DMax and Dynamic Range.

A few weeks back I was asked some questions about particular scanners and their capabilities. One feature mentioned was Dynamic Range (DR) and the DMax specification. I'd promised I'd get back in short order with a post discussing DMax, DMin and the whole dynamic Range issue. This is a tough nut to crack mind you, therefore, I've decided, I would try to keep it simple.

DMax relates to the Maximum Readable Density or the maximum "opacity" achievable in a given medium.
DMin equates to the Minimum Density or a films maximum "transparency".

It has been suggested that the DMin value should reflect the density reading where the detail is still retained in the light areas of an image. Whereas DMax has been described as the darkest area of an image that a scanner can still discern detail from.

Back when I was pulling film for typesetting and printing, we would try to ensure our films were all checked by densitometer and that the darkest areas were kept around a DMax of 4.0.

The ideal range for scanners would be to be a DMin of 0 and a DMax of 4.0 giving a DR of 4. One thing to bear in mind, the capture of dynamic range varies greatly. Factors like sensor type, colour channel, sensor noise and bit conversion depth all play a part. View all manufacturer specifications, with a prove it to me mind set. Probably the best bit of advice I have to offer is, that you should look to third party reviews for information on how well a scanner performs.

One of the best descriptions of Dynamic Range, that I've come across, can be found at photo.net.

Sigma promises new DSLR for Photokina

With a rather basic and pedestrian presentation, featuring poor typographic treatment, Sigma launched their new teaser website for the SD14 DSLR. I for one am sick of these over produced and rather underwhelming websites which do nothing more than tease (and rather ineffectually at that). I can't wait however to see what they're up to with the new camera, and also to see the specs ... this interest isn't based upon any response to their promtional site but rather, more related to a seeing just how much they've improved on the foveon based technology used in their older DSLRs. No guessing on the specs mind you, I'll wait till the end of the month. Sigma-sd14.com

Bedouin Ventures, release MicroStock Watcher

In the space of one week I get two emails from Marc C. Johnson, the president of Bedouin Ventures LLC. With the release of MicroStock Watcher, Bedouin Ventures, addresses a need which suppliers of Stock images have to be able to track the usage and sales of their products. MicroStock Watcher is a Java-based widget (Yahoo! Konfabulator or OS X Dashboard) and it provides information on stock photography earnings, uploads and downloads for six of the largest microstock websites.

MicroStock Watcher currently supports the following agencies:

Dreamstime
Fotolia
iStockphoto
LuckyOliver
Shutterstock
StockXpert

For more information, visit the MicroStock Watcher product page.

Canon USA Produce a White Paper on their Full Frame CMOS Technology

Rob Galbraith reported that Canon USA has published a new white paper which promotes the benefits of their full frame CMOS sensors used in their EOS-1Ds, EOS-1Ds Mark II and EOS 5D digital SLRs. The Paper which is titled "Canon's Full-Frame CMOS Sensors: The Finest Tools for Digital Photography" is a 30-page document in which Canon takes a look at the advantages of 35mm film frame-size sensors. The White paper is definitely worth a look ... it can be downloaded from following page at Rob Galbraiths Digital Photography Insights:
Canon's Full-Frame CMOS Sensors: The Finest Tools for Digital Photography

DPReview Begin Their Coverage Of Photokina 2006

Ok, so it’s a month away, but things are shaping up for Photokina to be very busy show for folks that are lucky enough to visit. I'm of the mind that digital cameras are not going to be the big news at Photokina. I'm looking for new storage and output technologies, display systems and accessories. That having been said, this is going to definitely going to be the year of Image-stabilization. Visit the Photokina 2006/ page at DPReview to see their coverage. The official Photokina site can be found at http://www.photokina-cologne.com/.

Canon New Products Blitz

It's been quite the week for new product releases, Canon generally announce their products in batches and this week is no different. Canon announced a new consumer D-SLR, several new point and shoots and a couple of lenses in addition to several non photographic products. Their new D-SLR is EOS 400D which is set to replace their successful 350D. I'm personally excited by their new EF lenses, the 50mm F1.2L and the 70-200 mm F4L IS USM lens. For more information please visit DPReview, who have good coverage of many of these new products.

BabelPix™ Keyword Translator

I received an intriguing email from Marc C. Johnson of Bedouin Ventures, LLC. His company has just announced called BabelPix™ a great tool which translates keywords which embedded in images, into foreign languages. It does so, by allowing you to select the image(s) to be translated, and then allow you to specify a target directory into which your translated image(s) will be placed. The product is aimed at photographers and designers who create images for sale through stock agencies and facilitates the easy access to their images in other language markets. It currently supports English to Spanish and back, other languages will follow. BabelPix™ is available in Mac, Windows and Linux versions. For more info on this product, visit the Babelpix homepage.

The theatre of reportage...

One of the most damning bits of disinformation has been the medias handling of events in the middle east ... don't get me wrong, I think that both sides of this war are wrong, with innocents stuck in the middle and paying the price. Thats as far as I'm going on the subject of this war and its reality ... What is a concern is how reporters have allowed themselves to be pawns in a propaganda war and not only obviously, but also in such a callous and underhanded way that the dead bodies of children are being handled with utter disrespect and also to elicit an emotional response that is tainted by the cold blooded calculation with which the events have been managed. From staged photo-ops to extremely badly retouched photography the perversion of the truth is causing a firestorm of consensus from many online bloggers.

I think that reportage should be just that ... any retouching should be kept to a minimum, clean up of dust and removal of corporate logos only. If more is done then a logo should be added which clearly states that the image concerned has been photomanipulated (even better would be to disqualify such imagery from usage in the news media). The press should also endeavour to indicate where the shot has been managed through media handlers, who limit the press representatives access through corralling or by staging a scene, though in reality this is nearly impossible an expectation.

Reportage should be about truth and not about theatre ... if you want theatre watch entertainment ... with the news I want truth. What happens in all cases like this, is a disrespect of the worse kind ... in this case it appears that it is an abuse of the dead, someones children!!!

If your interest has been piqued then visit the Times Online for an intro to a story which upset me almost as much as the war itself.

Nikon Announce 10MP D80 DSLR

Nikon announced their new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR. This new model is the successor to the D70/D70s and has a new look and feel, with improvements to the user interface and a range of new features. New improvements include; a 10.2 mp CCD, a new image processing engine, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system, configurable Auto ISO and high ISO NR, a larger and brighter viewfinder, in-camera retouching (including red eye reduction and D-Lighting), a multiple exposure feature, a built-in wireless flash commander, SD card storage (with SD-HC support) and it also supports the D200's higher capacity battery. The D80 will go on sale in September with a body only price of $999 in the US/£699 in the UK or as a kit with the new 18-135 mm DX lens for $1299 in the US/£949 in the UK. DPReview have produced an eleven page preview of this camera.

Fujifilm USA announce S3 PRo UVIR for Criminal Investigation

Fujifilm announced a specialized version of their S3 Pro digital SLR. The new S3 PRo UVIR model has been modified to facilitate the taking of photographs which are sensitive in the Ultra Violet and InfraRed parts of the light spectrum. This capability is clearly aimed at users in law enforcement, science, medical and fine art. The S3 Pro UVIR is capable of recording otherwise invisible evidence such as gun shot residue, blood stains and burned writing. This new model which also features a live preview capability will be available from selected dealers as will be priced at $1,799 I'm not certain if the model will be available outside of the US as it is only featured on the Fujifilm USA site. For more info visit the product page at fujifilmusa.com

Espon V750-M Pro Vs Microtek i900

After posting a notice back in february on some new scanners by Epson, I was asked recently if I had any comments on the Espon V750-M Pro and how it compares to the Microtek i900, unfortunately having not seen either scanner in action and having no reference files to compare between the two I really cannot accurately comment.

I can make some assuptions though, and those are, that manufacturers claims on DMax are usually generous. So the difference between the Epson and the Microtek will most probably be small. There is an excellent review of the i900 at The Photography Blog and there is also the factor of resolution the V750-M Pro has a higher optical resolution 6400 vs 3200 and the fluid mount technology which I eagerly await seeing results from reviewers lucky enough to get hold of this unit.

You can also read some interesting comments from Ovidiu Predescu someone who has had experience with the V750-M Pro. One other thing to consider is investing in some third party film holders which allow you to optimize the distance between the scanning head and the film. Better Scanning creates custom film holders for a variety of devices including the V series of scanners.

I was going to post this as a response to one of my earlier posts but I needed to post some links and some information which would have been lost. If you are lucky enough to have a friendly digital technology vendor who carries these models you can perhaps arrange to take or send some samples for scanning. Given the difference in the age of the technologies and the differences in optical resolution I'd take a good look at the Epson, also feel free to contact me directly if you have a more specific question relating to the type of media you are using.

Although these types of flatbeds are quite competent as all round units they are not a replacement for dedicated transparency scanners, some of which like the Minolta Dimage Scan Multi PRO claim a DMax of 4.2. In all cases, it is only when you can accurately compare scanned images side by side, when the true capabilities of a scanner come into play. The Wet scan capability of the Epson looks to be a good capability but I'm wondering how much difference it would actually make in comparison to Microteks E.D.I.T.™ and glassless SnapTrans™ solution.

All manufacturers are notorious for making all sorts of claims about their equipments capabilities and it is best to try the scanners you are interested in, if you've been looking at the Epson and the Microtek also look at the Canon flatbeds and Nikons Transparency Scanners. I'm going to follow this up with an article on DMax and just what it means.

Alien Skin releases Blow Up

Alien Skin Software have released yet another useful tool for photographers and imageers. Blow Up, which is designed to create high quality digital enlargements of your images at up to 1600% (3600% in some cases) without perceivable artifacts. In most cases many of these types of software packages and tools create images which have a liquidy type of look where detail is lost and averaged. Blow Up has a rather nice feature which introduces "grain" or noise to reorganify images so they look more natural. Some of the results I saw in their examples where quite effective. I look forward to trying it out and getting back to you on how it compares to other tools with a similar purpose. For more info please visit the Blow Up page at Alien Skin Software.