D850 digitizer test part 2 - colour film and blown highlights

[willie_901]

Huss,

I will speculate the overexposed sky caused the Nikon's automated, JPEG, rendering parameter-selection algorithms to fail. The firmware decided the sky had to be blue. Of course the light that illuminated this scene was not from a deep-blue sky.

Since Nikon decided all customers need/want/deserve is an 8-bit JPEG, the data you required to correct the automated rendering was no longer available.

With a raw file all the data is present. I'd bet a couple of minutes applying subtle selective brightness and color temperature rendering parameters would even fix the tree.

This review mentions (link) some of the same disappointments. You are not alone.

I am really fed up with Nikon's arrogantly deciding what customers can or can not be able to do. Whether it's a lack of manual focusing aids for AI/AIS lens, not offering high-quality primes for APS-C owners, or not offering a non-automated, raw option for the D850 Digitizer, Nikon has to stop thinking they get to make decisions for their customers. Surely a significant percentage of their D850 customer base render raw files on a regular basis. I have no issue with a turn key JPEG solution. But it is absurd not to offer D850 owners (or anyone else) the option to select raw + JPEG. How many R&D resources were required to add just that option? Would one more menu option significantly increase the usage frustration level?

Based on your experience and the review linked above, I would wager using raw and batch processing them with fully automated rendering in post-production would be more successful and convenient than using the D850 Negative Digitizer.

 

[Huss]

Still far from the colors of Pakon scanner...

Pakons give very good colour as Kodak built them with baked in profiles for lots of different films. That is the way to go and really that is what needs to be offered with the D850 or any other digi cam that the mfg has decided to give this functionality. It is interesting because Fuji cams have lots of different film rendering modes, so it would seem they could use those as a starting point for a digitizing mode.

Downsides to the Pakon:

1. No longer made, have to McGuyver it to run with current OS
2. Low max resolution - cannot use it for my gallery prints
3. Can only handle 35mm film. Most of my work is on 120 or larger.

What we need is an up to date Pakon w/ higher rez. Or Nikon to fix the digitizer mode.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

We recently had a good thread on camera-scans. I created a test box with known colors, shot it on film, then made a digital image of the negative. I challenged readers to convert the (negative) digital image to a positive with good color, as automatically as possible.

Everyone was able to produce good results, but it took some tweaks. Here's the thread, with images of the test box.

Just now, I was able to get my negative run through the Nikon Digitizer on the D850. Here is the result, straight out of the digitizer, reduced in size of course.

No, those aren't the right colors for Coke or Kodak. No, the tonality isn't right. No, that image isn't acceptable. Looks to me that the Nikon software is simply doing "invert," and we know that doesn't give good color. However, a little experimenting will show that the jpg from the Digitizer CAN be adjusted to good color.

The current Digitizer is slightly amusing to me: resolution is wicked at 45MPx, but the color is poor. :bang:

I will be following progress on this as Nikon improves their software. What will it take to get a fully automatic way to transform our color negatives to good, punchy, digital images? The Pakon (Kodak) scanners do this, good color, right out of the machine.

 

[Huss]

.. What will it take to get a fully automatic way to transform our color negatives to good, punchy, digital images? The Pakon (Kodak) scanners do this, good color, right out of the machine.

The issue is that Nikon needs to have film specific profiles, like Pakon etc have.
That's how you get good colour.
Right now it's one button to pick colour negative inversion. They should have a menu selection to pick the film being converted.