black and white, camera raw, and wide tone processing.

[rdtindsm]

I am interested in working in b&w using a dslr and CS5. I have been shooting with an output in both raw and jpg. Would like a road map to working in b&w in PS.

My very imperfect understanding is that I can work on the files in ACR using 16 bit channels and that I can work in ps in a 16 bit mode or as a smart object to obtain a broader tonal range than simply converting to a bw image.

I do have a nikon ls-4000 scanner. Will using the combination of real film scanned by this scanner improve results if I get really picky or just want to experiment? The scanner has 14 bit/channel, but I don't know how much is above any noise floor.

 

[Steve]

For Easier Reading

am interested in working in b&w using a dslr and CS5. I have been shooting with an output in both raw and jpg. Would like a road map to working in b&w in PS.

My very imperfect understanding is that I can work on the files in ACR using 16 bit channels and that I can work in ps in a 16 bit mode or as a smart object to obtain a broader tonal range than simply converting to a bw image.

I do have a nikon ls-4000 scanner. Will using the combination of real film scanned by this scanner improve results if I get really picky or just want to experiment? The scanner has 14 bit/channel, but I don't know how much is above any noise floor.

You are right about ACR to PS.
You can choose 8 or 16 bits/channel mode in ACR and whether or not to open the image in PS as a smart object or not.

In PS all the layer adjustments are available but most of the Image|Adjustments are not.

I can't help you with the scanner.