Setting Up Your Digital Darkroom
I remember building my first
darkroom years ago. It was very exciting to have the
control I wanted over my images. My darkroom allowed me to
process my own films and print my images exactly the way I
wanted. I purchased a Beseler black and white enlarger which I
later upgraded to color. The dry side of my darkroom consisted of
( and still does) a Beseler 67 Dichro, Rodenstock 50mm f-2.8 and
105mm f-4 lenses, Beseler timer and color analyzer, and all the
accessories you could possibly imagine. The wet side of the
darkroom includes a Jobo CPE-2 processor which is actually the
smallest of Jobo's rotary processors made for armatures and
hobbyist, but has done professional job for me over the years
without breaking down. My Jobo has processed all my films for the
past fifteen years with results that beats any professional lab
out there. Other equipment in the wet side of my darkroom include
Jobo tanks and drums, film and print washers, Jobo film dryer,
and lots of film clips. It's always been fun and relaxing working
in my darkroom. That is where I can get very creative with my
photography. Digital photography has changed all of that. Well,
not completely, but it has seriously changed the way I take
pictures and what I do with them later in my digital or
traditional darkroom. No print out there can still match the
quality of a 16 x 20 Ilfochrome I get in my traditional darkroom,
although many of the prints come very close. This put aside, I must admit that
digital darkroom is far easier and better than traditional
darkroom with quality that can satisfy most demanding
professionals. Instead of enlargers, timers, and color analyzers,
you'll need a fast computer, RAM, printer, monitor, and a good
software to set up a digital darkroom. Let's go over what is
essential for setting up a digital darkroom.
Processor
As of this writing, processors range from 1.8 to 4 GHz for Windows and 800 MHz
to 1 GHz for Macintosh computers. A fast processor make things run faster. You
don't need to purchase the fastest processor in the market. A moderate speed processor works
just fine for most applications. A very fast processor comes in
handy when working with very large files. For most applications,
you may not even notice much difference between a 1.2 GHz and 1.8
GHz machine. However, since the prices of processors are much
more affordable today, you may want to consider purchasing a very
fast processor to avoid having to upgrade in the near future.
RAM and Hard Drive
One way you can make everything run smoother and faster, is by
adding more RAM ( Random Access Memory) to your system. I suggest
at least 256 MB of RAM for most applications. The price of memory
has dropped so low that you can now buy 512 MB of RAM for as low
as $20. With 512 MB of RAM, you shouldn't have any problem doing
any image editing even with large digital files.
Hard drive
Another important investment for your digital darkroom is the hard
drive. You'll need large space to install software and store
digital files. Start with at least a 80 gig hard drive. This
should be plenty of space for storage. I prefer to have two
separate hard drives. I use a 60 gig drive for my operating
system and software, and an 80 gig drives only for storing my
digital files. The second and third drives also serves as the scratch disk
for Photoshop.
Monitors
Think of your monitor as a light box or a projector. That is
where you view your images. The larger the monitor, the more you
can do at one time. You can open several images and move them
around or have more tools and windows open at one time. Your
images also look much more impressive on a large monitor than a
smaller one. The minimum size I recommend is a 17-inch monitor. If
you can afford to pay more, go for a 19 or better yet, a 21 inch
monitor. There are two types of monitors available-
Cathode-ray-tube (CRT) and flat LCD. CRT monitors are much more
affordable but very large and heavy which take up a lot of space
on your desk. Flat screens weigh less, but much more expensive
than CRT models.
CD Drives
You need a device to back up all your digital files on regular
basis. A recordable CD drive is the best way to store and back-up
your digital files. You can store hundreds of images on one CD.
It is a good practice to build a working database on CDs, to be
able to find any image quickly. If you accidentally damage or erase
a file, you'll want to find the back up quickly.
Scanners
There are two types of scanners: flatbed and film scanners.
Flatbed scanners are primarily used for prints, although some
can also scan negatives and slides. Film scanners produce higher
quality scans than flatbeds, since you are scanning the original.
Typically, a flatbed scanner with 300 dpi is enough for making an
8 X 10 print, or 2400 dpi if you use a film scanner. Flatbed
scanners are now very affordable and produce excellent scans.
Film scanners are much higher in price. You can find a descent
film scanner for as low as $400.
Printers
Printers have come a long way. Quality of today's photo quality
printers are superb. You can find affordable inkjet printers to
make quality prints that rival those made in the traditional
darkroom. Purchase a photo quality six-ink printer for producing
better colors. Most printers, print up to 8 X 10 prints. If you
think you'll need larger prints than 8 X 10 in the future, it is
wise to spend more now on a printer which is capable of printing
larger images.
Software
There are hundreds of photo editing software available today for
all budgets. Photoshop 7 is the choice of most professionals and
advanced users. Photoshop offers so many
features and controls that you may want to take some courses to
learn how to use all of its tools. For 600 dollars, Photoshop
gives you sophisticated layers, excellent selection tools, full
control and options for each and every tool available. Corel
Photo-Paint, now in version 11, is another excellent
professional software that rivals Photoshop at a lower price. You
can customize Photo-Paint to your needs by adding or removing
icons for tools you use most often. Photo-Paint also has
sophisticated layers (called lens in Photo-Paint), history
pallet, several selection tools, and about 100 cool effect
filters. If you find Photoshop and Photo-Paint too expensive, try
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2, or Ulead Photo
Impact 8. All three software are under $100 and give the users
sophisticated tools for any image editing. Photoshop Elements is
similar to Photoshop 7 in terms of its layouts, and includes many
of Photoshop's tools including layers. It is designed for less
advanced users and includes a handy menu that shows how to use
each tool as they are selected. Paint Shop Pro 7 remains one of
my favorite software. I use Photoshop 7 when I need to use
several layers or do complex work that I may need to use
Photoshop history brush and snap shots. For most image editing,
such as color
correction, brightness and contrast, sharpening, etc. , Paint Shop
Pro is more than enough for me. It requires only 32 MB of RAM
compared to 128 MB Photoshop requires. I can open up several
images at once and do quick touch-ups or even do batch
processing. Paint Shop Pro offers tools found in Photoshop
including layers, channels, and full control over all of its
tools at a very reasonable cost. Ulead Photo Impact 8 is another
excellent software that is loaded with features for under $100.
Besides the usual image editing tools and layers, PhotoImpact is
probably the most loaded software for being creative with your
photos. It includes excellent and useful effects and hundreds of
objects, frames, and lots of goodies for making web pages.