[filmscanners] Re: Tips needed on difficult scan
Hi Ken, this won´t help you here, but in general if you shot slide to scan it then, you might try out Provia in the future, while being at least as fine grained as Velvia, it is less hard in its contrast and thus keeps more shadow detail. I have seen a Web site (dont have the URL right now, but it should be findable via Google.com search) which does exactly a comparision of an identical shot - on emade with Velvia, one with Provia. It was evident that at first sight the Velvia had more intense colors (looking more interesting) than the provia which seemed more tamed and less contrasty. But the authoir showd very well that in the dark shadows the Velvia just lost where the Provia still showed detail. The conclusion therer was that if you shoot for further digital editing, the Provia is clearly the winner. For your current shot, if its really important, try to find someone with a Imacon or a drum scanner and get it scanned by him. Greetings Bernhard - Original Message - From: Ken Durling [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 6:44 AM Subject: [filmscanners] Tips needed on difficult scan HI folks - I'm still working away here, improving my understanding and techniques. Since the addition of histograms to Vuescan, I've been trying to utilize them some, but remain somewhat confused, as I'm just starting to get a grasp of the ones in PS Elements, which have 3 sldiers, and input and output controls. I have a slide that I've been spending hours trying to yield what I can see through the loupe on the light table, but it's evading me. It's a very high contrast sunset shot taken on Velvia, with one side very dark under dense clouds, and the opposite side has brilliant - one might say blown out - area of sunlight. Along the bottom of the photo is a lot of city detail, seen from above - I was shooting from up in the hills overlooking SF Bay. It was taken with a sharp lens, so the detail is there, and I'd like to retrieve it. My main problem has been trying to bring out all the detail in the city - which is in the relatively dark area of the photo. Secondarily, the finding a contrast range that doesn't blow out the sunlit areas too severely, while not darkeneing the shadows too much. But what I'd like help with is how to utilize the Vuescan histograms to achieve this. Needless to say, upon initial scan at the default white and black points of 1, the histograms go off the scale at either end. What general guidelines should I use for trying setting that will bring the contrast range within the scale? And what effect do the color balance settings have on the effectiveness of the black and white point settings? Thanks for any lights, and if seeing an example of this particular scan would be helpful, I can supply. Ken Durling Photo.net portfolio: http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=402251 Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body
[filmscanners] Re: Agfa woes - Epson 2450
- Original Message - From: Johnny Zasada [EMAIL PROTECTED] I feel the same as you about the price/performance-ratio of MF film scanners. Did you use any other scanner for MF before Epson? Right now I'm wondering if it would make sense for me to upgrade from an Umax Astra 4000 to the Epson. Don't know if the difference is that huge. High-Res flatbed scanners are becoming the poor medium-format mans film scannner. No, I didnt have a MF scanner before, I bought it following the warmest recommendation of a professional photographer who bought it recently and who has the Polaroid 120, he said he now prefers sometimes the Epson to the Pola because results look somehow more natural - he has gotten excellent results up to 40x50cm and good ones up to 50x75cm from a 6x7neg. He also said that up to 40x50 (about 16x20) the Epson is as good as a 5 year old 20.000$ Linotype scanner (I forgot the model - maybe a Saphire). One thing is for sure: The extra dpi of a 4000dpi scanner are only blowing up files extremly, even 2400dpi prints much larger than a 1160 or 1290 can ever do On the other hand, the Polaroid, Nikon and Minolta is certainly better in the fine detail and shadows, but I seriously doubt if you will see it on a 13x18 print. Bernhard Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body
[filmscanners] VueScan update wish - my last idea for the year 2001
What I´d like to see is a place on the GUI where I can permanently see *and correct* the name of the file, or the one being created on the next scan. Could be in the title blue bar next to the Version number, or somewhere else - I never know what file I am at... A happy new year to everyone... Bernhard Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe' in the title or body
[filmscanners] Re: New Firmware version for Nikon LS40
I tried to update my LS40 and it said: this machine doesn´t need the update cheers bernhard - Original Message - From: Jan Copier [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does anyone knows if I need the update of Firmware Nikon Coolscan IV version 1.1, available on this site? http://www.nikontechusa.com/LS-40FW.htm. How can I see what Firmware version I'm on? Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe' in the title or body
[filmscanners] Re: Possible two-pass trick on the Minolta Multi-Scan Pro?
All what I have heard about the new Minoltas is that they do have a grain problem - recently someone added a commentary about the new Elite II in a german newsgroup, saying that he has got unacceptable grain in 35mm Scans. There are similar complaints in the imaging- resource- Forum about scanners... Greetings Bernhard - Original Message - From: Alex Zabrovsky [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 5:12 PM Subject: [filmscanners] RE: Possible two-pass trick on the Minolta Multi-Scan Pro? Ed, didn't you get the Elite II from Minolta yet to add his support to the Vuescan ? I'm waiting impatiently for this model reviews and your opinion about one. Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe' in the title or body
Re: filmscanners: ViewScan
- Original Message - From: John Rossi [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does ViewScan support Epson Perfection 1650 photo scanners and Windows ME? Will using ViewScan allow better control of the scanned image? Thanks, Look under www.hamrick.om to look if its supported, I guess yes. My experience is that VueScan gives better results that are easier to process afterwards. Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: VueScan Histogram
Could someone explain to me in a few words how to work with a histogram when scanning? I can see it in VueScan but I don´t know what to do with it, because there are no sliders anyway... Thanks in advance, Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: 35mm film versus medium-format scan quality (Epson 2450)
A professional photographer who lives on selling his bw inkjet prints (Piezo) and has a long scanning experience with the Polaroid 120 and others, told me some days ago that he was able to do, from his new Epson 2450, absolutely stunning prints from a 6x7 neg up to 17x22 (inch) and still good quality at 22x27. He also said that he had made prints out of 2450 scans that equal those of a 5y old 25.000$ Linotype scanner up to 12x15. He also sent me a fraction of a 2.400dpi scan of this 6x7 neg - I printed it out at 360dpi on my 1160 - and I was so impressed that I bought the box the next day - this was a 350$ investment and liberated me of the torture which expensive MF scanner to buy while having to expect all those grain enhancement and other problems. I will tell about my experiences soon. Concerning 35mm - I have been able to print very good/ sharp looking prints at 11x14 with a 2.900dpi Nikon scan. Someone scanned one of the negs with his Nikon 4000 - I printed it out and to my surprise the 4000 had blurred zones in another part of the photo than my LS40 scan (the well known film flatness DOF problem I guess), but overall quality of the print was *not* better, no more visible detail. So fine A3+ (guess B+ in the US) is possible from 35m when using tripod, slow film (less than 100) and careful post processing in photo editing software. regards, Bernhard - Original Message - From: SKID Photography [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 11:21 PM Subject: Re: filmscanners: 35mm film versus medium-format scan quality Vuthy Chrun wrote: I would like to hear your experience and opinion on the difference (if there is any) between scanning a 35mm negative or slide with a 4000 DPI scanner and printing the image on a 1200 DPI colour printer versus scanning a 6x6 negative or slide on, let's say, an Epson 2450 and then printing the image on the same 1200 DPI colour printer. What size are you hoping to output? Harvey Ferdschneider partner, SKID Photography, NYC
Re: filmscanners: 35mm film versus medium-format scan quality (Epson 2450)
Austin, The image shows a grave at the cemetery with lots of fallen leafs and trees, an almost incredible amount of finest detail, shot with an efke 25 bw neg film and a Konica Hexar with very sharp lens at f8 - I was surprised myself, but I conclude that a) the guy doesn´t know how to use his scanner (would be strange) b) the Nikon doesn´t give consistently sharp results or c) the extra 1100dpi is not as essential as some may make us believe. I think its a mixture of b) and c) Greetings bernhard - Original Message - From: Austin Franklin [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 07, 2001 3:08 PM Subject: RE: filmscanners: 35mm film versus medium-format scan quality (Epson 2450) Concerning 35mm - I have been able to print very good/ sharp looking prints at 11x14 with a 2.900dpi Nikon scan. Someone scanned one of the negs with his Nikon 4000 - ...but overall quality of the print was *not* better, no more visible detail. Bernhard, Might that have been because there was no more detail on the image to be had? Have you seen a chemical print of the same image that showed more detail?
Re: filmscanners: Ed Hamrick: Output files in VueScan
No, its not the hidden extensions, because Photoshop (LE) won´t even recognize the file before I renamed it. Bernhard - Original Message - From: HEREDIA, ARMANDO J To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 8:07 PM Subject: RE: filmscanners: Ed Hamrick: Output files in VueScan Assuming you're a Windows user, your Folder Options might be set to "Hide Extensions for Known File Types." This would mean that Vuescan is saving them as .TIF files, but Explorer just isn't showing it. Or is this not the case? greetings Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: Ed Hamrick: Output files in VueScan
Thank you both who answered, of course I had not left the extension and the + in the filename box - I am used to dummy programs made for ignorants like me :-) Bernie - Original Message - From: Dana Trout [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 11:23 PM Subject: Re: filmscanners: Ed Hamrick: Output files in VueScan You *do* still have the extension in the filename box, don't you? The default file name is crop0001+.tif which means name the files crop0001.tif, crop0002.tif, etc. But you can put any name or extension you like there. VueScan assumes you know what you want,
Re: filmscanners: link to Minolta Multi Pro review
Both Ed Hamrick and Ken Rockwell say that there is very little noise, users said the same, why do you worry? Sanning with ICE is always *much* slower than without, and with the plug-in scan times seem more than reasonable. I received some informations by Minolta about the Multi Pro today (well, nothing but shining promises, but what did I expect!) and wait now for 2 persons that will scan me a 6x6 negative with the Polaroid 120 and the Minolta Pro. If the Polaroid is not visibly better, I go for the Minolta, its cheaper and has ICE. Greetings Bernhard - Original Message - From: DRP [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 10:36 AM Subject: filmscanners: link to Minolta Multi Pro review Hi all I found an user review for the new Minolta multi at : http://www.kenrockwell.com/minolta/mp.htm Remaining questions for me are CCD noise and scanning time with ICE Comments and adds welcome! Regards Didier
filmscanners: Vuescan and Epson 2450?
I forgot if it was mentioned before: Does VueScan already support the new Epson Perfection 2450? Thanks Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: SS120 Grain Problem
- Original Message - From: Jeff Spirer [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2001 4:58 AM Subject: filmscanners: SS120 Grain Problem I'm having problems with grain with the Polaroid SS120. This can be seen in the sample at: http://www.spirer.com/images/grain.jpg This is from a 6x7 neg scanned at 2880, unsharpened. I get far less grain with my Epson 1640 It seems logic that the 1640 doesn´t shop that much of it, it is not sharp enough... This leaves me thoughful.. Because it is a little bit what I experienced - so far - with my Nikon LS40 . Slides scan just fine, but bw seems to always emphathize grain (specially one Delta 100 film has been developped in Rodinal and it is unuseable for printing, grain is just too strong). And it is exactly what a guy in an News group who mainly prints traditionally (wet) told me: That scanning tends to bring up grain specially in bw negatives. I have been planning to buy an MF scanner in the near future - possibly the Polaroid or the Minolta PRO - but as I am mainly doing bw, I wonder whether it is not the better way to go the traditional way in the darkroom and buy maybe a midrange flatbed like the new Epson 2450... I ´d really be interested what the others here on the list have experienced concerning grain in bw negatives. Greetings Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: Replacement of Nikon LS-30: LS-40 or LS-2000 (especially as to clipped negative highlights)?
- Original Message - From: Julian Robinson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2001 11:44 PM Subject: Re: filmscanners: Replacement of Nikon LS-30: LS-40 or LS-2000 (especially as to clipped negative highlights)? BTW I emailed Nikon in Australia about exactly this question (how does the LS40/4000 handle the blown highlights problem) and you can guess their totally useless reply - what blown highlights?, we have many satisfied users and no-one has ever complained ... blah blah Gush - this seems to be Nikons general incredible behaviour with *all* problems - should be a reason alone not to buy their products ever again! I observed blown out highlight with some of my bw scansI do at work wiht the LS-40, but this could of course be as well the negs that are over- exposed. I will check again if there is something to do... Maybe in VueScan it is better - I will try out next week and compare NikonScan and VueScan in this respect. My forthcoming MF scanner will have a Minolta or Polaroid tag on it, but certainly not a Nikon one Greetings Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: Minolta Multi Pro
Ed, could you tell us some of your impressions about the Minolta Multi Pro when testing it for your software - what about overall sharpness, shadow noise etc. A lot of people out there seem to be interested in getting some well founded impressions of the scanners quality by someone who has seen more than this one machine. Curious greetings, Bernhard - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 8:05 AM Subject: Re: filmscanners: Minolta Multi Pro In a message dated 11/29/2001 9:38:28 PM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The stepper motor can actually move at 9600 dpi, which is evenly divisible by both 4800 and 3200. Regards, Ed Hamrick When the stepper motor moves less than the optical resolution isn't that just a software interpolation? No, the stepper motor either steps twice per line when scanning at 4800 dpi or three times per line when scanning at 3200 dpi. Neither the Minolta software nor VueScan ever use the stepper motor at 9600 dpi. Regards, Ed Hamrick
Re: filmscanners: SS120: Reflections on edge of neg
Roger, thank you for your reflexions, you say that the Pola 120 "it is one of the best medium format film scanners the average photographer can currently afford" - indeed there are basically no more than 3 affordable MF scanners at all: The Nikon, the SS120 and the Minolta Multi Pro. I agree that the Nikon is uninteresting because of the banding problem, but I just don´t like the idea that you get reflexions on the scans of a 3000$scanner -this is a problem not because it is so difficult to avoid, but simply because it is poorly thought out or constructed. And that would make a 53mm scanner out of a 56mm one - maybe I am considering it more dramatical than it actually is, but I don´t like basic problems due to a poor design in expensive machines... Now you say that you never noticed that - which is at least a good sign! I wait for Barbaras feedback. My reflexion is simple: So farI have only heard and read excellent reviews and opinions about the Minolta (unlike the LS-8000): It is a little bit cheaper than the Polaroid in Germany, has ICE for Color negs, a higher resolution for 35mm, glass carriers for badly curled film and is also supported by VueScan. In one respect the Polaroid wins very clearly: its much more stylish and nice to look at - the minolta is an horribly ugly plastic box! In other words: My feeling says Polaroid,my mind says "Minolta" :-) But I won´t buy before January anyway - warranty regulations will change in Germany and lead to a much longer warranty from 01/01/2002 on. greetings Bernhard - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2001 9:51 AM Subject: Re: filmscanners: SS120: Reflections on edge of neg From everything I've read about the Polaroid SprintScan 120, and from my own experience, it is one of the best medium format film scanners the average photographer can currently afford. It would be a shame for you to pass up such a fine scanner based solely on this argument. I've never noticed any reflections while scanning, but then I would never have a reason to try to crop that close to the edge of the film for the type of work that I do (fashion and glamour of people). You have to remember that few medium format shooters frame as tightly as they would if shooting 35 mm. Don't bite off your nose to spite your face. If a scanner does a nearly perfect job of scanning 95 percent of the film frame (which is probably about the area of coverage you saw in the viewfinder when you took the photograph, anyway), why would you want a different scanner that might cause banding, has poor software, causes 60 p! ercent of the image to be out of focus, has noise in the shadow areas, has less resolution, or has some other major shortcoming. I don't know anything about the Minolta Pro; it might be a fine scanner. But the SS120 has a solid reputation and I wouldn't eliminate it from contention unless you had a more significant reason.
filmscanners: to David Hemingway: SS120 Reflections at scan borders
David, could you contribute something to the debate about reflexions on the borders of the SS120 scans that some persons haveon their scanners? Could you tell sth about 1. what causes this problem 2. why it seems to accur on some machines but not on others? 3. Is there anything that can be done about it? Could re-designed film carriers avoid that problem? Is this planned then? I´d appreciate to hear something by the people who built the machine. Thank you in advance, Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: SS120: Reflections on edge of neg
Paul, does "only one shot at a time" mean that you will have to cut all your neg strips? Or is it just that you can only SCAN one at a time which is not so dramatic given the slower speed of MF scanning and the incredible amount of data... Its interesting what you have to say about the carriers... So do you feel that film flatness is no problem with the Multi Pro? Another question: What do you think about the Minolta and bw negatives (one strength of the Polaroid 120 as it seems)? This is what I will do quite a lot on the scanner of my choice... Did you try it out? How about shadow detail and contrast on these? Greetings Bernhard - Original Message - From: Wilson, Paul To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:31 PM Subject: RE: filmscanners: SS120: Reflections on edge of neg Stylistically, I'd call the Minolta boring rather than ugly but it's made out of metal whereas the Polaroid is at least partially plastic. The Minolta is also A LOT smaller and quieter than the Polaroid. Neither effect scan quality but they do make living with the scanner easier. Also, the Minolta's non-glass carrier does a better job with curled film than the Polaroid's due to the way it holds the film. The downside to the carrier is that you can only scan one shot on a strip at a time. Anyway, I'm really happy with the Minolta.
Re: filmscanners: SS120: Reflections on edge of neg
- Original Message - From: Barbara White [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] () and cured it by running a black magic marker along it. I'm going to try this with the film holder for the 6x6 negs - will report back if it works. Yes this is interesting: I wait for your results, please, because those 3mm of reflexions on*every* neg would simply make me go for another scanner than the Polaroid 120 - probably the Minolta Pro. Thanks in advance for posting your results Barbara, greetings Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: SS120: reflexions at the borders of the neg
- Original Message - From: Jeff Spirer [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 26, 2001 3:53 AM Subject: Re: filmscanners: SS120: reflexions at the borders of the neg It's not quite what you state, it is only along the film carrier edges, so your 57x57 neg would become something like 57x54. Jeff, I have to ask again: the horizontal (along the carrier) or the vertical edge (parallel to the space between the frames) ? So, does it happen only at the first and last or on every negative? On every would be bad, it just makes it an only 95% medium format scanner. greetings Bernhard
Re: filmscanners: Nikon LS40ED - first impressions
- Original Message - From: Eric [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 8:07 PM Subject: Re: filmscanners: Nikon LS40ED - first impressions Hiya Mark, well first of all if you want they have a bug fix version of Nikon Scan Version 3.1 on their website.. I think the address is www.nikon-imaging.com I got my Nikon Coolscan LS-IV yesterday but have not installed it yet since I have a small problem with my video card or something... Funny, everybody´s got his LS- 40 yesterday or today: we got ours at work yesterday, I have it at home for the first days to check if everything´s allright. I agree that its a nice machine, a very capable midrange film scanner, and very fast: scanning single slides is a joy, very easy and reliable. Unfortunately film grain seems to show up quite strong, as far as I understand this is due to the LED light source, compared to the ..???... one of Minolta and Polaroid. The LED makes that the Nikons are basically capable, but have very small depth of field sharpness and accentuate grain and dust more that the more diffuse light sources of the other scanners. This makes ICE on Nikon more necessary than on Pola or Minolta.. My first 20 or 30 scans seem to affirm this. Bernhard P.S.: The LS- 40 is a bit noisy while scanning!
