Product Review: BetterScanning.com Variable Height Mounting Station

[Michael Gordon]

If you own an Epson flatbed scanner, you owe it to your photographs to scan them with better quality! Check out my brief review of the BetterScanning.com Variable Height Mounting Station on my blog (http://michaelegordon.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/product-review-betterscanning-com-variable-height-mounting-station/).

[vinny]

Nice review. Epson scanners are okay but it's too bad that the film holders they include with their machines are worthless.

[PenGun]

It is quite possible to get the Epson mounts to the point of focus. Takes a little fooling around. The scans in the article are wildly out of focus with the Epson mounts.

Feel free to buy these I'm sure they are good but certainly not at all essential.

[SW Rick]

Good report- why is it that companies can't be bothered supplying decent accessories, limiting the value of their products? "If only government could be run like business" (as the saying goes). Unfortunately, it is. ;)

[J.Medlock]

Thanks for the review. I recently ordered a V700 and the BetterScanning mounting system, so am looking forward to using both once I get them.

[Sergei Antonov]

Epson holders could be easily modified to make height adjustable. It will cost you fraction of price that betterscanning.com charges for a piece of brittle plastic. Like PenGun above I too suspect that scans made in review with Epson holders are out of focus too much, and this makes the review quite questionable. I am using V750 with Epson holders for several years now, and I am normally getting much sharper scans. I have drum scanner that I use for small part of frames and could compare results -- I think that the scanner with OEM holders is quite capable.

[Michael Gordon]

Sergei: aside from adjusting the Epson holder height by other artificial means, the only adjustments that can be made to the holder are by either keeping in or taking out the five plastic pieces (marked with arrows). I'd call this far from precision focusing. I've done the tests, and the BetterScanning holder is still better. Sure, you can shim your Epson holder all day, but for my money the BS holder is worth it.

If you question my review, then you'll also need to question the manufacturers review, as they also provide clear and obvious comparisons that point in their holder's favor.

If the lousy stock Epson holder suits you, fine. I don't get any profits from the sale of these things, and I've got better things to do with my time than modify a holder that should be optimized for the scanner to begin with.

[Jon Shiu]

Sergei: aside from adjusting the Epson holder height by other artificial means, the only adjustments that can be made to the holder are by either keeping in or taking out the five plastic pieces (marked with arrows). .

Actually, to be more precise, the Epson holders can be adjusted to + or 0 with the feet in, or take them all out. Also, have to determine whether to scan emulsion up, or down.

Jon

[Paul O]

I have to disagree with Sergei - the Betterscanning Station are not simply "pieces of brittle plastic"??? Compared to the offering from Epson they are a massive improvement in their "holders"!

With both 5x4 and 6x17 negs mounted in the Epson version the film is visibly not held flat! If you do manage to get focus correct with those plastic feet the chamces are the film is buckled anyway!

Betterscanning offers a "mounting station" not just a holder; this allows film to be held flat with the use of AN glass sheets or plastic ribs for 120 roll film. It allows a simple and cleaner method of wet mounting and what's more it allows me to mount 5x7 film on the station too. The method and degree of adjustment possible with the Betterscanning station ensures optimum focus. I have tried both types and the Epson versions are in a box somewhere in my house gathering dust.

What's more they are VERY cheap to buy!

[PenGun]

I will most probably buy one of these when I get to wet mounting negatives.

It's obvious if you hunt for focus that there is an area of perhaps a mm or so where focus changes little. I have tried to nail the center of that so negatives not glass mounted (with the inevitable slight curve) are largely in focus. I'm not sure glass mounting is better given the slight bit of depth of field available.

[sanking]

It's obvious if you hunt for focus that there is an area of perhaps a mm or so where focus changes little. I have tried to nail the center of that so negatives not glass mounted (with the inevitable slight curve) are largely in focus. I'm not sure glass mounting is better given the slight bit of depth of field available.

The "super high resolution lens" that is used when one chooses film holder has a larger aperture and less depth of field than the "high resolution" lens that is used when one selects film area guide. In my own testing of the V700 I found that with the super high resolution lens one could definitely see a difference in resolution between plane of best focus and 0.3 mm on each side of the plane. However, to see the difference you need a really high resolution negative with a lot of contrast. I did the testing with the Betterscanning holder, fluid mounting the target on the underside of the glass.

Sandy King

[bvstaples]

I'll probably buy one of these soon. I was kind of holding out to see if BS would come out with a holder for 8x10s, but I don't think they will, at least not until I take the plunge and buy one; then a week later they'll announce the 8x10 holder.

Brian

[Paul T]

Michael,
Thank you for the excellent review. I love the sample photos.
Paul

[Pfeiffer Duckett]

Send him an email and ask about one: I asked something similar and I think he's unsure if there is a market for it.



I'll probably buy one of these soon. I was kind of holding out to see if BS would come out with a holder for 8x10s, but I don't think they will, at least not until I take the plunge and buy one; then a week later they'll announce the 8x10 holder.

Brian

[sanking]

Send him an email and ask about one: I asked something similar and I think he's unsure if there is a market for it.

To scan 8X10" negatives you might consider the method suggested by Jeremy Moore. See http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=55588

Basically you just have a piece of anti-glare glass cut to the size of the scanning bed and then adjust height over the glass for focus with small washers placed under the glass. You can then tape the negative to the bottom of the glass for dry mounting, or fluid mount it, as you choose. You can mark the top of the glass (or tape it) to the opening size of the film area guide to assure accurate placement of the negative. For 8X10 negatives you will need to select film area guide, not film holde.

Sandy King

[emo supremo]

I posted this next to the kindred spirit looking for a means to scan 5x7 on this V7xx type system so pardon the redunduncy but it is confusing and important.

This holder from BS you folks rave about, is it a wet, a dry or a wet OR dry type of holder? I'm finding it an important question to ask i.e., what the part number and item description of this holder is you folks obtained from from BS is? There seems to be two holders featured for by BS for the V7xx scanners. When I ordered one on their website it said "Holder for V750" but (in addition) there was a separate hyperlink for a combination holder/ANR glass package, so I clicked that. Just before sending my cashier's check I enquired to make sure and, sure enough, that holder/glass combination will NOT permit wetmounts. I had to cancel the order and am kind of in limbo here. If you want to wet mount DO NOT order the combo for the V7xx. Doug at BS says it is dry only.

So help us out and be explicit about exactly what holder you are using for the V750. And if the V700 has a different holder make note of that for us too. None of us need another holder (however improved) that doesn't meet expectations.

P.S. Down at the camera shop they told me to use Mineral Oil instead of Kami fluid. Comments anyone?
Is Kami fluid substitutable with some other liquid readily available from the chemist (at vastly reduced prices)?
Teflon and plastic washers are available at hardware stores.

[D. Bryant]

P.S. Down at the camera shop they told me to use Mineral Oil instead of Kami fluid. Comments anyone?


Don't use mineral oil.

Don Bryant

[Wade Guisbert]

OK, assuming the BS dry mount is better than the Epson dry mount holder. How much better (if at all) is the wet mount method over the dry mount method in the BS system?

And to put confusion to rest, the dry/wet BS option does both dry and wet?

I'm interested mainly because my V700 has no wet scan capabilities out of the box. The BS system does. So, if wet is better than dry, then why not just do wet? Of course I am strictly a hobbyist, and I have no production concerns.

I guess I'd be less of a skeptic if the Better Scanninng method didn't have the initials: B.S.!

[Doug Fisher]

For clarification, and as I posted to the other thread, the mounting station can do fluid scanning, or optionally, fluid + dry scanning (the latter incorporates the expensive AN glass).

When it comes to flatbed scanners (versus, say, drum scanners), the level of benefit from fluid mounting varies from situation to situation. Some people notice a significant improvement and thus they will become devoted to fluid mounting. Other people try fluid mounting and can't see an appreciable difference compared dry mounting so they wonder why others bother with fluid mounting. I am up front about this when people ask. Unfortunately, fluid mounting isn't always the holy grail that other sellers imply. A lot depends on technique/implementation and the particular type of film being scanned. I do feel it is a good "tool" to have and in the "scanning toolbox" because when it does work well you will see improvements in micro contrast and often imperfections like film scratches are less visible. Unfortunately, it is hard to make a blanket statement about fluid scanning that applies to everyone so a person just has to try it with their scanner and particular film type(s) to see.

My $.02,

Doug
---
www.BetterScanning.com

[Bjorn Nilsson]

OK, assuming the BS dry mount is better than the Epson dry mount holder. How much better (if at all) is the wet mount method over the dry mount method in the BS system?

And to put confusion to rest, the dry/wet BS option does both dry and wet?

I'm interested mainly because my V700 has no wet scan capabilities out of the box. The BS system does. So, if wet is better than dry, then why not just do wet? Of course I am strictly a hobbyist, and I have no production concerns.

I guess I'd be less of a skeptic if the Better Scanninng method didn't have the initials: B.S.!

The reason for the BetterScanning mounting station (and the other BS holders) being "better" is that they are sturdier and that you can adjust the height of the holder (above the glass surface) in a very precise way. Second, all BS holders are designed to hold the film flatter than the Epson OEM holders.
With wet mounting you get the film perfectly flat, which of course is good. But I've also noticed that there is a bit less of dust and scratches when I wet-mount.

Personally I only wet-mount a negative when it has something "extra" which I want to print big. Wetmounting is messier and more time consuming, but it does give me that little extra bit of quality in the end. For starters I usually go with the Epson OEM holders when I make a first scan to sort out the "bad seeds".

//Björn

[emo supremo]

Please, what is the catalog or part number you presently use for your V750?
I need to persist with this question because when I clicked the V750's holder and ANR package in the BS website I ended up ordering the dry-only mount.
I'm trying hard not to order the wrong holder.

[D. Bryant]

Please, what is the catalog or part number you presently use for your V750?
I need to persist with this question because when I clicked the V750's holder and ANR package in the BS website I ended up ordering the dry-only mount.
I'm trying hard not to order the wrong holder.

Mr. Supremo,

Go hear:

http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/directpricing/mstationp.html

And then choose the holder vou want. Complete your order choosing the payment and shipping options apropos for you.

Pretty easy!