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| INFORMATION REFERENCES & SOURCES Magazine articles, good reference books, tutorials on line, organizations, and web sites with good information. |
Web Sites
www.luminous-landscape.com - for nature and landscape information. Excellent tutorials,
technical but very much worth reading and USING. Reviews and Canon technical info on equipment.
nikondigital.org For you Nikon users.... See us Canon people CAN be democratic...
NIKONIANS (www.nikonians.org)
www.fredmiranda.com/ - for really good software for finishing photos. Sharpening as well as noise
reduction
http://www.breezesys.com/ -
http://www.camerabits.com - for "Photo Mechanic" for software to enable and protect your images
while transferring from your camera's CF card (or any other card) to the proper place on your
computer hard drive, plus much more.
For reviews and good info on equipment and products.
www.dpreview.com
Rob Galbraith's site for technical info on Compact Flash cards and other memory card reviews and
specifications.
www.robgalbraith.com
Sensor cleaning (I have done so successfully without damage. It was a big deal for me.) I have the
basic kit for a 20D 1.6 size sensor.
www.visibledust.com
www.moosepeterson.com A nationally known nature photographer has info on sensor cleaning as
well as a host of other info.
WORKSHOPS and EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
http://www.digitallandscape.org/ Incredible absolutely top notch workshops by Moose Peterson,
Vincent Versace, Joe McNally, etc. Highly recommended by Scot Kelby.
http://www.digitaltechnologycentre.com/index.html- Ongoing classes in a variety of software including
Photoshop CS3 and Elements from beginners to advanced. They are based in Sarasota.
For those of you with Wacom tablets, tips on use beginner through advanced are on
http://www.wacom.com/tips/index.cfm?category=Photoshop
www.luminous-landscape.com - for nature and landscape information. Excellent tutorials,
technical but very much worth reading and USING. Reviews and Canon technical info on equipment.
nikondigital.org For you Nikon users.... See us Canon people CAN be democratic...
NIKONIANS (www.nikonians.org)
www.fredmiranda.com/ - for really good software for finishing photos. Sharpening as well as noise
reduction
http://www.breezesys.com/ -
http://www.camerabits.com - for "Photo Mechanic" for software to enable and protect your images
while transferring from your camera's CF card (or any other card) to the proper place on your
computer hard drive, plus much more.
For reviews and good info on equipment and products.
www.dpreview.com
Rob Galbraith's site for technical info on Compact Flash cards and other memory card reviews and
specifications.
www.robgalbraith.com
Sensor cleaning (I have done so successfully without damage. It was a big deal for me.) I have the
basic kit for a 20D 1.6 size sensor.
www.visibledust.com
www.moosepeterson.com A nationally known nature photographer has info on sensor cleaning as
well as a host of other info.
WORKSHOPS and EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
http://www.digitallandscape.org/ Incredible absolutely top notch workshops by Moose Peterson,
Vincent Versace, Joe McNally, etc. Highly recommended by Scot Kelby.
http://www.digitaltechnologycentre.com/index.html- Ongoing classes in a variety of software including
Photoshop CS3 and Elements from beginners to advanced. They are based in Sarasota.
For those of you with Wacom tablets, tips on use beginner through advanced are on
http://www.wacom.com/tips/index.cfm?category=Photoshop
INFORMATIVE MAGAZINES AND THEIR WEB SITES
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND
Any book THAT SAYS "for Photographers" by:
Scott Kelby (the NAPP president, National Assoc. of Photoshop Professionals)
Tim Grey - Color confidence AND his latest book
Dave Cross and the others at NAPP
http://www.photoshopuser.com/
Photographer/authors:
John Shaw - nature photographer - GO TO HIS SEMINARS IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE!!!!!!!!
Kevin Aimes - professional studio photographer, nationally known, Atlanta based. He is a NAPP speaker and you
can see him at the bi-annual NAPP conferences.
Please let me know if you have read a book that helped you.
Any book THAT SAYS "for Photographers" by:
Scott Kelby (the NAPP president, National Assoc. of Photoshop Professionals)
Tim Grey - Color confidence AND his latest book
Dave Cross and the others at NAPP
http://www.photoshopuser.com/
Photographer/authors:
John Shaw - nature photographer - GO TO HIS SEMINARS IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE!!!!!!!!
Kevin Aimes - professional studio photographer, nationally known, Atlanta based. He is a NAPP speaker and you
can see him at the bi-annual NAPP conferences.
Please let me know if you have read a book that helped you.
EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
Tim Grey is a nationally known expert who now works for Microsoft. He spent a number of years
teaching at the Lepp Institute. George Lepp is a nationally known nature photograper/teacher. Tim
Grey has a Digital Darkroom newsletter/email list where he answers specific questions from his paid
subscribers. You can receive the email information for free if you are on his list. The following email
has all of the information and links.
teaching at the Lepp Institute. George Lepp is a nationally known nature photograper/teacher. Tim
Grey has a Digital Darkroom newsletter/email list where he answers specific questions from his paid
subscribers. You can receive the email information for free if you are on his list. The following email
has all of the information and links.
Tim Grey
tim@timgrey.com
www.timgrey.com
I recently purchased an Epson R2400 printer, at least partly because of its ability to produce outstanding B&W
prints (apparently far better than the 1280 and other earlier models, according to most reviews I have read).
However, it's not clear to me if I need to use the Epson color management driver to take advantage of the
printer's B&W capabilities. In other words, once I have created a master print file (converted to B&W using a
Channel Mixer adjustment layer or some similar means), can I still use a Photoshop printer profile and "Let
Photoshop determine the colors" setting, or should I set the printer settings in PS to use the printer driver for
color management, and then select the Advanced B&W setting in the Epson Printer dialog box? I realize this
latter method provides some additional adjustment capabilities at the printing stage (tinting, for instance), but I
prefer to make those adjustments in the image file using adjustment layers anyway. So it's not obvious if I should
choose to let the R2400 driver "color manage" vs. letting Photoshop handle it as I would for my color printing. My
goal here is to use whatever method takes the most advantage of the R2400's B&W printing capabilities.
Yes, indeed the Epson R2400 is, as far as I'm concerned, infinitely better than the 1280 at producing neutral
black & white prints. It is even quite a bit better than the 2200 that preceded it. The R2400 is one of the best
photo inkjet printers available when it comes to producing great black & white prints.
Fortunately, you really don't have to do anything particularly special when producing black & white prints as
compared to color prints on the R2400. The profiles that are included with the printer are quite accurate, and the
workflow can really be exactly the same. There's no need to utilize all the "special" settings in the printer
properties dialog box. In fact, just like with color output, my recommendation is to get the image perfected in
Photoshop and then send that to the printer without letting the printer "get in the way".
So, the basic process would be to optimize your image, prepare it for printing (resize, sharpen, etc.), and send it
to the printer. Select File > Print with Preview from the menu, and set Color Handling to "Let Photoshop
Determine Colors". Select the appropriate profile for the paper you're using from the Printer Profile dropdown.
Set the Rendering Intent to Relative Colorimetric, and check the Black Point Compensation checkbox. Click Print
and go to the Properties for the printer. Be sure to use the Advanced mode, and select ICM in the Color
Management section and then set the ICC/ICM Profile option to "Off (No Color Adjustment)". All other settings
would still be as you normally use them (and in fact all of these are also normal settings). You'll find that the
results are quite exceptional with this printer, even with the default profiles.
##########
Become a DDQ Contributor - Support the DDQ E-mail Service
If you find the information provided in the Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ) e-mail service to be of value, you
can make a contribution to help support the effort that is put into the service. The service is provided by Tim
Grey with no compensation except the contributions of supporters. Details on making a contribution are at the
following web page:
www.timgrey.com/ddq/
When you become a contributor, you'll have access to a searchable archive of all prior questions, and have the
opportunity to have your questions considered for inclusion in a DDQ e-mail.
Subscription Info
Please feel free to forward this e-mail message to any friends that may be interested, and recommend that they
subscribe to the free service. All I ask is that you forward the message in its entirety.
Contents of this e-mail are copyright by Tim Grey. All Rights Reserved.
tim@timgrey.com
www.timgrey.com
I recently purchased an Epson R2400 printer, at least partly because of its ability to produce outstanding B&W
prints (apparently far better than the 1280 and other earlier models, according to most reviews I have read).
However, it's not clear to me if I need to use the Epson color management driver to take advantage of the
printer's B&W capabilities. In other words, once I have created a master print file (converted to B&W using a
Channel Mixer adjustment layer or some similar means), can I still use a Photoshop printer profile and "Let
Photoshop determine the colors" setting, or should I set the printer settings in PS to use the printer driver for
color management, and then select the Advanced B&W setting in the Epson Printer dialog box? I realize this
latter method provides some additional adjustment capabilities at the printing stage (tinting, for instance), but I
prefer to make those adjustments in the image file using adjustment layers anyway. So it's not obvious if I should
choose to let the R2400 driver "color manage" vs. letting Photoshop handle it as I would for my color printing. My
goal here is to use whatever method takes the most advantage of the R2400's B&W printing capabilities.
Yes, indeed the Epson R2400 is, as far as I'm concerned, infinitely better than the 1280 at producing neutral
black & white prints. It is even quite a bit better than the 2200 that preceded it. The R2400 is one of the best
photo inkjet printers available when it comes to producing great black & white prints.
Fortunately, you really don't have to do anything particularly special when producing black & white prints as
compared to color prints on the R2400. The profiles that are included with the printer are quite accurate, and the
workflow can really be exactly the same. There's no need to utilize all the "special" settings in the printer
properties dialog box. In fact, just like with color output, my recommendation is to get the image perfected in
Photoshop and then send that to the printer without letting the printer "get in the way".
So, the basic process would be to optimize your image, prepare it for printing (resize, sharpen, etc.), and send it
to the printer. Select File > Print with Preview from the menu, and set Color Handling to "Let Photoshop
Determine Colors". Select the appropriate profile for the paper you're using from the Printer Profile dropdown.
Set the Rendering Intent to Relative Colorimetric, and check the Black Point Compensation checkbox. Click Print
and go to the Properties for the printer. Be sure to use the Advanced mode, and select ICM in the Color
Management section and then set the ICC/ICM Profile option to "Off (No Color Adjustment)". All other settings
would still be as you normally use them (and in fact all of these are also normal settings). You'll find that the
results are quite exceptional with this printer, even with the default profiles.
##########
Become a DDQ Contributor - Support the DDQ E-mail Service
If you find the information provided in the Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ) e-mail service to be of value, you
can make a contribution to help support the effort that is put into the service. The service is provided by Tim
Grey with no compensation except the contributions of supporters. Details on making a contribution are at the
following web page:
www.timgrey.com/ddq/
When you become a contributor, you'll have access to a searchable archive of all prior questions, and have the
opportunity to have your questions considered for inclusion in a DDQ e-mail.
Subscription Info
Please feel free to forward this e-mail message to any friends that may be interested, and recommend that they
subscribe to the free service. All I ask is that you forward the message in its entirety.
Contents of this e-mail are copyright by Tim Grey. All Rights Reserved.
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LIGHTROOM INFO-
http://lightroom-news.com/2007/04/02/lightroom-podcast-29-has-been-posted-with-raw-engineering-a
nd-jeff-schewe/
If you are a member of NAPP there are informative video clips about Lightroom on their site.
Adobe still has a trial download of Lightroom.
http://lightroom-news.com/2007/04/02/lightroom-podcast-29-has-been-posted-with-raw-engineering-a
nd-jeff-schewe/
If you are a member of NAPP there are informative video clips about Lightroom on their site.
Adobe still has a trial download of Lightroom.
| Please note: I reccomend signing up for Tim Grey's email newsletter, either free-you just get to read the answers- or you can ask questions for a subscription fee. See below!!! |
Enjoy today's e-mail...
Tim Grey
(See my books at www.timgrey.com/books.htm)
tim@timgrey.com
www.timgrey.com
##########
Any thoughts on the new Memorex Pro Gold Archival DVD-R's or the Delkin Archival Gold "100-Year Disc"?
==========
I do have thoughts, indeed. The bottom line is that I don't completely trust any storage medium. Therefore, I
consider it critical to have a solid backup system (one that creates a duplicate copy of all your important data
reliably). It is also critical to actually check your storage periodically to ensure you're able to read it. For example,
if you archive images off to other storage, you should try to read the data from that storage media periodically. In
other words, you should always have two copies of your data and you should check both of them periodically to
ensure the data is still readable.
To give you a short answer, the highest rated discs use stable dyes and reflective layers, and therefore minimize
the risks of data loss over time. I would never expect the disc to last 100 years, and not even ten years in most
cases. But you don't need the disc to last that long. In ten years you probably won't be using DVD media
anymore, let alone CD media. So if they say 100 and you only trust them for ten, you're probably still in pretty
good shape. If you have decided optical media is a good solution for you, then you want the best discs. The
discs you refer to are very good, and I also like the Verbatim DataLifePlus line of discs.
With that in mind, it is certainly reasonable to use optical media (CD and DVD) to store your images. I don't
personally find optical media to be a great solution (I prefer external hard drives), but there are certainly
situations where optical media make a lot of sense. In those cases, you'll naturally want the very best reliability,
even if it is just for discs you'll send to a client and that only need to last a few weeks or months at most.
When it comes to the reliability of optical media, two of the key factors are the reflective layer (the shiny material
that actually reflects the laser back to the sensor in the CD or DVD drive so it can read from the disc) and the dye
used to actually record the data (the light-sensitive dye that the laser in the CD or DVD drive "burns" in order to
define a difference between "on" or "off" to create the "ones and zeroes" of the actual data). If either the reflective
layer or dye are not stable, the data is not safe. There are, of course, other risk factors. The outer substrate
could crack, craze, or start to become more opaque, the disc can be physically damaged, or any number of other
potential causes of damage resulting in data loss. But if we assume the rest of the disk is high-quality and it will
be stored and handled properly, the reflective layer and dye become the key factors.
The discs that are rated the best (the Delkin discs claim to be 300-year discs, by the way, not the 100-year you
refer to) use the most stable and highest quality dyes and a reflective layer that is as inert as possible. There are
only a handful of dyes used in all of the optical media produced (there actually aren't all that many companies
producing discs, they just get branded differently). The top discs use highly stable dyes, but there are still limits
on how long they will maintain readability in the disc (the primary risk being that the dyes will fade over time
making the data on the disc unreadable). The reflective layer must also maintain its reflectivity in order for the
data to be read. Very cheap discs use inexpensive materials that oxidize quickly, and therefore have a high risk
of not being readable. The best discs utilize gold in the reflective layer to ensure the reflective layer doesn't
oxidize too quickly (most discs that have a gold reflective layer don't use pure gold, but rather a gold alloy, so
they aren't as stable as you might otherwise expect, but still very stable).
So, there is certainly some marketing hype behind the claims of these optical discs, but there is also some pretty
good science behind them too. I wouldn't trust any storage media completely, but if you want to use optical discs
these are among the best available.
Support the DDQ E-mail Service
If you find the information provided in the Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ) e-mail service to be of value, you
can make a contribution to help support the effort that is put into the service. The service is provided by Tim
Grey with no compensation except the contributions of supporters. Details on making a contribution are at the
following web page:
www.timgrey.com/ddq/
When you become a contributor, you'll have access to a searchable archive of all prior questions, and have the
opportunity to have your questions considered for inclusion in a DDQ e-mail (though please keep in mind I can't
answer all questions).
Subscription Info
Details on adding or removing an e-mail address can be found, along with other information, at the following site:
www.timgrey.com/ddq/
Please feel free to forward this e-mail message to any friends that may be interested, and recommend that they
subscribe to the free service. All I ask is that you forward the message in its entirety.
Contents of this e-mail are copyright by Tim Grey. All Rights Reserved.
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