Producing Digital Negatives with PDN - Questions Before I Buy

[sanking]

Also, I've just emailed Josephine so hopefully she'll be able to help me answer some questions as well.

Thanks again.

Francesco,

Don has answered all of your questions about as I would have.

I have seen silver prints from digital negatives printed on inkjet printers that were quite superb in their detail and lack of grain, and lack of dither pattern. I have also seen prints from digital negatives that looked like sh*t warmed over. My take on this is that in making digital negatives, as is most things photographic, there is a tremendous difference in final image quality depending on individual skill, which is in the end way more important than how (method) you make the digital negatives.

Sandy King

[Fragomeni]

Francesco,

Don has answered all of your questions about as I would have.

I have seen silver prints from digital negatives printed on inkjet printers that were quite superb in their detail and lack of grain, and lack of dither pattern. I have also seen prints from digital negatives that looked like sh*t warmed over. My take on this is that in making digital negatives, as is most things photographic, there is a tremendous difference in final image quality depending on individual skill, which is in the end way more important than how (method) you make the digital negatives.

Sandy King

Thanks for the response Sandy. I'm leaning toward purchasing PDN and giving it a try. I also think your estimation of skill and the time put into the final print vs a simple "how" is right on. I also recognize that producing a superior silver print from a digital negative probably requires a little more then some of the other processes so my only concern is being able to connect with and work with individuals who have worked out superior workflows for the silver process. Mark emailed me back and confirmed that a number of people are producing silver prints from PDN negatives and I have emailed a couple of them (have yet to receive a response) to inquire into their processes. I am confident that Mark will be a resource that I can tap as well. My greatest concern of all is the fact that I really prefer to be in the darkroom and not in front of the computer but I recognize that significant time with the computer is necessary to produce a fine product.

[mdm]

Even if you do not use PDN to make your negatives, the downloadable manual is an invaluable learning tool.

[Richard M. Coda]

P.S. I'm in downtown Phoenix, hope you got a chance to photograph that storm that just passed through if it reached you in Scottsdale. Take care.

I may go out early Sunday morning, Jan. 2 downtown... I do a lot of photographing there. If I go, want to join me?

[Brian Ellis]

I know virtually nothing about digital negatives. But I did attend one of Mark's lectures and demos and saw his work. I can tell you that his enlarged negatives and the prints from them looked very good to me, even when he enlarged the negative from a 35mm negative. I can't say whether it was as good as he might have obtained with an in-camera negative but it certainly would have been good enough for me (and I was making 8x10 contact prints at the time so I had some idea of what a large in-camera negative and the prints from it looked like). I agree with Sandy, it's at least as much abut the person doing the work as it is the method used.

[sanking]

I know virtually nothing about digital negatives. But I did attend one of Mark's lectures and demos and saw his work. I can tell you that his enlarged negatives and the prints from them looked very good to me, even when he enlarged the negative from a 35mm negative. I can't say whether it was as good as he might have obtained with an in-camera negative but it certainly would have been good enough for me (and I was making 8x10 contact prints at the time so I had some idea of what a large in-camera negative and the prints from it looked like). I agree with Sandy, it's at least as much abut the person doing the work as it is the method used.

I have known Mark Nelson for many years and have seen a lot of his work. He is a true master of Photoshop -- I am just in awe of what he can do with the program. That needs to be taken into account it looking at his work. He makes some of the finest high key palladium prints I have ever seen, and he uses digital negatives from inkjet printers. The work he does, IMHO, simply could not be done with continuos tone film negatives made in the camera because you could never get the tonal control he achieves. He has used the 3800 a lot, believe he has recently bought a 3800.

So far as I know Mark does not contact print silver with digital negatives, though as has been pointed out, some of the folks who have done workshops with him do print in silver.

LTV negatives in which a digital file is printed to continuos tone film are about as good as it gets, but this service is too expensive for most of us, and at any magnification over about 3X-4X digital inket negatives gives results that are just as good anyway. Do the resolution numbers yourself and you will see why.

Sandy

[Fragomeni]

I may go out early Sunday morning, Jan. 2 downtown... I do a lot of photographing there. If I go, want to join me?

I'm not sure if I'll be in town but if you want to send me a reminder note a day before or so I can let you know. I'm supposed to be making a trip up north to Flagstaff that i'll hopefully be able to bring my 8x10 on

Back to PDN, I've gone ahead and purchased PDN and am about half way through the book. Everything makes perfect sense in theory so far. I have to wait for the 31 step tablet to arrive which undoubtedly will be delayed by the holiday mail schedule but that give me time to carefully read and re-read the book. Soon as that tablet arrives I'll start testing.