RE: filmscanners: Sharpening scanned images for printing

["Austin Franklin" <darkroom@ix.netcom.com>]

> Austin writes ...
>
> > > And aren't higher bit level scans sharper than lower bit
> > > ones?....
> >
> > No.  In fact, they would be softer, since there are more
> > tonal levels. Sharpness is really nothing but contrast,
> > as in difference in tonal values.
>
>   I don't agree!!  What you are implying is ... "because the highbit image
> contains more accurate information, it will display less detail", which
> doesn't make sense.

Hi Michael,

No, softer does not mean less detail, it means softer!  If you have a 0 tone
next to a 255 tone, you will have a VERY sharp image....if you have a
stepped wedge from 0 to 255 in increments of 1...then it's a soft image.

>   There should be no "apparent" difference in sharpness, highbits
> vs 8bits.

We weren't talking 8 bits vs 16 bits, just number of bits, as in any number
of bits.  As a note, people who use the 16 bit Piezo driver say they do
notice better tonality (as in more tones) than with the 8 bit driver.  I
have not verified this my self.

A one bit per pixel image will give you a much sharper image than an image
with 8 bits per pixel (assuming the data uses all the values) will.

Regards,

Austin