Of course, I'm not sure on #4 either. My thought was to use a process that's "typical" and considered, more or less, a standard. Maybe using a Frontier with Crystal Archive is neither. By standard I don't mean the best, but a point by which other options may be judged. IAC, it would seem, and someone please feel free to jump in and correct this point, that for the intended purpose of seeing how the latitude of film compares with that of digital, unless the differences were very subtle, the Frontier should be an adequate test.
The lab I use has tweaked their system to allow for finer gradations between settings, or so I've been told by the Photoshop guy (not the printer guy). I can't explain it better because I don't know all the technical terms, but apparently there are buttons on the machine that allow for a certain degree of separation between color and exposure adjustments, and this lab has halved the difference between the steps. I suppose it's more important that the settings be left to "normal," i.e., no exposure or color compensation, so if there are differences in shadow and highlight detail, they won't be masked. Does that sound about right? Anyway, I'll start looking around for an istD to use for this test after the holiday weekend. I just wonder what film, or films, would make for a fair test. Maybe using a couple-three brands and speeds would be the best choice. Shel > [Original Message] > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 11/24/2004 10:18:15 AM > Subject: Re: Film vs. Digital - A necessary test > > Hi Shel, > I think you have it exactly right. My only reservation might be number 4. Perhaps it would be better to have a top pro lab produce the best possible print from each format. That might very well be a wet print from the negative and an inkjet print from the digital file. But I'm not sure. I think I would ask a photofinishing expert. > > Wheatfield. What say you? > > > > Not being a "testing maven" I respect all comments and positions. They all > > seem to have merit. As noted, I may do a similar test at some point. What > > suggestions are there from the list as to the most useful testing > > parameters? Here's what I was thinking: > > > > 1) Using lenses that provide about the same equivalent focal length; > > > > 2) Using ISO speeds that are comparable between film and the digi; > > > > 3) Using print film instead of slide since the main reason for the test is > > to compare the latitude of digi v film; > > > > 4) Getting prints made to the same size using the same enlarging system, > > probably something like a Fuji Frontier. > > > > Since the main reason for the test is #3, how important are #1, #2, and > > #4. My thoughts are that as long as I'm comparing the two systems for #3, > > it would be just as easy to look at other aspects for comparison as well.
