Screen Cezanne Users Unite

[mdala]

Make sure to view the attached file at 100% (click on the image to view full size).

[mdala]

And a few screen grabs showing my settings.

[Peter De Smidt]

The Nikon scan is definitely sharper, but has Nikon scan applied sharpening? It looks like it. How does the Cezanne scan sharpen up?

[mdala]

The Nikon scans are not sharpened. I always turn sharpening off when I scan. The Cezanne doesn't sharpen nicely because the image is defocused to start with (bigger softer grain=poo when sharpened)

[mdala]

I tried giving the Cezanne a larger trim region hoping that would provide more visual detail for it to focus on, but no luck. The festival of softness is on.

[Bob McCarthy]

Hm. I don't know why your scans aren't sharp. I used to have a Nikon film scanner, and my Cezanne gives me better results all around.

There are a number of different settings at various places in Color Genius software that need to be correct. For instance, in setup you can specify whether you want high quality or high speed. As a result, you might want to peruse the manual and double check all of your settings on the various menus.

I can mirror peters experience. I also had a Nikon scanner (5000). My Cezanne works perfectly.

Is the scanner lens not focussing. I would try 2 opposing corners and the middle to see if there is any difference. Could the lens be foggied or really dirty??

Are you using the standard bed, I don't know the focussing range of the scanner, it your bed is not standard and thicker or thinner than normal. I'll admit the last statement is a swag.

Bob

[mdala]

Hi Bob,

I tried in different parts of the bed and all scans came back soft. I'm using the original bed and it is in very good condition. The thing that I don't understand is that the Cezanne scanned fine for a while. A Screen technician cleaned the mirror and lens, ran a few tests and everything worked fine after he left... This is getting frustrating.

[Peter York]

What is the size of the film? With an 8000 pixel CCD array, the Cezanne can scan 2" of film at a true 4000 spi on the side 90 degrees from the movement of the bed. A trim area larger than that leads to interpolation, and when the ability to interpolate is reached the software will not let you set a larger trim area. For 4x5, I get close to 4000 spi by scanning the film in 2 strips (I say close because you have to overlap the strips by about 10%, so my trim areas are routinely larger than 2") and then photomerge them in PS.

I do not have the Coolscan 9000 but I recall others mentioning that it achieves a true spi of about 3750.

Have you tried an E-6? (I ask because there may be something going on with the negative profile) Have you tried a smaller trim area at a higher spi? A lower spi? (You want to see if the Cezanne is working properly at capturing a range of spi settings).

The Coolscan looks sharper but some of this is probably due to contrast differences between the scans. Set a curves layer on the Cezanne scan to roughly match the Nikon and recompare. You may also want to sharpen each file and then compare.

Finally, double check the Nikon to ensure that sharpening is turned off. Sometimes scanners have "hidden" sharpening that you may or may not be able to switch off. I do not know how sharpening works with the Coolscan.

[Peter York]

I'm scanning negs, using the black overlay and the anti-newton rings tray.

For clarification, are you laying the film on the scanner bed/platen, then placing the hold down tray on top to lay the film flat, then placing the mask on the top of the hold down tray?

[mdala]

I'm scanning Xpan size negs (24x65mm). Initially I was scanning at 5300dpi on the Cezanne but started noticing softness in the scans. I then did a test at max resolution on the Nikon (4000dpi), with all color corrections and sharpening turned off. I then went back to the Cezanne and set the resolution to 4000dpi to match the Nikon. Still soft.

Now, based on what you're saying, could it be that I'm not positioning the film properly on the cezanne? Right now, the neg's longest side runs parallel to the scanning lamp. If I understand what you say correctly, to obtain non interpolated scan, I would need to put the longest side of the neg I'm scanning so that it's parallel to the longest side of the scanning bed? This means rotating the scan 90deg afterwards, yes?

MD
PS. I usually scan e6 on the drum scanner. I'll try e6 on the cezanne just to see if there is a difference