Microtek 1800f

[Ed Richards]

There have been major improvements in Vuescan over the past 6 months. I moved back to it from Silverfast because of the greater control I get. Bicubic sharpening while downsampling is not really sharpening in the sense that I think you are thinking about. It is just a modification in how the downsampling algorithm handles the averaging of the data points. (This is in CS2 or Picture Window Pro.)

My best workflow is to scan at 4800 DPI, output the raw scan from Vuescan, downsample it in CS2 to 2400 DPI with bicubic sharpening at the default value, invert, then use LEVELS (not curves) to scale the data. I also use 4x multi-sampling, which is supported on the Canon 9950, so it takes 4 data points before incrementing to the next scan point. This gives the effect of 16 data points being averaged for each data point in the final file, which helps noise a lot. Since it is easy to upgrade Vuescan, invest an hour and give it a try. It is not going to turn your scanner into an Imacon, but if it improves your scan even a little it could make a difference in a 16 x 20. Paul and I have kicked around the 1800 compared to the 9950 - it is hard to resolve, but I think you can do as well or better with the 4990 and optimizing the workflow. The Microtech 2500 would be a much more logical step up, but they seem to be discontinued.

[Doug Dolde]

I thinks its strange that there is such a gap between scanners like the Epson 4990 and the high end, ie Imacon, Creo iQsmart, etc.

I would think Nikon could sell a bundle of 9000ED like scanners redesigned to handle 4x5.

[Kirk Gittings]

Mathew,
There is now a Yahoo Forum for wet mounting:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WETMOUNTING/?yguid=197497774

in Files section thaere are some guides. It is really pretty simple.

[Kirk Gittings]

There is another tutorial online somewhere. That explains it well. I will try and remember where I saw it.

It is called "liquid Mounting on your Flatbed Scanner" All I have is a PDF Printout. There in no name or website on it. Maybe someone else will recognise the name. I think it may be from the old Epson3200 yahoo site, but I'm not sure. It is 15 pages.

[Scott Rosenberg]

brian, good catch! i meant to say that i have found the best results from scanning with the emulsion side DOWN. sorry to have muddied the waters.

as to the scan in black and white or scan in color, i found that there was no difference in the final image quality, and the fewer manipulations i have to do in photoshop the happier i am.

so, to clear up my first post:

1. i found that scanning with the emulsion side down yielded scans with slight grain, but much finer detail and required far less sharpening in photoshop.

2. i also found no difference between scanning in black and white or color and then converting. since the resultant files looked the same, i just scan in b&w.

3. i found no difference in scanning on the number 1 or number 2 opening in the 4x5 holder (i thought there might be a sweet spot)

what i do find to be a real pain is scanning 8x10 or 6x6 originals on the glass carrier. they don't always stay flat. has anyone tried placing a very thin piece of glass over an 8x10 original to keep it flat?

scott

[Kirk Gittings]

Mathew,
Email me your mailing address and I will xerox this and send it to you. I can't find any reference to it on line. Maybe if some one would would do a post on Photo.net it will turn up.
Kirk

[Scott Schroeder]

Matt/Kirk,
I just emailed matt the file that explains wet mounting on a 3200.

[Mark McCarvill]

Kirk,

To capture the full tonal range with the 1800f (and other scanners I've used) I scan B&W negatives as positives and in the Silverfast software I invert the curve so it really comes out as a positive.
And I usually first do a low-res scan to determine what kind of contrast curve will ultimately need to be applied and then I redo the scan with that curve using Silverfast.

I also do my final scans in grayscale, with 88% coming from the red channel (unfortunately Silverfast won't let you go higher than that). I find red the least noisy.

Good luck!

[Mark Carney]

I was interested in the liquid mounting technique and found this link to the pdf instructions.

http://homepage.mac.com/mach48/FileSharing13.html

Hope this might be helpful to anyone else that is curious.

Mark

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks Mark. That appears to be an updated version of what I have.