AMGEnthusiast63 - prescreening request / editing advice

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Thank you for the feedback. Leafing through some old posts about converting raw to tiff, which I see did the trick for many in helping with banding removal. However I still get banding in the equalized result. Is my tiff conversion method correct?
My method:
Photoshop-> File-> Scripts -> Image Processor-> Save as TIFF ("LZW compression" and "Resize to Fit", neither chosen)-> ("Preferences" not chosen)-> Run
I do get 100+ MB .tif images which are 16-bit (bit depth 48 = 16 + 16 + 16), but after going through the usual workflow of editing, resizing, and saving as 8-bit jpg, banding is still somewhat visible.
JPGs are saved at maximum quality, so no compression there, and that's basically the only chance for compression to be introduced.
One more thing. Equalizing the downsized TIFF/RAW just before exporting as JPG does not produce visible banding (verified), but as soon as I save and export as a new 8-bit JPG and reopen that JPG, equalizing brings visible banding. So what is going on here? A by-product of bit-depth reduction, or something else? Any help would be appreciated!

[dlowwa]

So what is going on here? A by-product of bit-depth reduction

Pretty much.

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Hi Dana, think I might've solved the issue (partly) by converting to jpg before resizing, and then resizing the converted jpg. May I have prescreening for this just to be sure? I guess banding/artefacts wouldn't be a big issue for this. Thanks in advance!

[dlowwa]

Hi Dana, think I might've solved the issue (partly) by converting to jpg before resizing, and then resizing the converted jpg. May I have prescreening for this just to be sure? I guess banding/artefacts wouldn't be a big issue for this. Thanks in advance!

Ok for me.

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Prescreening please, thanks in advance. (mainly contrast concerns)

[dlowwa]

Prescreening please, thanks in advance. (mainly contrast concerns)

Light's a bit harsh.

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Thanks. I increased brightness for the dark tones to try to counteract the harsh light, would this be better or is it just constrained by the lighting conditions?

[dlowwa]

Thanks. I increased brightness for the dark tones to try to counteract the harsh light, would this be better or is it just constrained by the lighting conditions?

Slightly better. Still borderline at best.

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Prescreening for this photo please, thanks in advance.

[dlowwa]

Prescreening for this photo please, thanks in advance.

Heat hazed.

[AMGEnthusiast63]

Heat hazed.

Would it be better hidden at 1440 pix? Or does it need more downsizing?

[dlowwa]

Would it be better hidden at 1440 pix? Or does it need more downsizing?

I can still see it.