Kirk: A bit late but perhaps not too late: Yes, film curvature is an inherent problem with flatbeds because in dry scanning the film is not secured to a uniform plane. Accordingly the plane of optimal focus of the scanner is at odds with the film plane through much of the area of the film. The reason for the film's curvature or warp has nothing to do with whether it is set vertically or horizontally. It is simply due to an unbalanced construction consisting of the hydrophillic emulsion on one side and a moinsture insensitive layer on the other. The most effective solution to the problem is to restrain the film to a perfectly flat plane which is at the optimal plane of focus of the scanner. You can do that with wet mounting, the same technique used with drum scanners but much easier and practical with flatbeds since the introduction of turnkey kits for all flatbed scanners. Not only you have greater and more uniform sharpness but your slides acquire a brilliance that until now was the preserve of drum scanners, and if that was not enough, it eliminates dust and scratches even from Kodachrome, B&W, etc. In so doing it enhances the image. You would have to spend thousands more to get a scanner that would give you those benefits. To learn more about wet mounting see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCANMAX/
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