confusion around scanning at 48-bit color vs 16-bit grayscale

[dede95064]

hello,

i have an epson 4990 and am trying to figure out how to scan 4x5 b&w film and fuji polaroids but i am confused about the different views as to which bit depth is best to use. from the search function here i found out different opinions and so i wanted to know if there has been a consensus reached as to which may be "better".
the one thing 16 bit grayscale has for it is its much smaller file size but is it at the expense of additional info lost?

any insight is appreciated!

thanks!

[Walter Calahan]

As always you should do what gives you the best results for your output.

My experience is that I scan my B&W as color negatives using SilverFast scanning software. This gives me 48-bit information. I then desaturate the color before working on the scan in Photoshop.

Perhaps it is a big waste of time and data, but that's what I do. I could be totally wrong in my scanning habit.

[Daniel_Buck]

As always you should do what gives you the best results for your output.

My experience is that I scan my B&W as color negatives using SilverFast scanning software. This gives me 48-bit information. I then desaturate the color before working on the scan in Photoshop.

Perhaps it is a big waste of time and data, but that's what I do. I could be totally wrong in my scanning habit.

would only take one B&W scan to compare to your color scans to find out :)

[Brian Ellis]

Why don't you try scanning and printing both ways and see if you notice any benefit to an rgb scan? Making comparison scans in rgb and grayscale isn't difficult to do and it should provide a definitive answer for you. I'm not trying to be cute or clever in suggesting this but as you say, there are differing views so I don't know that you'll find any greater consensus in responses to this thread than you found in your search of earlier responses.

[dede95064]

ok. i also have an epson r2400 and will do a side-by-side comparison. i wasn't sure if the epson printer was even able to print out that fine of detail or tonality to make the comparison, but i guess i won't know until i do it right? :)

thanks!

[sanking]

ok. i also have an epson r2400 and will do a side-by-side comparison. i wasn't sure if the epson printer was even able to print out that fine of detail or tonality to make the comparison, but i guess i won't know until i do it right? :)

thanks!

What you might want to do is this. Scan the B&W negative in RGB and in Grayscale. Then compare the three channels of the RGB file to the Grayscale file. You will probably find that the G channel of the RGB file is the sharpest and has the least grain compared to the R and B channels. It will probably also be slightly superior to the Grayscale file.

Print the files at desired output size for a final comparison.

Sandy King

[Kuzano]

Boiling it down... working with the color channels on B/W gives you the opportunity to do all the things you could have done with filters in front of your B/W film on the camera.

OK... that's way oversimplified, but with the help of a couple of books I found, there is a lot of latitude in contrast, grain and tone if you do not simply desaturate an image.

The books are:

Digital Black and White Photography, Author John Beardsworth, ISBN 1-59200-472-5

And:

Advanced Digital Black & White Photography, John Beardsworth, ISBN 1-60059-210-4

There was also a small Black & White Handbook, 50 pages, complimentary with the April 08 issue of Digital Camera which is very concise and revealing on this issue.

From now on, I will be retaining all the color on capture and in working with files that will ultimately become B/W.

[Gregg Cook]

agree with Kuz...

[dede95064]

thanks for the extra info guys! i'll look into trying them out!