Problems with VueScan and CanoScan 9000F flatbed

[icanthackit]

After a search, a found a lot of stuff, but nothing relevant.

I had used my CanoScan 9000F about a year ago to scan film, mostly 4x5 black and white film, and it had done a decent job. For those who don't know, this is a flatbed scanner with the transparency adapter and film holders. It's meant to scan up to medium format (6cm wide) but I have been scanning 4x5 in two segments and stitching in Photoshop CS5 using photomerge to "reposition." I'm also using VueScan 9.0.08 I think. I'm also using Windows 7.

Now, obviously this isn't the ideal way, but having pretty limited resources, it's all that I can do. I will try to attach some scans to illustrate my problems.

Last year, I was scanning, and my scans would come out a little light, but I could use Levels to darken it to where it needed to go. I've got an awesome 8x10 of a creek at winter and I could probably print at least 11x14 with great quality. I'm going back to scan now with the same settings as far as I know, and it's just not working. Now, my scans are incredibly bright and when I attempt to darken it to where it was exposed, I'm having problems. Contrast is getting out of hand, there's nowhere near the resolution I should be seeing based on previous scans. As I said, I'm going to try to attach a good scan, and then a recent scan.

One should be a smaller version of the creek image stitched together, another will be part of the creek image before it was combined with the other and corrected, and the last is half of a scan I just made which just will not do what I want it to do. Is there a way in my version of VueScan to set the exposure exactly how I want it? It's strange that as soon as my scan completes, it looks great, but then 1/4 of a second later, the scan turns bright and unusable before it saves and opens in Photoshop.

I am scanning with the negative emulsion side up (I think) and I use the medium format slot as a guide to hold the film where I need it. The negative is touching the class and is simply being held there by the sides of the film holder. Any advice?

Thanks!

Andrew

[icanthackit]

I've never added photos to my posts here, so hopefully you'll be able to see those as they are posted.

[pound]

have you look at Vuescan Color tab/ Color Balance settings?
I found i get better results if I set the color balance to Auto Levels for most of my B&W shots.

[SergeiR]

Stitching stuff (scan as 120 and stitch into 4x5) was always very very unreliable for me with Vuescan.
Scanning just 120 or 4x5 as whole - worked fine. When scanner was working (i burned through two Epsons in one year)

You may want to update to latest version, and then go into Color and drop curve to be 0, 0 and black/white point levels to be at 0, and scan into DNG, and then see what you can get in ACR

[polyglot]

Use "Lock Exposure" on the input tab (observe the ctrl-1 raw histogram carefully), preview again, "Lock Film Base", scan, "Lock Color", then adjust your white/black points (the ctrl-2 graph). Don't forget to tweak the Brightness slider and keep it consistent between passes. Dont unlock anything within a single sheet/roll.