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Thread: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

  1. #21

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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Doug,

    Sorry if I somehow hurt your feelings by saying I would not want to send my original chromes to India.

    I work hard and spend a lot of money to get a decent shot and don't want to risk sending them overseas. Things can easily get damaged or disappear in transit. Not too sure what that has to do with my saying that in my quick test, my Arca screen was about equal to the Maxwell screen in my Toho. But if you see a connection, it is okay by me.

  2. #22
    Doug Dolde
    Guest

    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Harley,

    No hurt feelings at all. The good thing about the Maxwell screen isn't that it's brighter but that the fresnel is so fine you can't see the groove under a lupe.

    As far as sending to India goes, Fedex Express is $40 each way and likely pretty secure. I'll probably send a big batch to amortize the shipping costs.

  3. #23

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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dolde View Post
    As far as sending to India goes, Fedex Express is $40 each way and likely pretty secure. I'll probably send a big batch to amortize the shipping costs.
    Doug,
    I don't want to insult you in any way. However, I think you're crazy to do what you are suggesting. You're going to get stuff you can make an 8x10 with. Further, I don't think you are justified in taking shots at WCI, suggesting they are "resting on their laurels". I know those people and they are worthy of anyone's respect.

    You can not compare junky scans, the likes of which you are ordering, with someone who takes care on how they operate a scanner. There are many different scanners and almost everyone on the high end scanner list agrees - over many years - that the most important factor in scanning is not the device, but the operator.

    Lenny Eiger
    EigerStudios

  4. #24

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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lenny Eiger View Post
    I hope no one takes offense but I have to speak up....
    Glad you did. Apparently I drank the Kool Aid thinking Tango was the best scanner on the market.

  5. #25
    naturephoto1's Avatar
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    Jul 2006
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    Breinigsville, PA
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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Hi Dan,

    Though my printer Bill Nordstrom uses a Tango and we have for years, it must be understood that these machines have been around for some time. Improvements and progress takes place over years time hopefully so it is not surprising that newer better scanners have come along.

    Rich
    Richard A. Nelridge

    http://www.nelridge.com

  6. #26
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Jan 2004
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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Hi Lenny

    I see by your posts you are a big fan of the Aztek Premier scanner,
    I have a lab here in Toronto which prints on Lambda to different materials.
    At present we use Imacon scanner for small to medium size prints and send out Repro Scans*tango* who now are harder to contact as they now seem to be a part of National Geo.
    In short term I am looking for a reptubale lab that does high quality scans , which I would send my clients directly. I need to see some tests on different scanners and frankly I have been leaning towards Tango, as this is what my competitors use, but from your posts it seems that your unit blows away Tango.
    In long term we will be purchasing our own unit, but before I do so I would like to know what is the best quality in long term for us.We only scan for clients that print with us and I do not want to change this,but we have seen the scanning side of our business skyrocket and believe that this niche part of our operations will grow to support the costs of a high end drum scanner.
    We purchased the Lambda and only run at 400ppi which we believe is right up there in quality vs Chromira and Light Jet, and our next large investment would be the scanner to biggie size our Imocan, with the hopes of long term quality and support.
    I would love to send a couple of transparancies and negatives to you to compare to our Imocan and I would send the same images to Repro to get tangos, Print them on a high quality gloss paper at 400ppi and see for myself.
    I would send you back comparison prints for your own needs or observations.


    If you are interested in this you can email me at bob@elevatordigital.ca , our site is www.elevatordigital.ca and our toll number is 1- 888-470-7555
    By the way , you made great points, and I agree with you . You get what you pay for.

    best regards
    Bob Carnie

    Quote Originally Posted by Lenny Eiger View Post
    I hope no one takes offense but I have to speak up....

    I have a different philosophy. I don't do this a tiny amt for a tiny amt of data, more for a little more, etc. I like really great scans, with tons of data. We deliver scans that are 1.7 Gigs of data off of a 4x5, about 2 Gigs from a med format, 3 Gigs from 8x10. All 16 bit RGB. All hand-held thru the process, aperture matched to film grain, etc.

    We use an Aztek Premier, in addition to delivering up to 8,000 pixels per inch, it has an optical resolution of 8,000, which means it can deliver real data. The Tango has an optical rez rate at only 4,000. (It's a great scanner too, but it can't match the sharpness of a Premier.)

    We don't charge by the megabyte, only by the size of the original, $125 for med format, $135 for 4x5 and $150 for 8x10.

    I don't suggest using a scanner that charges $19 for doing anything, unless you really don't care about it, or you are reproducing it very, very small. I would suggest that you choose a scanner company by the operator, by how attentive the operator will be to your needs. A scan is not just a thing that goes thru a machine and comes out - there are a lot of controls. Great scans come from people who really care about them. The better a rapport you have with the person doing you scans, the more likely you will get what you want.

    Good luck, and sorry for the self promotion. I tried to keep it to a minimum.

    Lenny

    Lenny Eiger
    www.eigerstudios.com
    707-763-5922

  7. #27

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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
    Hi Lenny

    .
    In long term we will be purchasing our own unit, but before I do so I would like to know what is the best quality in long term for us.By the way , you made great points, and I agree with you . You get what you pay for.

    best regards
    Bob Carnie
    Going to contact you offline, thanks

    Lenny

  8. #28

    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    Not to dismiss any drum scanner, but the Heidelberg Tango has been around for nearly ten years. Dainippon Screen have made newer drum scanners, as have Aztek. The other company still involved in new drum scanner production is ICG. Unfortunately, there are very few places in North America running the latest ICG scanner.

    Obviously every drum scanner, and high end flatbed, is operator dependent. A really skilled operator can meet or exceed the capability of someone not as skilled (or not as conscientious) using better gear. While the current ICG drum scanners are technically at the pinnacle of development, one would also need to find a skilled operator using one. So the lesson in this is not to just search for a particular drum scanner in use, but to find someone who gets the most out of their gear.

    Ciao!

    Gordon Moat
    A G Studio

  9. #29
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    At f22 (where typically most LF shots are done), the diffraction limit is 68 lp/mm. Someone explain how you are going to get 4000dpi on film in most typical situations.

    Before saying that scans are crappy, maybe one should have a look at them ?

    The scans that I got from Mumbai compared favorably with those that WCI made from the same transparencies. Tech skills in India are not necessarily second to the US. Like Doug, I don't see sending a Fedex to Mumbai as considerably more risky than sending a Fedex to Oakhurst or Santa Cruz, but this is obviously a matter of personal comfort level.

  10. #30

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    Re: West Coast Imaging or Calypso?

    I don't have to look at a scan to know its crappy. It takes 10-15 mins to mount up a drum. It takes a few mins to scan each image even at very low rez. Even at Indian rates - for less than $20 that means no time looking at the image and scanning at minimum resolution. No setting of apertures, no nothing.

    My scanner takes about 45 minutes to do an 8,000 dpi scan of a 2 1/4, for a result of 2.2 Gigs. That doesn't include the time it takes to mount and to do an analysis of the grain size. It also doesn't allow for any corrections to the image. My software allows these corrections to be loaded directly into the scanner so that it scans within the range specified vs other software which applies changes to a raw scan. All this is useless? I think you'd have to look at my prints before you made this conclusion.

    I get a lot more than 4,000 dpi from film on a regular basis. So do lots of other drum scanner operators. I think 68 lp/mm would really look like crap if that's all you got - imagine printing at 68 dpi - or even double that. There is more, regardless of the fact that there are no books on the subject with language that can explain this to you...

    As someone else said earlier - you get what you pay for.

    Lenny



    Quote Originally Posted by QT Luong View Post
    At f22 (where typically most LF shots are done), the diffraction limit is 68 lp/mm. Someone explain how you are going to get 4000dpi on film in most typical situations.

    Before saying that scans are crappy, maybe one should have a look at them ?

    The scans that I got from Mumbai compared favorably with those that WCI made from the same transparencies. Tech skills in India are not necessarily second to the US. Like Doug, I don't see sending a Fedex to Mumbai as considerably more risky than sending a Fedex to Oakhurst or Santa Cruz, but this is obviously a matter of personal comfort level.

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