Setting Up Your Digital Darkroom

I remember building my first darkroom fifteen 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.