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MY DIGITAL SECRET WEAPONOn Using Lasersoft SilverFast HDR
by: David B. Brooks
If you are a photographer, like me, and yourprimaryinterestisincreatinghighqualityimages,thenwehaveacommonneed.Ispendalotoftimeandeffortwithacomputertocolorcorrect,adjustandeditphoto-graphs.SowhatIwantisanapplicationthathasthosefunctionsas itsprimarycore,and inaddition that thetoolsareefficientandaccurate ingettinganimagetolookthebestIcanmakeit.Mostcurrent,popularimageeditingapplicationsarestuffedfulloffunctionsunre-latedtocolorcorrection,adjustmentandrefinementofaphotographicimage.Thosecapabilitiesaremixedinwithalotofotherusesoftheapplication,anyofwhicharenotphotographicinnatureorpurpose.
Inadditionimageediting,thatgrewoutofdigi-talpaintprograms,requiresthattheentireimagefilebeopenintheapplicationandinRAMmemorytomakeeditingchanges.Inadditionmostofthefunctionslikegamutoptimization, toneadjustments,curvechanges,brightness, andcontrast, colorbalanceand individualcolor adjustment, not to mention sharpening, requireengaging a separate individual dialoguewindow, andusing it to make the adjustments or corrections, andthenclosingittoaddtheeditchangestotheimagedatainRAM.This isaslow, time-wastingexercise that isinefficientespeciallyappliedtoalargeimagefile.
Of course when digital camera Raw file pro-cessing became necessary, an application to do thissame color correction and adjustment, those applica-tionsthathavebeenmadeavailableopenavirtualin-teractivepreviewimageandtheadjustmentsmadewithsimplesliderscanbemadeconsecutivelysotheeditingis cumulative as represented in the previewandonlybecomearealimagefileifsavedassuchandexportedfromtheapplication.Nowthatworksalotlikeagoodscanningapplication,whichsupportscolorcorrection,adjustmentaswellas sharpeningallappliedvirtuallytothepreviewimage,andthenincorporatedinthefinalscanimageproduced.
LasersoftImaginghasbeenmakingSilverFastscannersoftwareformostconsumerandmanyprofes-sionalscannerssince the late1980’s.Myfirstexperi-encewith it was using it with the Epson Expression836XLscannerin1998andSilverFastatthattimewasinVersionnumber4.0. Itwasalreadyhighly refinedanddeveloped,andinthedozenyearssincethecom-panyhascontinuedtodeveloptheirSilverFastcapabili-ties.AnoffshootofthescannerdriversisaverysimilarprogramcalledSilverFastHDRdesignedoriginallytoopenandprocesshigh-bitrawimagefilesusingmanyofthesametoolsandfacilitiesasinthescannersoftware.WhendSLRcameraRawfileformatsbecamepopularLasersoft extended the capability to include convert-ingRawfilmformatsandprovidingthetoolsandpro-cessestocolorcorrect,adjustandedittheseimagesaswell,firstinaSilverFastDCseriesnowalsoincludedintheHDRversion.TheresultisSilverFastHDRisafully functionalhigh-bit imagefileprocessor thatcanbeappliedtoimagefilesoriginatingfromascanneroradigitalcamera.Regardlesswherethefileoriginated,whenopenedbySilverFastHDRwhattheuseriswork-ingwithisavirtualrepresentationonaPreviewscreenthat is interactivewith the tools andprocessesof theSilverFastsoftware,quicklyandefficientlytoresultinanewfinishedimagefilereadyforalltypesofuseandreproduction.InadditionLasersoftSilverFastHDRisafullycolormanagedapplication,andincludesSilver-FastPrintTao,autilitytoprinttheimagefilesdirectlyfromHDRoranyothersavedfilesaccessibleonyourcomputersystem.
LASERSOFT SILVERFAST HDR
IfirstbecameacquaintedwiththecurrentHDRthatispartoftheSilverFastArchivalSuitethatincludesbothascannerAIversionandHDRwhenIwas test-ingtheEpsonPerfectionV600scanner,andthePlustekOpticFilm7600idedicated35mmscanner, aswell asthenewCanonCanoscan9000fmodelmost recently.TheunusualbeautyofthisArchivalSuiteisitsveryef-ficient“batch”scancapabilitythatincludestheinfrarediSRDdataina64-bitrawscannerfile.Thenwhenpro-cessed toacolorcorrected,adjustedfinal imagewithHDRtheiSRDcleaningcanbeappliedaspartoftheprocess to a finished image file. ThisArchival Suitemethodisthuscompleteincludingcleaningandisverytimeefficient,particularlycomparedtodoingrawfilecolorcorrectionandadjustmentprocessingwithatra-ditionalimageeditor.
ButmoreimportantlyIhaveobtainedthebestimage quality from scanned film of all kinds usingthisSilverFastmethodwithmuchlesseffortandtime
consumedintheprocess.TocompletethepictureandalsoprovideapictureofhowHDRworksIdidaseriesofcurrentcolorcorrectionandadjustmentprocessingfrommycollectionofdSLRRawfiles.These resultswerealsoeverything inquality Iwouldhope forandveryefficientlyprocessed.Ofcourse I thinkmycov-erageofSilverFastinmyreportsontheEpsonV600,Plustek7600iandtheCanoscan9000fprovideagoodviewofhow thisnewscanning software fromLaser-softworkswithscannedfilmimages.ThosewhoareatallfamiliarwithSilverFastmayrealizeinthepastasascannerdriverithasoftenbeenusedasaplug-inwithinPhotoshop and other image editing applications. ButSilverFastinrecentyearshasalsohaditsownLaunch-ersoitcanrunasastandaloneapplicationfreeoftheoverheadanimageeditingprograminvolves.Thecon-venienceofcourseofscanningdirectlyintoanapplica-tionisanadvantage,butiftheprocessisbatchscanningtohigh-bitfilesthatconvenienceisnotrelative,andasastand-aloneboththeSilverFastscannersoftwareandHDRwillrunmostefficientlyasstand-alones,andmyexperiencehasconfirmedit isamoreeffectivework-flow.
THE SILVERFAST HDR WORKFLOW
Theremainderofthisarticlewillbeinthecontextofcaptionsassociatedwithaseriesofscreenshotsil-lustratingeachstageintheprocess.
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WhenSilverFastHDRislaunchedIfinditmostconvenienttobeginbyopeningthebrowser,SilverFastVLT(virtuallighttable),andthenuseitsnavigatortoopenandcreatethumbnailsoftheimagesIplantoprocesswhethertheyaresavedinafolder,areonaCDorotherstoragedevice.ThentheimageIwanttoprocesscanbemarked(oneclick)anddoubleclickedtotransferittoopenitinHDR’sworkwindow.
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Ifathumbnailistoosmalltoevaluatetheimagecontent,itcanalsobeviewedasafullscreenrawimagedirectlyfromVLT.The5thiconfromtheleftatthetopoftheVLTwindowifclickedonopensaselectionofim-agescreensizesincludingfullscreen.
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WhenSilverFastswitchesfromVLTtoitsworkspacewiththerawimagefilepreviewopenontheright.Thecontrolwindowisonthetopleft,withOptionspreferencesunderitwithslideradjustmentsforExposureandLightSourceColorTemperatureandTint.TheDensitometerwindowisfreefloatingandprovidesandhighmag-nificationofwhatisunderthemousecursor,aswellasreadsoutofadjustmentchangestoRGBcolorchannels.
Underarowoficonsbelowthenameplatetherearetwotabs:aGeneralonethatsetstheimagetypetopositive/negativeandprovidesaccesstothepreferencesettings.AndtheFrametabhasalloftheoutputsettingslikeImageMode,FilterandImageTypethatincludesanumberofauto-adjustselections.Theoutputfiledrop-downchoicesaswellasresettingtheoutputsizeandresolutionareprovided.Andatthebottomtherearethreebuttons:toOpen,ProcessandQuitSilverFast.
InthisfollowingseriesofscreenpicturesIwilldealwiththeadjustmentsavailablefromthesixcentralicons.Alwaysstarttheprocessingwiththesecondfromthelefticonthatlookslikealensaperture.Itautomati-callyadjuststhewhite,blackandmid-tonelevelsoftheimage.
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Theresultofclickingonthesecondiconistheimagedatagamutisadjustedtoeliminatewastespaceintherawfiletofillthedigitalimagespacewithpictureinformation.Thisidentifiesandsetsboththewhiteandblackpointsoftheimage.Withsomeimageslikethiswhiteflowerintheforeground,thegamutsetautomaticallymayneedadjustmentinPictureSettings.InthiscasetheExposureshouldbeloweredsomesoallofthewhitedetailimageinformationintheforegroundflowerpetalsisincludedintheimagegamuttopreservethesubtletoneanddetailinthewhitepetals.LoweringtheExposurevaluemaypushsomedarkimagedataoutofgamut,butinthecontextofthisimagethereisnoreallosstowhatisimportanttothepicture.
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ThethirdiconfromtheleftlookslikeachartandopenstheHistogramwindow.Itdisplaysagraphoftheoriginalimageinformationdistribution,aswellassmallpyramidindicatorsunderthebottomlineindicatingthelocationofthewhite,blackandmidpointsettingsmadebySilverFast.Thesesettingsmaybeadjustedmanuallyifdesired.
WhatIhavefoundmostadvantageoustogettingcleancolorandhighqualityimageadjustment is theColorCastRemovalslideradjustmentatthebottomofthewindow.TheColorCastRemovalcanbeactivatedasanautomaticfunctioninOptionspreferences.ButInowroutinelyusetheslidertoviewifthereareanychangesneededtothepreviewedimage,andtochoosethesettingthatproducesthebestbalancedcolorreproduction.Withscansofcolorfilmcolorcastsareoftenpresentduetothefilmbaseandprocessing,swellassubjectconditionsthatalsoaffectdSLRimageslikesmogandsmokeandhaze,reflectivelightfromobjectsintheenvironment.Someimagesarecleanandfreeofanycolorcast,butmanyarenot.
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Toobtainadesiredoverallimagebrightnessadjustment,aswellascontrast,andmostvaluablyadjustmentofthetonedepthofhighlightsandshadows;asetofslideradjustmentsunderthegraphwindowmakewhatusedtobetheintimidatingCurveadjustment,easy.Infacttheadjustmentoftheslidersforbrightness,contrast,high-lightandshadowsareinteractivewiththePreviewimageandtheadjustmentsarereflectedbymodificationstothecurves,aswellasinteractiveadjustmenttotheactualimagedisplayedinthecurvelineofthegraph.Sobesidesaneasyadjustmentoftonelevelsinanimage,theGradationCurvesdialogueteachesuswhatagradationcurvechartisandhowitworks.
Note:AtthecenteroftherowofIconsisonethatlookslikeacolorwheelthatisaglobalcolorcorrec-tiontool.Idouseitonoccasionadjustingrawscanimages,particularlyimagesthathavecross-overimbalance(pinkhighlightsandgreenishshadows)duetoafilmorprocessingerrorbutwithRawdigitalcameraimagesthathassupportintheColorSettingwindowforbothcolortemperatureandtint,Iseldomfindaglobalcolorbalanceadjustmentisneeded.
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ThethirdiconfromtherightwithavariedcolorpatchistheSelectiveColorCorrectiondialogue.Itallowsdividingthecolorwheelinto6or12segmentsatthetop.Usingthe6segmentoptionIusetheshiftkeyandturnthebuttonsonwiththemousecursoractivatingallcolorchannelstomakeaglobaladjustmenttocolorsaturationoranoverallhueshift.Howeveritsprimaryadvantage,usingeitherthesixortwelvesegmentoption,istoclickonasubjectcolorinthePreviewimageyouareworkingwithsoyoucanalteritshue,saturationorbrightnesswithoutaffectingothercolorsintheimage.Forinstance,veryoftenviolet/purplecolorinnaturerecordinfilmoradigitalcapturewithaweakcolorreproductionthatcanbeenhancedusingthisselectivecolorcorrectiontool.ButwhatIfindIuseitformostistofinetunehumancomplexiontones,whichevenwhenjustslightlyoffarealltooapparentinaphotograph.
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ProcessingdigitalcameraRawfilesIuseSilverFastHDRtooutputmyresultsintheprintimagesizeIwillusetoreproducetheimage,usually12x18inchesat300dpi.Youshouldalwaysmakethissizesettingbeforeyouapplysharpeningfiltrationtotheimagebeforeprocessingit.
IprefertouseSharpen(USM)withHDRbecauseitprovidesamagnifiedbeforeandaftercomparisonofaselectpartofthefinalimage.Thisallowsfinetuningtheamountofsharpnesspreciselytojustenoughtocrisplydefinetheimagedetail,withoutgettinganexcessivelyharshoveralllookappliedtotheimage.
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Withsizeandthesharpeningchosenthelastthinginausualprocessingworkflowistoprocesstheimage.SilverFastpopsupaSavedialogwhichallowsafinishedimagetobesaved,butdoesnotsupportsavingbacktotheoriginalfile,soyouareneverendangeringanarchivedRawfile,thatyoucanthenalwaysgobacktoangener-ateanewfinishedimage.Inotherwordssavethisnewlyprocessedversiontoanewfilename.SilverFastprovidesastructuretosavethesefinishedfilestoalbumsthatareautomaticallythumb-nailedandthefilestoragelocatedwherevertheuserwantstoarchivetheimage.
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SilverFastincludesaprintingutilitythatiseasy,efficientandcolormanagedcalledPrintTao.TheaccessisthesecondiconfromtheleftatthetopofSilverFastVLT,selectPrintTaoandanewworkspaceisopened.Atthetopisanavigatorthatallowsyoutogotoanystorageoffilesaccessibletoyourcomputer,includingflashmemorycardsandCDorDVD’s.ClickonanyofthesefilesandthegreenarrowwillmoveareplicationofthefilecontenttothePreviewwindow–thefiledoesnothavetobeopenedtoprintit.Thereisaboxtoselecttheimagesizeyouwantprinted,aswellasaniconintheverticalPreviewframebartocentertheimageonthepage.Andthereisalsoa“T”iconthatsupportsincludingtextlikeatitleoracopyrightnoticeaddedatanedgeoftheprintedimage.Thereisaccesstoselecttheprinterandpagesetupforpapersizeandorientation.Whenyouhaveallthefactorschosen,includingthecolormanagementselectionofprinterprofile,justclickprintandthedriverwindowappearstofinishthesetuptoprinttheimage,anditssettingsarerememberedbyPrintTaoforthenextprint,youdon’thavetoresettheprinterdriverforaseriesofprints.Printingmorethanoneimagetoapageiseasilyarranged,evensettingupacontactsheetpageofthumbnailswithfilenamesundereachimage,issupported.Youmightalsonoticethatwhenaprinterprofileischosen,thePreviewimagerespondsinteractivelyadjustingtheimageandgivesyouavisualscreenpredictionofhowitwillprint.
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