Scanning Plus X Tonal Range

  • Thread starter Thread starter hellome
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hellome

Could someone tell me what I'm doing wrong or maybe what I'm seeing is
normal. I'm scanning some Plus X 125 that I recently shot. My "range" seems
mostly on the black side of the curve when I look at it in PS levels menus.
My white point never seems to get above the 130s. In other words it looks
like my tonal values are compressed/humped into the black/gray areas. Is
this a problem with my exposure in the camera, processing in the tank or the
result of my scanning (Vue). Or is it just the characteristic of this type
of black and white film. Thanks in advance.
 
Could someone tell me what I'm doing wrong or maybe what I'm seeing is
normal. I'm scanning some Plus X 125 that I recently shot. My "range" seems
mostly on the black side of the curve when I look at it in PS levels menus.
My white point never seems to get above the 130s. In other words it looks
like my tonal values are compressed/humped into the black/gray areas. Is
this a problem with my exposure in the camera, processing in the tank or the
result of my scanning (Vue). Or is it just the characteristic of this type
of black and white film. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
negatives have much less dynamic range than slides so your scanner
doesn't output a full range of tones. You can correct this in the
scanner software or in Photoshop (preferred). The best approach is to
use curves that way you can correct the overall range as well as adjust
the contrast.
I have some tips on this on my web site.
Follow the tips link on the home page.
 
Could someone tell me what I'm doing wrong or maybe what I'm seeing is
normal. I'm scanning some Plus X 125 that I recently shot. My "range" seems
mostly on the black side of the curve when I look at it in PS levels menus.
My white point never seems to get above the 130s. In other words it looks
like my tonal values are compressed/humped into the black/gray areas. Is
this a problem with my exposure in the camera, processing in the tank or the
result of my scanning (Vue). Or is it just the characteristic of this type
of black and white film. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


In the film selection menu there are several Contrast Index values for
B&W films. Set the Contrast Index to the lowest value for low contrast
negatives. If you don't see contrast settings for your film then
select T-Max as the film and you will see them.

Plus X is a thin emulsion film and the negatives do tend to look a bit
pale. This will especially be true if you use the developer diluted,
which produces higer sharpness by developing only the surface and not
deep into the emulsion. The real test is whether you have good detail
in the deep shadows. If shadow detail is lacking, experiment with
increasing the exposure by bracketing 1/2 and 1 stop more exposure
(about ISO 80 and 64 respectively). If it is only the highlight
density and contrast that is low, then experiment with increasing
development. A starting point would be using the Tri-X developing
time.

Hope you find a good solution!

-Al
 
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