P3D Re: Color and contrast

[Peter Davis <pd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob Maxey wrote:
> Dr T Asked:
> 
>  Can slide film
> be made with wider contrast range?
> 
> George, Eastman Kodak has introduced a new Ektachrome film that is supposed
> to be designed to produce extreme color saturation and contrast. Visit
> Kodak.com, as I do not know the name of the materials.

I think we're confusing dynamic (or contrast) range with tonal
resolution.  The tonal range is the difference between the lightest
and darkest tones the film can record.  The tonal resolution, on the
other hand, is the number of intermediate gray levels the film can
reproduce.  Films which are "contrasty" have low tonal resolution,
though they should still have a wide dynamic range.

I think Eric's original point (correct me if I'm wrong) was that you
may want to originally record an image on the medium with the widest
tonal range and the highest tonal resolution.  That way, you can
always cut back on one or the other in processing or tranferring to
another medium.  Of course, recording on low-contrast films is also
useful for special effects.

-pd


-- 
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                             Peter Davis
                      http://world.std.com/~pd/


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