Digital Restoration from Start to Finish [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The first edition of Digital Restoration has been the essential Bible on this subject. This second edition is a major update that has retained the excellent examples of the first and added to them. The discussion of pertinent software and hardware has been almost completely rewritten to make it relevant to today's state of the art. Links have been added for more information. All in all, I would say that this second edition is twice as useful as the first. One of this book's strongest points is that it does not assume that all readers use Photoshop. He shows what can be done with Photoshop and also shows many examples of what can be done with other methods and tools.

The book has a major value that is not apparent from the title. It explains how to get the best results when scanning photos that do not need to be repaired or restored. Whenever someone in my camera club tells me that they are going scan their old films and ask what they need to know I tell them to buy Ctein's book on restoration.

I am the family genealogist and a fairly-advanced photoshop user. I have spent hundreds of hours over the years restoring old photos (and need hundreds more) dating back to the 1890's and there wasn't an easy one in the lot. I've referred to the first edition of Ctein's wonderful book on photo restoriation (as well as Katrin Eismann's which now needs revision) so often that they are worn to and have so many colored tabs on their pages & so much highlighting that it's hard to find an unmarked spot. I was excited to see that a second edition was coming, and I'm not disappointed.

I have found Ctein's approach to restoration problems to be clever, original, well-explained and professional. His mind and mine are completely different because he comes up with techniques I would never have conceived (and I can be pretty inventive). I have had great successes using his methods and only one notable failure. I cannot seem to achieve the same results he does when restoring photos printed on honeycomb paper, even though I do have all the required software. Maybe my black and white photos require a different treatment than his color example.

SOME THINGS HAVEN'T CHANGED:
This second edition has much of the text and most of the illustrations (if not all) of the previous edition I'm so familiar with. It has been completely restructured from the order of presentation to the chapters and headings. There seem to be additional screen shots and there might be additional text, but since this is a book that you refer to on an as-needed basis, I can't specify exactly what is new. Nothing I've found important appears to be missing. It is as encyclopedic in breadth as the previous one. I think that the reason it has fewer pages is because, to my dismay, it has smaller print.

SOME NECESSARY CHANGES WERE MADE:
----an updating of Photoshop procedures and options to bring it up to CS4 (CS 5 is now out, but it doesn't provide any restoration-specific advances unless you need to make complicated selections or masks. The noise reduction advances are mostly for RAW's so won't really apply to scans.)
----a review of the other programs and plug-ins recommended in the other book to add new ones and remove discontinued ones. (Although Noise Ninja, Digital Roc, and Digital Gem are still listed and they haven't been updated in at least three years, making their ongoing compatibility with newer versions of PS, newer operating systems, and the newer of 64-bit systems a bit doubtful). He apparently doesn't care for others I have found of use in restoration work (like Genuine Fractals, Topaz Denoise, and Nik Dfine).
----an updating of hardware options, as well as revised memory requirements and archiving options. (After all, if I'm going to all this trouble, it's to leave something future generations can access.)
----an added emphasis on working in 16-bit depth.

SOME CHANGES WERE EXTREMELY WELCOME:
----the new symptom tree that follows the Table of Contents is pure genius. Sometimes the user is faced with a problem he doesn't know the name for: how does he look it up in the index? This way, if you see an image thumbnail with a problem that resembles yours, you go to the pages indicated. You don't need to know that the metallic gleam is called "silvering" or that the darkish spotting is "varnishing." You go straight to the pages you need to see.
----highlighted text sections to bring attention to particularly important or relevant information.

SOME REALITIES REMAIN THE SAME:
As before, the recommended approach to tackling a particular problem might not be straight Photoshop or Elements (these still remain the core tools for the most part). Many, many other programs and plug-ins are recommended instead when the author feels they target a particular problem in a more constructive way. I can understand that a professional restorer might be able to afford the expenditure involved in getting all this specialized software, since he will use each on many occasions. A casual restorer can't afford the luxury of buying software which is so issue-specific--but it's still good to know that these options exist.

If you plan on restoring photographs this book is not just recommended, it is required.

I'm a pretty serious amateur photographer who's occasionally been faced with restoring old family pictures. I've bashed my way through, generally making some improvements but taking forever to get done. This very thorough book by Ctein is going to make that job a lot easier. He addresses nearly every phase of the process, from adjusting tone and contrast to repairing damage in the originals. The first portion of the book circles the problem at high altitude, describing the various vintages of photograph and the unique issues that can arise in each form. He discusses the intent of the photograph: does it have historical importance or is it a keepsake? Appropriate mindsets should be adopted, and the needs of any potential customer (even if it's just you) must be understood. For those in a hurry, there's a nice section of pictures before and after, along with pointers to the sections addressing those particular restorations.

Ctein (pronounced 'kuh-TEIN') describes various software packages which he uses, along with favorite plugins. There's also a discussion of monitors and printers. He is sensitive to budgets: you can accomplish a lot with some common basic adjustments. Still it becomes clear that you're going to spend some serious coin on hardware and software if you want to take full advantage of the tips in the book.

Then it's down to brass tacks, with detailed sections on each type of restoration. He discusses how to scan images to capture the most detail. He describes methods for restoring tone and faded colors. There is a very good section on removing damage as well as the ugly look of textured prints. There are some good hints on how to make restored images pop with a life that wasn't even in the originals. Finally, there are sections on printing and backing up your images.

It doesn't end there. Ctein provides a link to downloadable copies of the very images he uses in the book. The reader is free to hone his own skills. He also recommends a number of other books for readers with even more specific needs. My only real complaint is that a few of the printed images in the book don't hold enough detail to make it clear what the author is doing. They're just a bit small to illustrate what's going on.

There's a gold mine of useful information here, and I have no doubt it's going to prove an invaluable reference. Time to toss out my old restorations and do them the right way.