To make this experiment even more of a challenge, I used a vintage 1937 Zeiss Nettar 6x9 folding camera. I used modern Kodak Potra 160 color film. For the digital camera I used a new Canon S100 digital camera on "P" mode. I had the film developed by a local lab and they scanned it to disk for me in the lowest resolution they have which is 3034x2048(6.2MP). The digital file was 3000x4000(12.0MP) I did not do any post processing on either file other than run DStretch on them. I used the default preset of YRD on both.
Here are the original photos
Digital Camera
Film Camera
Here are the DStretched versions
Digital Camera
Film Camera
What do you think? Better than you thought I would bet, I have to say I like the film version better. So does this mean I am shooting film from now on for all my rock art? Ummm, no...not at all, that would cost a fortune!! Digital still makes much more sense for rock art and you can take hundreds of photos and it costs nothing. This does make an interesting case for finding some of my old negatives and trying to scan them in to run DStretch on them. Let me know if you have any similar results.
As a bonus, here is photo I accidentally double exposed, those old cameras don't have built in double exposure prevention mechanisms so you gotta remember to wind the film before taking the next shot...ooops!
Star Trails double exposed with rock art
That is pretty interesting. I wasn't expecting that result.
ReplyDeleteI think I've downloaded the programs needed for DStretch and it looks pretty complicated. I need to give it another try. If you don't mind, I may have a few questions for you.
I was not really expecting that either. I think the large 6x9 negative helped out. You can get good results with the default presets in DStretch, it is not too hard at all. Remember, I have some tutorials on DStretch to get you started!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I got the software and it is working fine. You are right about the default settings working well. I'm still going to use your tutorials to try and improve my results. I have pictograph photos from quite a few sites and want to make sure I'm getting the maximum improvement out of DStretch before I post them. Thanks so much for your help! Do you know anything about the ability to get DStretch into cameras? Apparently, it allows you to check things out on the spot.
ReplyDeletePat, you can email Jon about the camera version, he can give you all the details. Glad you finally got around to using DStretch!
DeleteThanks Daren! I will send him an email.
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