W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!

[jonmanjiro]

Thanks Cal! After many years of not being very satisfied with my B&W scans, in recent months I've finally honed in on the settings/developing that give me results I'm reasonably happy with.

Here's a few more shots taken with my W-Nikkor 35/1.8, daytime shots this time! The pictured shrine is Izumo Taisha, one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan.


出雲大社 by Jon, on Flickr


出雲大社 by Jon, on Flickr

 

[Highway 61]

Erik, I'll have to double check to be certain but I'm pretty sure the Nikon Scan software can be used to measure points on the negative to determine the lightest and darkest parts. But as you've already surmised, I've never used that function. Instead, I batch scan an entire roll in one go and let the scanner automatically determine the correct (according to the scanner) exposure and focus for each negative as the scanner scans the roll. I know Nikon Scan generally gets a bad rap in the forums but it does a good job for me and I've never found it to be lacking.

Nikon Scan's algorithms were made after PhotoShop's ones (we can say that Nikon Scan is a clone of PhotoShop for many functions) so Nikon Scan cannot be bad.

As to whether the scanner (as a machine) can scan the film differently (that is, running a different lighting source through the film) depending on what the film is and what it looks like, the answer is no. So as far as you get a source file (TIFF for instance) which has captured the more information possible off the film and which, at the same time, has been sampled onto 16 bits par channel and has much headroom to be tweaked (including the neg. to pos. inverting step) with a good imaging software (i.e., PhotoShop) you're 100% OK at scanning films...

The key is to admit that each file has to be post processed separately - and it can be time consuming. There is nothing like an automated workflow for scanning films which can work with good results.

The second 出雲大社 is a fantastic photo !!! 😱

 

[Erik van Straten]

The key is to admit that each file has to be post processed separately - and it can be time consuming.

The Epson scanner software provides a three-way adaptation of the histogram - dark, middle and light - wich is extremely useful, but of course only for individual images. With the densitometer you can measure all the parts of the negative, so that no part wil become uniformly white -value 255- or black -value 0-.

Erik.

 

[Highway 61]

The scanner is a passive machine which takes a cliché of the negative. The key is to have that machine capture all the greyscales which are on the negative (linear source histogram for every channel) just as if you were taking a photo of the negative using a digital camera in RAW mode, a macro lens and a repro-bench.

Then the fine adjustments of the levels and curves etc are made with a good software tweaking the image file created by the machine. This is the operator's job. To be done properly, the image file must be a 16 bits per channel one, created at the scanner's max. resolution (real one not marketing saying's one) and displayed on a calibrated screen using a proper imaging software.

Anything which will be done after the machine has captured the richest possible image of the negative is the operator's responsability. There is no software which will decide for me where to place the 0 and the 255 on the work-in-progress file histogram... 😉

 

[Erik van Straten]

There is no software which will decide for me where to place the 0 and the 255

No, but you need a device to measure the value, like a lightmeter. If you do not measure and adapt it, it can become 0 or 255 and that is what you do not want. You want your darkest part 1 and your lightest part 254 or lower.

Erik.

 

[Highway 61]

No, but you need a device to measure the value, like a lightmeter. If you do not measure and adapt it, it can become 0 or 255 and that is what you do not want. You want your darkest part 1 and your lightest part 254 or lower.

Erik.

True - this is called not blanking the lowlights out and not clipping the highlights.

This can be achieved without any special device, you just need a calibrated screen and a 16 bits per channel full-res. TIFF or DNG file. And, of course, you have to carefully look at your histogram. In case of any doubts, PhotoShop can tell you at what level the darkest parts of the image are, thanks to the pipette. The same for the clearest highlights.

But - this must not be done by advance on the file the scanner will create and save. Otherwise you will post-process a source file having been modified already - not good.

Markus Hartel on his own website and Bob Michaels here have confirmed this.

 

[Erik van Straten]

But - this must not be done by advance on the file the scanner will create and save. Otherwise you will post-process a source file having been modified already - not good.

I will not process it afterwards, because it will be OK as it is! I only make a small web-version. That one needs some extra treatment.

Erik.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Interesting discussing on the ins and outs of scanning. Now for a few more W-Nikkor 35/1.8 photos! These were taken inside an izakaya (restaurant/bar) in Tottori City, one at MFD and one with the focus on the menu at the back, but both at f/2 from memory. I quite like the soft foreground bokeh of this lens as seen in the second photo.

The second 出雲大社 is a fantastic photo !!! 😱

Thanks Nicolas!


居酒屋 by Jon, on Flickr


居酒屋 by Jon, on Flickr

 

[jonmanjiro]

新宿 by Jon, on Flickr

 

[jonmanjiro]

新宿 by Jon, on Flickr

 

[Erik van Straten]

Super!

Erik.

 

[rbsinto]

Cosina Voigtlander R2S Bessa
Nikon 35 1.8 in Nikon s mount
Fuji 100 ISO colour slide
about f4 @ 1/1000th

 

[jonmanjiro]

Super!

Erik.

Thanks Erik! Here's one from last weekend.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Outside looking in by Jon, on Flickr

 

[jonmanjiro]

Continuing on the entrances to izakayas theme...

 

[Papercut]

Nice shots, as usual, Jon!

Good advertisements for this lens, for sure.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Thanks Kevin! I hope to see you posting in this thread soon too.

Here's a couple more recent snaps. The last one is way under exposed, but I was at the limits of hand holdability (1/15 from memory) and I like it anyway.

 

[Papercut]

I'd love to compare the cockpit of that Japanese commuter train (?) with the cockpit of the Metro-North here in NYC. I bet the latter looks 19th-century in comparison with that Japanese shot! 😀

I hope to be able to post here too. (This should go in the other thread but: the lens is now at Nippon Photo Clinic. They should call in a day or two with a diagnosis and estimate, assuming it's fixable. If it's not, I will be sending it back to the seller. The counter guy was very professional: he looked at my test roll pictures, went over the lens, did flashlight examinations both ends, took good notes. So, if their technician is as good as the front room fella, I should know a lot more in a few days.)

 

[hiam]

era 100 film, hc-110.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I'd love to compare the cockpit of that Japanese commuter train (?) with the cockpit of the Metro-North here in NYC. I bet the latter looks 19th-century in comparison with that Japanese shot! 😀

Hmmmm I'm not so sure about that! It's a regular commuter train that's probably been in service for at least 30 years, and the controls used by the driver are rather primative really. One of those big dials in front of the driver is an analogue speedometer!

era 100 film, hc-110.

Lovely photo, Jin!