[Leica] Re: Prints from slides

[pieter@world.std.com (Pieter Bras)]

Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net> wrote:

>Last Saturday I saw a print from a slide that absolutely knocked me
>out.  It was shot on 35mm (Nikon) EPP (not noted for sharpness).  It was
>16 x 20.  There was detail on the print that you couldn't see on the
>slide with a good lupe.  Looked like is was made from a  4x5.

>It was done by the new laser scan method where film is scanned and then
>image laser burned onto regular R-type paper.  Absoluteably repeatable,
>contrast can be controlled easily, detail you can't imagine.  About $50
>and worth every penny.  Comparable in sharpness to Evercolor prints, but
>not as archival.

The lab where I get my slides processed (Boston Photo Lab) now uses
exclusively this method for producing prints from slides.  Just recently
I had occasion to try it out with a portrait of my Siamese cat that just
happened to be the last photo I have of him before he suddenly died.
It was an indoor available-light exposure, overall contrast relatively
low, Kodak Elite II 100 film, f/2 at 1/30 second with a "brand N" 105mm
f/2 lens.  A tripod was used.

I had a 6 X 9 inch print made, on 8 X 10 paper, They scanned the
original at 250 dpi of output, that is the slide was digitized to 1500 X
2250 pixels.  It was printed on Kodak professional color paper.

The print looks nice enough at first view, but upon careful comparison
it cannot stand up to the slide.  With a 20X triplet lens, I could
clearly see film grain on the slide.  On the print, no grain was visible
at any magnification.  There was, however, an overall loss of
definition.  Eye details were less distinct and eyelashes were slightly
blurred.  The white whiskers against the deep blue background were most
obviously afffected.  They seemed thinner, lacking the substance of the
original.  Examining them carefully on the print, I could see the rows
of imaged dots, and have satisfied myself that the loss of quality is
due to the pixelization.  Each pixel area can be only a single color, so
in areas of high contrast, colors can bleed across the width of a pixel.

As this photo has high sentimental value to me, I am going to try to get
the best possible print, without regard for $$$.  I am having a
spare-no-expense Ilfochrome print made of the same slide, and should
have comparative results shortly.  Stay tuned.

- -- 
Pieter Bras        pieter@world.std.com