Extract Monaco LAB app now available
Eric Chan has generously responded to a need in the color community by bringing his "Convert to MonacoLAB" application to the Mac OS. Convert to MonacoLAB allows color geeks to measure Bill Atkinson 1728 or 4096 RGB printer profiling targets in either MeasureTool or ColorPort and convert the measurements into the LAB format that MonacoPROFILER requires. Unlike the previously popular "Extract Monaco LAB" applescript, "Convert to MonacoLAB" is Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6.x) compatible. The Windows version is compatible with XP and Vista; it should also be compatible with Windows 7, though it has…
Q&A: Which is better for scanning - negative or positive film?
Q) Which is better for scanning - negative or positive film? A) Generally speaking, color negative (C-41) film is a dream to scan relative to transparency (E6) and black and white films. Color negative not only captures a huge dynamic range but compresses it to a very small dynamic range that's easy for scanners to extract. Color negative film allow allows the photographer to print in either color or black and white. Images can be scanned in color mode and in front of the lens filtration (yellow filter, red filter, etc) can be simulated during the process of converting the image to a…
Working with sRAW image files
The sRAW (small RAW) format is gaining popularity among 20+ megapixel camera owners that occasionally don't want as much resolution or such a large file size. sRAW files are half to a quarter of the resolution of a full RAW and this equates to smaller storage requirements and faster processing for projects that don't require as much resolution. sRAW files do maintain a nearly all the development flexibility of a true RAW file, and therefore are often more desirable than a less flexible JPEG. sRAW files aren't actually true RAW files. The sensor's true RAW data is demosaiced and rendered to a…
Snow Leopard Planning
Apple's long anticipated 10.6 "Snow Leopard" operating system is now shipping. Snow Leopard's modern cocoa code base promises system-wide responsiveness, reliability, smarter multiprocessor utilization and multitasking on existing Intel based hardware. Geek Mac and Windows users alike should read this in-depth article on Snow Leopard's under the hood technologies. As with any major operating system upgrade it is important that we make a list of our applications and printer drivers and check for compatibility before making the switch.
5Dmark2 - today's best camera for long exposure night photography?
Having used several cameras for a lot of long exposure night photography lately, I think the Canon 5Dmark2 is quite likely the best camera on the market for long exposure night photography right now. Here are some of the highlights: 6400 ISO for testing Being able to take photos at 6400 ISO has huge benefits for the night photographer. Night photographers tend to waste a bunch of time taking long exposures only to discover they need to reshoot with a better exposure. Testing exposures at high ISOs can save huge amounts of time but doing so has been clunky as it requires complicated math when…
5Dmark2 for night photography
There have been lots of great reviews on the much anticipated Canon 5Dmark2 camera that's hitting shelves this month. Phil Holland's review is particularly impressive. Since the 5D has been a favorite among a number of night photographers, I thought I'd post a few notes about the 5Dmark2 from a night photographer's perspective. I am considering upgrading to the 5Dmark2 from…
Updated review of colorimeters and display calibration packages
I've had some good conversations lately with a number color scientists and gurus about colorimeters and display calibration. Several of them perform exhaustive lab tests on a variety of devices, checking for repeatability and the like. The consensus seems to be that while the long time favorite DTP94/Optix device continues to be a solid performer, it's been found to have some weaknesses when it comes to calibrating some of the recent large gamut LCD/LED displays. As for other devices, the EyeOneDisplay continues to have quality control problems, spectrophotometers have issues with shadow…
use a white card for setting white balance
Contrary to popular myth, white balance should bet set using a white card instead of a gray card. It is, after all, a *white* balance that is being set, not exposure for middle gray. Software developers including Thomas Knoll have confirmed this with me. While the distinction between using a gray or white card may not be huge, I have found it to be somewhat significant in some situations. While using a gray…
G7 press calibration call to arms
G7 is a proof-to-print process developed by the IDEAlliance that uses spectrophotometry to calibrate presses by the numbers to specifications like SWOP, GRACoL or FOGRA. Previous press calibration methods relied upon basic densitometry, dot gain and visual analysis and could take days of press runs and tweaking
Lightroom 3 Process Quality Improvements