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Help. Digital wormy stripes!!

WildRover

Member
It is only in the last few months that I have been trying to get my photos into a finalized print ready and portfolio form. This has had to do with past time constraints, but also with my knowledge and ability to process the images effectively. I've gotten better at this photoshop thing, and have been working on a lot of the older photos. What I'm coming across all too often is a snake or worm type striping in a lot of my Pentax 645D files. It happens more in patterned areas. I notice it all the time in my water - wave images, but also to some extent in almost all my digital files.

I see this happening to a lot of other images I see being posted from others also, so I don't think its just my particular camera. Even saw this with Sony's A-7 in one of their ads.

I'm wondering if there is something I should be doing differently while shooting. Is the sensor overheating when I do many shots in succession or by using longer exposures? Is there a way to process the files to somewhat ameliorate this phenomenon? I realize anything that adds contrast or clarity will make this worse. What type of artifact is this? What's it called?

I find myself using various masking techniques and a lot of cloning and healing to try and hide - fix the photos. It's very frustrating and I'm wondering what other folks are doing?

The ice shot is from the Pentax and has just been quickly adjusted in Lightroom. The striping is very apparent. The dune shot was worked on years ago and has some corrections done to it. The original is a 4x5 velvia scanned with an Epson 750 and converted to Black and White. I believe there was some of this wormy thing that happened with the scanned image that I cloned out (worked on this a long time ago), but nothing like what I see in my Pentax files. Almost makes me want to dust off the old Toya, and see if I still know how to shoot film. Or do I need to sell the house, live in the camper, and go with an IQ something with all the trimmings.

Rick
 
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tsjanik

Well-known member
Hi Rick:

I can't see the tracks in your image perhaps you can enlarge or point them out. I haven't seen any in my 645D files. I have seen worm tracks in scans from a Nikon 9000, which I never saw from a Minolta 5400. I posted a comparison which you can see on the link. The top scan from the 9000, the bottom from the 5400. Worm tracks in the sky from the Nikon, but absent in the Minolta scan. I think these crops from a Kodachrome slide also indicate that the additional resolution of the Minolta was not wasted.

Tom

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MuCFC81kV...eTmA/s1600/nikon+9000+DSE+5400+comparcopy.jpg
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
I'm going to take a wild guess and say you use Lightroom for your raw processing.

Edit: I see you mentioned Lightroom. Since capture one doesn't support the Pentax try a different quality-oriented processor like or rodent raw developer (assuming it's been updated to support the Pentax). See if it's still there when processed through that developer.
 

Knorp

Well-known member
Can't see the tracks either, but are the files not over-cooked by any chance ?
This happens easily, f.i. with C1, if I'm not careful enough when applying clarity/structure.

Kind regards.
 

WildRover

Member
Thanks guys for the replies. Overcooked. Most probably. I try to be good, but I know I'm very guilty of that. Still, I don't think that's it entirely. I don't use clarity in Lightroom, but I do use equivalent measures in photoshop.

Doug; Yes, Lightroom is my RAW converter. I'm ignorant about other converters. C-1? I thought they didn't do Pentax files (although I do shoot using in camera DNG). I'm open to using anything that will get me to a better final file / print.

Here are a few samples.
 
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WildRover

Member
A thought on this and the possible over processing that I might - am doing. What I try doing in my workflow, is to get the image close in Lightroom. Then I go over into Photoshop to finish things up to get something I'm satisfied with. What I haven't done really, is to bring over a relatively flat image from Lightroom, and then do the heavy lifting in Photoshop. Perhaps it's as simple as that.
 

weinlamm

Member
Can you perhaps show some 100% crops of your problem. Even with the lines on it, I didn't really see what's your problem.
If I switch from the beach-picture with the lines to that without, I would say "that could be a shadow". I think it should be necessary to see it in 100%.
 
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