Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/01/10

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Subject: RE: [Leica] viewing contact sheets
From: Christer Almqvist <christer@almqvist.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 22:20:43 +0200
References: <NEBBLEMAELKDFGKDMALECEALCBAA.markc@binaryfaith.com>

Before I print a contact sheet, I look at the negatives with a loupe 
and note the quality of the negative on the transparent sleeve using 
a black pen intended for overhead projector slides. Later, when 
reviewing the contact sheet I only have to judge pictorial quality 
which makes reviewing much easier than if you have to determine 
sharpness and contrast at the same time. I use a black pen because 
what you write in red or green does not copy well onto the contact 
sheet.

I jot dowm two figures for each negative, using a scale from 1 to 5. 
The first figure indicates how sharp the negative is, and the second 
figure indicates if the negative has a full tonal range (shadow 
details but not burnt out highlights).  Sometimes I use two or more 
figures for sharpness, e.g. when there are several persons in the 
picture and not all of them sharp. I find it much easier to judge 
sharpness from the negative than from the contacts sheet, and tonal 
range is also easier to determine from the negative as doging and 
burning-in may turn up more detail than is shown on the contact 
strip. At least on my contact sheets which are only good when all 
pictures have been made in very similar cirumstances.

BTW my loupe is a 6x Schneider ASPH, but I used an old slide 
projector lens for a long time until I dropped it. It worked very 
well. Also the folding type loupes are quite good, and inexpensive. 
But now, after reading one of the postings, I am going to get a pair 
of glasses focusing at 3 inches....

Chris
- -- 
Christer Almqvist
D-20255 Hamburg, Germany and/or
F-50590 Regnéville-sur-Mer, France

In reply to: Message from "Mark Cohen" <markc@binaryfaith.com> (RE: [Leica] viewing contact sheets)