision
between getting 8 bits out of Nikon Scan, tweaked close to perfection
*before* letting the huge thing out, or getting 10 bits out of Vuescan
which would inexorably require comprehensive working over before looking
like I want it to. BTW, I just found that I have a version of Image
(former Picture Publisher) that will handle the 16 bit stuff Vuescan
spits out. That would be at least an option.
> > I tried generic as well but it didn't make a lot of difference,
> > especially as to the blueish cast.
>
> Did you try including part of the mask?
No, but the "auto mask" option was enabled. I would rather not include
the mask because it would again narrow the output data width, at least
with pictures whose shadows are considerably lighter than pure black.
> > I am aware I could correct it but I'd *hate* to do it on a 24 bit basis.
> > The only option would be to open the 16 bit Vuescan output in PS 5.5 LE
> > (which I have), save in a format that supports those 16 bits, then open
> > in PSP7 and do the tweaking. That would be a workflow I'd rather not go
> > through if I can get the same quality in Nikon Scan.
>
> Do you mean do the levels adjustment in PSLE?
Yes, I could do levels adjustment on a 16 bit basis in PS 5.5 LE, but it
would again make things complicated. I have a couple of macros which
allow very subtle color tweaking in Picture Publisher 6 (8 bit) and
would also work in Image (16 bit) - this would be something I'd be
willing to think of in connexion with Vuescan, but I'd rather have
Vuescan provide a curve tool similar to Nikon Scan, with a live update
of the preview.
> > Moreover, as I mostly do animal photography, white parts are usually
> > reddish or greenish white rather than the "technical" blueish white.
> > Nikon Scan will allow me to set the "white" point for each color
> > separately, and a negative that is improperly exposed can still be
> > pushed into the scanner's tonal range by using the analog gain function.
> > If those controls were implemented in Vuescan, that would really make
> > things different for me.
>
> Fair enough.
That is something I still don't understand - Vuescan does that "static"
white and black point calibration that will produce 0/0/0 shadows and
255/255/255 highlights. Why not break those settings down to be applied
to each color channel separately? I guess nobody but me is wanting it,
it can't be that complicated ;-)
> See above about PSP. Have you tried Picture Window Pro or Photoshop
> Elements? PWP can do all its functions in 16 bit colour but I don't know
> if it has the histogram functions you want. I haven't had the chance to try
> PS Elements myself to see whether it supports levels in 16 bits.
As I said, Image seems to do the job. I've been with Picture Publisher
for years, so I'd like to go on using it or its successors. For me,
they're more intuitive than both PSP7 (which I use for its finely
adjustable unsharp mask tool) and PS 5.5 LE (which, by the way, displays
images brighter than every other application, with apparently no way of
correcting that).
> I mustn't be as fussy about the whole clipping thing. I try to save the raw
> scans so if I need to I can go back and recrop without rescanning. Makes
> for a lot of CDRs though!
Same with me. Nikon Scan will spit out about 28 Megs from a full 35mm
negative. Storing raw scans in a format that will contain the IR channel
as well would be an interesting option - Vuescan's IR cleaning has
improved but I just checked in comparison to Nikon Scan's ICE, and Nikon
still takes first place. I'd very likely switch to Vuescan if I could
pipe its 64 bit RGBI raw scans through Nikon Scan's ICE ;-)
Best regards -
Ralf
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