Push/Pull processing if Scanning Negative

[Tin Can]

Image goals are mostly Online no matter what or who you are

Some like low rez for copyright

I move all scans and DIGI cam to Flicker, which makes posting to this forum very easy in any size/rez

Keepers ARE NOW LF FILM only not posted here or anywhere

I throw out a lot of my crap

[schafphoto]

I understand the OP is seeking input on "scanning" but that word is also now being thrown around by folks doing camera-scanning... for example, take a look at all the "new" camera scanning stuff being manufactured by Negative Supply here in Camarillo.

I camera scan everything I deliver to the Historic American Buildings Survey so I can print the small 4x5 or 5x7 "digital mount cards" that are delivered along with my original negatives. The scans I produce are not delivered, just the prints, negatives, captions and a photo keymap. It depends on your final print size and desired IQ if camera scanning would work for you.

In 2020 I described my camera-scanning workflow with samples here: www.largeformatphotography/4x5-5x7-Negatives-Camera-Scanning

To the point of the thread, with my simple digitizing setup, I have found that I get better camera-scans when I have slightly denser negatives. I have calibrated my entire workflow to produce negatives that look about a 1/2 to 3/4 stop "denser" when viewed on a Lightbox. Normally exposedeveloped negatives still work fine, thinner negatives are sub-optimal for camera scanning in my experience. As others have stated, calibration is key, my entire workflow, soup-to-nuts is intended to produce lowish-contrast, informational, documentary images, that are a bit "denser" than the negatives I produce for darkroom printing, so this is not appropriate for everyone, but then not everyone mails their negatives away either.

As background, eventually every negative delivered to the National Park Service's Heritage Documentation Programs: HABS/HAER/HALS is re-digitized at the Library of Congress again and made public online. If you were to search for a historic building in the HABS collection pre 2000, you would see a thumbnail, a screen-size jpeg and the downloadable public domain, high-resolution Tiff scan. A decade or more ago I'm sure the LoC used a traditional scanning workflow, but I would guess that the next scanning contract will be a Phase-One heritage scanning setup (probably 150-Megapixel) for the next round of digitizing HABS/HAER negatives. I have over a thousand negatives at the LoC that still need to be "officially" digitized and put up on the HABS website, because at the moment in 2022, the NPS/LoC is more than ten years behind in digitizing HABS negatives.

[jnantz]

I have over a thousand negatives at the LoC that still need to be "officially" digitized and put up on the HABS website, because at the moment in 2022, the NPS/LoC is more than ten years behind in digitizing HABS negatives.

Jack Boucher is rolling in his grave! LOL. He wanted nothing to do with digital production and the HABS/HAER collection. When I spoke with him years ago he was pretty candid with me about that, and how it was kind of nuts for the State Level HABS/HAER Recordations to be done digitally. Maybe it's different in California, but here in New England, every recordation I have done for the last 12 years has had a large digital component. I agree with Jack, it's kind of nuts, considering these are negative and prints for the historic record. The archive will completely vanish when there's a problem ( and there have been at the federal level with a loss of over a million images in a different governmental department ), or some intern pushes launch instead of lunch like Bob Denver.

[schafphoto]

The archive will completely vanish when there's a problem.

I feel you. But it would be honest to say that after initial contact printing, most of the film transmitted to HDP since 1990 will never, ever see the light of an enlarger lamp house... so it is basically an analog input for a digital output.

At least most of the documents in Cali are still film. And most of the film I send will get scanned eventually, so I'm taking the long view. And the last iteration of born-digital HABS/HAER guidelines still allowed for analog large format, so we can avoid the investment in digital medium format for the near term, and keep exposing silver.

[jnantz]

I feel you. But it would be honest to say that after initial contact printing, most of the film transmitted to HDP since 1990 will never, ever see the light of an enlarger lamp house... so it is basically an analog input for a digital output.

At least most of the documents in Cali are still film. And most of the film I send will get scanned eventually, so I'm taking the long view. And the last iteration of born-digital HABS/HAER guidelines still allowed for analog large format, so we can avoid the investment in digital medium format for the near term, and keep exposing silver.

Yeah I know, film >digital output, the contact prints were just a reference for the all important (physical) negative ! scans on PMCs are perfect for that..
All that said, it's still nuts for the states HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICES to refuse film. You'd think cultural resource management professionals, would realize once something's gone, it's gone. kind of boggles the mind.