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Thread: Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

  1. #11

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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Shooting longer-range flatter films like Porta (or EPN in chrome) is, IMHO, better than shooting the candy saturated stuff. You can always add saturation but it is really hard to take it away. Likewise, I like a longer range because I can always remove information but not the verso.

  2. #12
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Thanks for the info, everyone. I think I'll start with NPS and see how it goes.

    Anyone recommend a good lab in New York City? preferably one that uses dip and dunk? I'm hoping there's still such a thing. Can't find anythig on google.

  3. #13

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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    I use Portra VC 160 and scan with Vuescan using an Epson 3200. I've also used Portra NC 160 and I didn't see any significant difference in the scans. I think some of the differences we attribute to different negative color films, which might be evident with darkroom processing, may be minimized by the scanning process which tends to aim for a common result.

    Vuescan has a setting for the Portra films, so you shouldn't have to worry about the orange mask or reversing the colors. Vuescan will take care of that for you. On occasion I've inadvertently left Vuescan set on an older color film, scanned Portra, and still managed to get good results. I think you can get good results even if you use the generic setting.

    Vuescan has one nice feature. If you right click on a neutral area, it will adjust the color balance so that area becomes a netural gray. It seems to work over a wide range of light to dark grays. Of course, it may still be necessary to do some tweaking in your photoeditor. The emulsions never precisiely track one another, so you may have to make different color balance adjustments in highlights, midtones , and shadows. But I don't find that reversal film is any different, when scanned, in this regard.

  4. #14

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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    "Anyone here with experience drum scanning either film up to 40x50 in 4x5? What are the differences? Thanks."

    I shoot 4x5 NPS frequently, and I drum scan it for myself and for clients on a regular basis. It gives excellent results with, as you'd expect, great latitude. It does scan with slightly more visible grain than chrome films, but as someone mentioned above, this can be lessened by careful manual selection of the scanner lens' aperture. Most labs don't seem to have much experience with color neg; I've seen some that actually state that you should avoid it if you expect good scans. This tells me that they simply don't know how to handle it, and then expect their customers to adjust their own shooting to fit the desires of the bureau.

    In short, don't hesitate to use NPS. Just make sure that you send it to someone who knows how to scan it.

    Regards,
    Danny www.dannyburk.com
    Visit www.dannyburk.com for fine photography galleries, drum scanning, instructional workshops and Photoshop tutorial, tips and more

  5. #15

    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Thanks for all your replies.
    -RR

  6. #16

    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Danny, I visited your site and had a look at some drum scan samples you have posted. Most impressive.....are you able to get this level of quality from color negs? You noted that the sample scans are from transparency films. Also, what resolution would you suggest scanning at in 4x5 to get a detailed 40x50 print? Your photographs are excellent, by the way.

  7. #17

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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    I speculate that all of you using NPS aren't using enough of it fast enough. Last year Fuji announced NPS would be replaced by Pro 160S, a film allegedly "designed for scanning," but the introduction was postponed from Spring to July, and July's about over with no sign of the new film and plenty of NPS still in stores. Get out there and use up that NPS -- I want to try some Pro 160S!

  8. #18
    M Brian Mills's Avatar
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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    I started by scanning NPS, Kodak 160VC, and 160NC and found that I was displeased with the look (grain and color). I then started shooting and scanning chromes. I've shot and scanned Fuji Velvia 100, Velvia 50, Kodak E100G, and 100VC. I have been most pleased with the 100VC. After scanning I desaturate in PhotoShop. The 100VC is great as just a chrome, but when trying to make a decent print the color is far too saturated. I find that I am desaturating by 20 to 40 points but am very pleased with the outcome.

    Also, with my Epson 4990 scanner and Epson 9600 printer I can get huge prints that are pleasingly sharp and much less dollar-wise than drum scans and lab-prints.

  9. #19

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    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Roger,

    Thanks for your reply and kind comments. From NPS, there will be slightly more visible grain than from the chrome samples shown on my site. It's also less saturated than the samples I've shown, which were not altered in saturation from the original scan. Of course, it's a simple matter to adjust saturation as desired in PS, and personally I choose NPS for my own work because it's the least contrasty color film available. (AFAIK Kodak 160NC is very similar, although I've not personally used it.)

    For a 40x50 print, what method of printing do you plan to use? I'd suggest scanning at 4000 dpi, which would give you 20000 pixels on the long side if the image were exactly 5" in length (which it isn't); dividing that 20000 by 360 (if you're sending to an Epson for printing) gives a printing size of approximately 55x44" without any upward interpolation. You'd need to reduce this figure slightly to account for cropped-off edge margins, meaning that the result will be almost exactly the size that you need for an Epson printer. Of course, you'll need plenty of computing power and RAM to handle the file, especially if you have it scanned at 16-bit mode.

    Regards,
    Danny
    Visit www.dannyburk.com for fine photography galleries, drum scanning, instructional workshops and Photoshop tutorial, tips and more

  10. #20

    Recommendations for color neg film for scanning

    Danny, thanks for the detailed info. My plan is to print on an Epson large format printer at project's conclusion. I'm shooting some more Astia in contrasty light to evaluate whether it is even close to the color neg films in terms of tonal scale. The Astia I have shot so far is so beautifully neutral and yet offers the possibility of increased saturation, if wanted, in Photoshop.

    The grain structure of Astia 100F on an RMS scale is 7. The Kodak and Fuji negative films are rated at an RMS of 4. I read that to compare negative to transparency RMS ratings it is necessary to multiply by a factor of 2.5. That means if Astia is RMS 7 then NPS/Portra is RMS 4 x 2.5 = RMS 10. The not yet released Pro 160 Fuji films are rated at RMS 3; to compare to negative, RMS 3 x 3.5 = RMS 7.5 . So it looks like the new Fuji neg films are going to be quite a leap and closer to transparency film, in addition to being better to scan, according to Fuji.

    By the way, since scanning at 4,000 dpi is at film grain level, is that not more than lenses can resolve for large format? I scan 35mm at 4,000 dpi on a Nikon Coolscan for the file size even though it is said that 3200 dpi is about max for what can be resolved.

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