Re: Digital Vs. Film (B&W)



Graham Fountain wrote:
>
> Tom Phillips wrote:
> >
> > Graham Fountain wrote:
> >> Ray wrote:
> >>> Years ago, I got some Kodak Panalure, a paper for making B&W prints from
> >>> color negs. The results were awful.
> >>>
> >>> Just for kicks, I grayscaled a color binary which was brilliant and colorful
> >>> and it made an awful B&W print.
> >>>
> >>> Question is whether the B&W setting on the more expensive digital SLR's
> >>> (Nikon & Canon) would make a good B&W print. I'd be much appreciative of a
> >>> binary made on the B&W setting.
> >> It is possible to get nice B&W's out of digital, but I think it is
> >> impossible to make a B&W that looks like a B&W taken with B&W film,
> >> printed on B&W paper. I am currently looking at 3 B&W photos of my wife
> >> - 1 was done digitally, the other 2 traditionally. They have a different
> >> look. I won't say 1 is better than the other, but they look different.
> >> The digital tends to look cleaner with less grain "speckle", the
> >> traditional prints to my eye look more natural (not that B&W is natural
> >> in the first place).
> >
> > B&W not natural?
> >
> > All imaging is, in fact, monochrome, whether it's
> > film or digital. The photochemical phenomenon we
> > call photography is a naturally monochrome process,
> > with exceptions such as cyanotypes.
>
> dunno about you, but my eyes see in colour. That's what I meant by B&W
> not being natural, unless you have a bad vision defect it is impossible
> to see images with your eyes the same way a B&W photo sees things.

Wrong. Human eye-brain vision is based on two
visual systems: color vision (photopic, cones)
and monochrome vision (scotopic, rods) and are
constantly intertwined in our visual perceptions.

Silver haildes do not image in color, period. Even
color films are b&w. Monochrome is the natural
state of all photographic imaging and human vision
perceives it just fine. Which as you note is why
you can easily see the difference between digital
b&w and silver b&w.

OTOH, it may be your monochrome photographic skills
are simply lacking. Might find Nicholas Lindan's Jan
6 post "Lack of deep shadow detail in digital images"
interesting.

> > Silicon sensors are also inherently monochrome
> > (although they require extensive doping and
> > electronics in order to produce a useable image
> > signal...)
> >
> > That said, most modern b&w films utilize color
> > layering to achieve a true panchromatic effect.
> > But note RGB panchromatic films are still
> > "naturally" monochrome.
.

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