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Thread: What is the killer scanner for everything?

  1. #31

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    775

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    Adam is totally right. The Imacons/Hasselblads do great scans. They're fast, convenient and I've made 40x50in. prints from 4x5 Portra 160 and they look great. I think my Howtek HR8000 drum scans are a tad sharper, a tad less grainy (because of the wet mounting and the ability to use the aperture to minimize grain). More importantly, the drum scans seem to provide a better distribution of tones and they're easier to print.

    We have a rental facility in my city with ridiculously low rates for renting their Hasselblad X1. So my workflow right now is to scan my loose edit on the X1 and use those files for my website, publications and small portfolio prints. Later on, I'll make a tighter edit and scan those on my Howtek for my final exhibition prints.

    Adam is also right about the dust. Drum scans seem less convenient because the Hasselblad magnetic holders are so fast and easy. But I'd rather spend a bit more time scanning and less time spotting. Wet-mounting on the drum fills in small scratches in the film that show up in the Hasselblad scans, and there is far less dust in my drum scans.

  2. #32

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Western Washington, USA
    Posts
    70

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    Quote Originally Posted by Old-N-Feeble View Post
    Slightly OT (maybe): I keep seeing reference to D-Max and I know what that is. But I have a question about it. Why can't one extend scanner D-Max by making two scans... one for shadow detail and another for highlights... then do a simple two-image HDR composite?
    There's a few things to consider, but it's not unheard of to do this. In some scanning software there is a multi-exposure or iHDR function.... where available. This is based on whether the scanner is capable of both varying the exposure time per pixel line and also being able to line up a second pass with the first pass. If it can't do both then you've got to manually intervene. If you can't line both images up but can manually adjust the actual time that the scanner exposes per line (as opposed to just increasing the values after it's been scanned in software) then you can make 2 scans and use software like Photomatix to create an HDR, with the autoalign feature turned on. But that usually results in a softer image. You'll also have to factor in the amount of digital noise that a given scanner will produce either in general or with the lower timed scans.

    To have a scanner with a higher d-Max in the first place both produces a sharper scan and only uses one pass, cutting scanning times by more than half when compared to multi-exposure scans.

  3. #33

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    South Texas
    Posts
    1,837

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    The amount of time per scan isn't an issue for me but the overall quality certainly is.

    So the consensus seems to be... if we want truly HQ huge digital prints from 4x5 film then we have no real choice other than to pony-up $3K plus for a used drum scanner or just pay for that service.

  4. #34

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    140

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    yes

    having been through the V750, X1, Drum scan route - like many I epson-it, and then pony up on the good ones

  5. #35

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Posts
    2,094

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    Quote Originally Posted by Old-N-Feeble View Post
    The amount of time per scan isn't an issue for me but the overall quality certainly is.

    So the consensus seems to be... if we want truly HQ huge digital prints from 4x5 film then we have no real choice other than to pony-up $3K plus for a used drum scanner or just pay for that service.
    Yes. It turns out that Photography is a very expensive hobby. No matter which way you slice it. If you want to make prints in a darkroom, you have to buy an enlarger, or do alternate processes. But then you have to have a large camera. You can do gum bichromate, which is dirt cheap, but you won't get the quality of the other stuff. Its not bad, just different...

    When you want to put images on to the computer, it is also expensive. Either you have to shoot with a digital camera, with a variety of prices, or you have to scan. The difference between a consumer level scanner and a 3K drum is enough so that it would easily be worth three times the amount. Of course, once the images are in the computer, you have a very expensive program - photoshop - and a big learning curve. You will probably want to upgrade the RAM in your computer, possibly the storage... etc.

    Then you have to buy a printer to output with. If you buy a printer that is smaller, you have plastic components. The 24 inch and larger have much more metal in them, which leads to more consistency, more capacity to control them, etc. Might be a little easier to get refillable's for, etc.

    At each point there are choices to make. Not always, but usually a little more money means a little more quality.

    Lenny
    EigerStudios
    Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing

  6. #36

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Rochester NY & Toronto ON
    Posts
    33

    Re: What is the killer scanner for everything?

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Ellis View Post
    Almost anything will work fine for the web. It's printing that shows the importance of a good scan. I assume you bought your 750 with the intention of eventually printing because VueScan and the 750 are major over-kill for the web (and IMHO major underkill for printing 35mm except possibly postcard sizes).
    My serious printing will be optical/darkroom still. Yes, it's overkill for web, but there are still valid reasons for getting a 750 even for web and inkjet printing. The primary reason for the 750 was that I didn't want a scanner that required 2 passes for a 4x5 or larger negative, and I wanted the fluid mount option. There were other reasons as well.

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