Film Showcase Ilford HP5 Plus

Could be the film - it's very nicely graded with smooth transitions IMO, but certainly not very contrasty. However, this is actually quite desirable because it's reasonably easy to change (or correct) contrast in post because of this - scan to TIFF (no compression), then do post using curves and black/white point correction before exporting to JPEG; the contrast slider and/or a zone system tool might help as well - darktable offers all of these; but it's also simple enough to do from within Polarr ... I took the freedom of downloading your JPEG, and even with that (i.e. from non-optimal data, but a nicely balanced image), Polarr made it almost trivial to enhance contrast without ruining the image (I deleted the result - it's your image; but if you would like me to, I can easily redo it).

M.

Oh please go ahead Matt, I would love to see what Polarr produced. I actually scan linear and get a "raw" negative which I then invert in LR and take it from there. The thing is since I am so new to all this, I am not really sure what HP5Plus400 is supposed to look like.
 
Oh please go ahead Matt, I would love to see what Polarr produced. I actually scan linear and get a "raw" negative which I then invert in LR and take it from there. The thing is since I am so new to all this, I am not really sure what HP5Plus400 is supposed to look like.
@Cerita Your images look pretty much like HP5+ should IMO :) This is the image (resized to make it clear which was which):
Cerita_mffilmscan008_Polarr_MM.jpg
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And here's what I did (not a lot - again, it's meant as a proof of concept); some things are just "standard", i.e. I do similar things to every file, and I didn't optimise anything, it's just a "more or less right" approach:
  • Exposure -4 <- this ...
  • Brightness +8 <- ... and this I often do if I have no blown out regions to bring up the highlights and make them stand out; *if* you do it, it's important to somewhat *reduce* exposure first, or the image'll get very flat
  • Contrast +24 <- could probably have been less - I just wanted to see if it did any damage; it didn't (or not much) - though it could have ruined some edges
  • Whites +24 <- "secret sauce" - brings out the flowers, the mortar lines and the bars in the windows
  • Blacks -32 <- "secret sauce" - gives the bench more body and the dark regions below it get enhanced (I may have overdone that a tad - but the effect is very visible)
  • Clarity -12 <- to counteract the fact that pushing around the whites and blacks this way may(!) ruin some edges - I didn't see any major sign of this, but nonetheless ...
  • Sharpness +4 <- as a general procedure after enhancing contrast (I want things to "pop", so ...) - but this is minor in this case; again, had it been detrimental, I would ha

You'll notice I left highlights and shadows alone because working from JPEG, there's simply not a lot to be had; noise reduction is something to leave alone (IMO) when working with film scans.

Please keep in mind that this isn't meant to be an "optimal" image, just a demonstration of how to moderately enhance contrast in the easy way.

Oh, and may I say that this is a very nice shot - to look at and to work with? Good framing, solid execution. You may be new to the game, but your eyes work very nicely indeed ;)

M.
 
@Cerita Your images look pretty much like HP5+ should IMO :) This is the image (resized to make it clear which was which):
View attachment 2431
And here's what I did (not a lot - again, it's meant as a proof of concept); some things are just "standard", i.e. I do similar things to every file, and I didn't optimise anything, it's just a "more or less right" approach:
  • Exposure -4 <- this ...
  • Brightness +8 <- ... and this I often do if I have no blown out regions to bring up the highlights and make them stand out; *if* you do it, it's important to somewhat *reduce* exposure first, or the image'll get very flat
  • Contrast +24 <- could probably have been less - I just wanted to see if it did any damage; it didn't (or not much) - though it could have ruined some edges
  • Whites +24 <- "secret sauce" - brings out the flowers, the mortar lines and the bars in the windows
  • Blacks -32 <- "secret sauce" - gives the bench more body and the dark regions below it get enhanced (I may have overdone that a tad - but the effect is very visible)
  • Clarity -12 <- to counteract the fact that pushing around the whites and blacks this way may(!) ruin some edges - I didn't see any major sign of this, but nonetheless ...
  • Sharpness +4 <- as a general procedure after enhancing contrast (I want things to "pop", so ...) - but this is minor in this case; again, had it been detrimental, I would ha

You'll notice I left highlights and shadows alone because working from JPEG, there's simply not a lot to be had; noise reduction is something to leave alone (IMO) when working with film scans.

Please keep in mind that this isn't meant to be an "optimal" image, just a demonstration of how to moderately enhance contrast in the easy way.

Oh, and may I say that this is a very nice shot - to look at and to work with? Good framing, solid execution. You may be new to the game, but your eyes work very nicely indeed ;)

M.

Oh I love this! It gives the image so much more interest and punch especially in the leaves. I will shoot it again for sure but I have to say I don't seem to have much of a handle on this GW645Zi, the few of the other images were completely out of focus, almost like camera shake. I guess it's a practice game.
 
Thanks Cerita, The F100 was set on matrix metering. It and the little kit 28-70 have surprised me a few times.

Good to know this, as I have been mulling over metering myself these past few days. I will be using my Dynax 5 on my trip, and most of what I hope to shoot, I think will do well with matrix with the occasional centre or spot, which on the 5 is a dedicated spot metering button.
 
Yashica T5, testing for function. Lab processed, got prints and scan. First film I have shot in probably 15 years or so, summer of 2020. A bit of Dodge&Burn.
Flowers and stuff.jpg
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Appartments.jpg
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Appartments Denoised.jpg
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Bottom one has had a round through Topaz Denoise.
 
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A couple of more of the HP5/Yashica T5 combo.
Yashica.jpg
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Yashica-2.jpg
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Just listed the camera locally, I somewhat like it but I cant see me using it much, so off it goes to capitialise on the current Hipster prices... And it sold in four hours at semi-hipster price, to a fellow that had had a similiar one bought new... :O Very well, about 40% in on a GRIII, then... :drinks:
 
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