Linear Raw Scans
The linear Raw Scans Photoshop Plugin allows you to easily convert black and white film negatives which have been scanned as a Gamma 1.0 digital file into Gamma 2.2 ready for editing.
What is a Linear Raw Scan
A Linear Raw scan is where we scan the negative with a gamma value of 1.0 without allowing the scanning software to perform any image manipulation thus giving us the closest we can to scanning the raw data as possible.
Most scanning software today such as VueScan, SilverFast offer the option to produce a Gamma 1.0 Linear scan without a great deal of trouble.
After the linear raw scan has been produced, we then have to convert it into a positive image and replace the Gamma 1.0 with a more suitable working Gamma of say 2.2 which is what the linear raw scans plugin does for us.
Linear Raw Scans Plugin
The user interface for the plugin is extremely intuitive and comprises of three main sections.
- Image Rotation
- Image Conversion
- Tools
After scanning the negative as a linear file, use the image rotaion options to rotate the image and then press the Convert button to make the conversion from negative to positive into a working Gamma 2.2 file.
A linear raw scan is scanned with no changes made to it in the scanning software, outputted with a gamma value of 1.0 and usually looks like the image on the left.
Think of a linear raw scan like the raw file which comes out of a digital camera, its untouched and un-manipulated.
Just as the digital raw file has to go through a raw converter, the linear raw scan is scanned with no profile attached to it and also has to be converted to a working gamma and then turned into a positive file.
Linear Raw Scan Conversion
The following two images are the same linear raw file as above, the one on the left was converted using the linear raw scans plugin and the one on the right was converted with another thrid party application called ColorPerfect.
