RE: filmscanners: Magnification of light

["Dan Honemann" <danh@selectsa.com>]

> Question:  Does the same principle of "opening up the shadow
> details" work  with scanned negatives?  In asking this, I am aware
> of the manipulations that can be done with shadow details with
> PhotoShop, et al....which are certainly easier to do than with
> the conventional dodging techniques in photographic enlarging.

I'm new to this, but common sense tells me that scanning, like an enlarger,
cannot possibly pull detail out of shadows that isn't there on the negative
in the first place.

The Leica Noctilux (50/f1) lens is reputed to have this quality: it can put
shadow details onto film that are often not seen at the time of the shot.
Once the shadow detail is there, it's then a matter of finding the right h/w
s/w combination to pull them into the digitized file.  Popular Photography's
latest review (yes, I know, Pop Photo has long been a bastion of rigorous
testing <g>) awards the Polaroid SS 120 top honors in this department.

Dan