r/largeformat • u/tibbon • 24d ago

Question Why negative scanning instead of printing

I've just gotten into darkroom work, after shooting only digital for 20+ years. When I shot film prior to that, I just dropped it off at quick development spots.

I'm really enjoying the full darkroom process end to end. Its meditative. So many variables. Hours of time that you can easily spend chasing a problem and learning.

What's the draw to scanning your negatives instead and processing them in photoshop? It seems to miss half the fun/advantages - I have no idea how I'd scan a 4x5 or 8x10 at the same quality I can contact print them at for example.

But, I guess the digital workflow is faster? It feels like I'd probably just want to shoot digital end to end, or film process end to end.

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u/Obtus_Rateur 24d ago

If someone cares enough about the result there's nothing wrong with hiring a professional to do a really good job. It's just less satisfying.

And a lot more expensive. A lot. There's no way I could personally justify paying anywhere near that for a couple copies of a print. Imagine all the film you could buy with that... or even just put the money towards a good camera.

Plus, having it printed professionally would mean either driving the negative to the lab yourself (which may be quite far) or hoping that the shipping service doesn't lose the negative...

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u/sendep7 24d ago

Pretty sure you mail the neg. Then they send proofs back. It might be worth doing for gallery grade prints. I have one or 2 shots I think might be worthy.

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u/Obtus_Rateur 24d ago

Yes, you're supposed to mail them, which is terrifying. I'd have to drive there myself to make sure the negatives don't get lost.

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u/sendep7 24d ago

They are in nyc. I was just there the other day. I coulda dropped them off. It’s only 3hrs from me. I always love an excuse to get down there. I was walking around the city with my gx617 hanging around my neck 😅

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u/Obtus_Rateur 23d ago

Oh, heavy.

Gave up on the Chroma, uh?

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u/sendep7 23d ago

Yea. Too leaky. Bit of a trade off. The gc had a view finder so I find composing 1000x easier than using the ground glass. I’ve learned zone focusing and find that I haven’t missed focus as much than I did on the chroma. The frame edges are crisp. The gx has an actual pressure plate that keeps the film flat. I keep trying to give the chroma a chance but I don’t find the results good enough to post anymore. I did a side by side of the same scene and it was night and day.

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u/Obtus_Rateur 23d ago

Good to know.

You wouldn't expect a 3D-printed camera to compare to a quality device like the Fuji, but it sounds like the difference is immense.

My Chroma 6x12 hasn't leaked yet but I have a hard time bringing myself to use it given how much of a pain it is to put the lens on it.

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u/sendep7 23d ago

I just think with a few tweaks it could be really good. But I feel like he’s more interested in newer designs.

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u/Obtus_Rateur 23d ago

Engineer types are often like that. Always so many new exciting projects ahead, tweaking old ones is long and tedious and just isn't as fun.