I am reading this post because I'm just starting out using the computer to enlarge negs. Holy crap I've got a lot to learn. 40 years of darkroom experience shot to hell.
Robert N.
I am reading this post because I'm just starting out using the computer to enlarge negs. Holy crap I've got a lot to learn. 40 years of darkroom experience shot to hell.
Robert N.
Interesting post.
I just changed computer so ignore what my previous settings were.
I'm using vuescan. Yesterday I did a 4x5 BW neg scan at 2400dpi, 24bit colour(maybe 48? can't remember exactly) and the file came huge (1TB).
Do you advise going to less bits?
For the first time experimented with 3 samples per dot and without reading this post it looked less sharp to me...
sorry I meant 1GB file!
It's funny; I just started down this path too. My better scanning mount is in production as we speak. Here's the workflow I've been using (along with settings), for better or worse... it'd be good to get feedback, I'm sure some of it is way off base.
- Calibrate monitor using Spider Pro to compensate for current ambient lighting in room. Wipe down the scanner glass to ensure no dust dropped onto it
- Mount the 4x5 negative in the Epson tray (for now)
- Remove dust from the negative using a rocket style blower; double check the neg is seated as flatly as possible
- Fire up VueScan
- Load up my (now) default settings, which include:
- Files
- Media: B/W Negative
- Bits per pixel: 16 bit Grayscale
- Make Gray From: Auto
- Preview Resolution: Auto
- Scan Resolution: 6400dpi
- Auto Focus: Always
- Number of Samples: 16 (number of readings without moving the scanner head)
- Multiexposure: No (as others have said, this does two full passes with different exposure settings; good in theory, bad in practice) [1]
- 5b. Crop:
- N/A; select using cursor
- 5c. Filter:
- N/A, everything is turned off
- 5d. Color:
- Color Balance: White Balance
- Curve Low: 0.25
- Curve High: 0.75
- B/W Vendor: Kodak
- B/W Type: TMAX CI = .40
- Output: Printed Size: Scan Size
- Tiff File: Yes
- Tiff Size Reduction: 3
- Prefs
- Image Memory: 800mb (maximum allowed)
- Run a preview scan; zoom in, set my crop over the preview
- Select [Scan] when satisfied
- Take the generated Tiff import into Lightroom
- Create a copy
- Modify curves, dodge/burn
- Export into Nik's Sharpener Pro; give it a work over; save back to Lightroom
- Export to a gigantic jpeg
[1] it's feasible to do this setting the curves manually, scanning twice, then aligning and blending manually in Photoshop.
I use more or less the workflow specified in http://www.photographersgarden.com/s...an_english.pdf
Difference being I don't set autofocus (as you can't on Epson V700), I don't use 64RGBI but I do anyway a slide scan (even if it is BW neg film).
Yesterday I started with the following and it was not bad:
I take 16 samples per dot, 6400 dpi
then open file in photoshop apply Colorperfect as specified in: http://www.colorneg.com/scanning-sli...on/Epson-Scan/
Then clean dust and afterwards I resample to 2400dpi (as a method I use the one suggested by photoshop for downsizing).
Then I can convert to black and white either with a black and white layer in photoshop or with a plugin like Silver EFEX.
Save as PSD (as the file will we much smaller).
I export for web the full jpeg and upload to my flickr account.
I have tried before using only the green channel of the RGB file but the image appears to be somewhat poorer.
I'd like to experiment with the V800/V850 adjustable height holders as specified in this thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.in...V750-700/page2).
I hope this would be a benefit for 120 film scans of which I am not fully happy at the moment.
This was the result but I am not sure it helps at this resolution:
Bookmarks