Epson V750 question

[Jehu]

I have some VS100 4X5 sheets that are underexposed by about two stops. I've been trying to find a way in Silverfast scanning software to brighten it up. So far I'm kind of frustrated.

When I use T-max, it gives me a simple exposure slide that goes from -3 to +3. It works quite well. It even shows up when I use color negative film but as soon as I go to positive film, the box with the exposure slider goes away and I can't get it back.

Any suggestions? :confused:

[Joanna Carter]

Regardless of the scanner or software used, it is always very difficult to reveal shadow detail on a transparency without considerable noise appearing in the resulting scan. Even if a "slider" were to be available, it is unlikely that two stops of under-exposure could be compensated for satisfactorily.

[Armin Seeholzer]

Your only chance is to do it with a drum scanner, but 2 stops could also be a problem!

MFG Armin

[Jehu]

Your only chance is to do it with a drum scanner, but 2 stops could also be a problem!

MFG Armin

Why is a drum scanner more effective on this sort of thing?

[Lenny Eiger]

Why is a drum scanner more effective on this sort of thing?

Far more sensitivity due to the use of a PMT (photo multiplier tube). It gets whatever you have on the neg.

Lenny

[Keith S. Walklet]

Before you go the drum route --not that a drum isn't a good option-- try scanning the negative in full RGB mode. Under the GENERAL options, set your gamma to 3, and under the Frame setting set it to 48 bit HDR color.

That is how I pull the most shadow detail out of my transparencies.

A scanner profile helps. I made one for those settings with EZ Color.

You'll need to correct the white point and black point in PS later. But, I think you'll find you get more from what you have.

[PenGun]

Download Vuescan from https://www.hamrick.com/.

It's a free trial and you have several useful setting to try and get what you can from your slide.

You can do a 'multi exposure' scan which will get what it can and you can try 'restore color' from the filter section.

I get good results from very thin negatives so it may help your slide.

[venchka]

Did you try Epson Scan and Ken Lee's tutorial for Epson Scan?

[Don Hutton]

I get good results from very thin negatives so it may help your slide.
Very thin negs are a world apart from "underexposed" slide film - in fact the complete opposite... underexposed slides are have extremely high density. They are exactly what consumer flatbeds are worst at.

[PenGun]

Very thin negs are a world apart from "underexposed" slide film - in fact the complete opposite... underexposed slides are have extremely high density. They are exactly what consumer flatbeds are worst at.

You are right. A PMT will see better into the black slide. My dyslexia gets worse and worse as I age. I went to Vancouver where I drove garbage truck for years. I know it better than any cab driver and I consistently went the wrong way. Hi ho.

The software is a free trial and it's probably worth a try. It does work well and the dual exposure feature does seem, with it's two exposures, to get most of what the scanner is capable of. Vuescan is very good at some things so it's worth a try. He does have the scanner already.

[Athiril]

Try setting your levels during scanning manually

post a small version of a raw scan in jpeg here so we can look?

You then can try shadows & highlights in photohop (image->adjustments->shadow & highlights) use a very large radius.

And perhaps some noiseware if you have that.

[Keith S. Walklet]

I'll bump the use of the multi-pass. In addition to the settings I suggested earlier, it does help with the noise reduction.

[sgelb]

a little trick in exposing chromes for scanning, just meter like 1-1.5 stops over the highlight. you should have good shadow detail and get a great scan.

[Joanna Carter]

a little trick in exposing chromes for scanning, just meter like 1-1.5 stops over the highlight. you should have good shadow detail and get a great scan.
That really depends on the type of film you are using. I use Velvia 100 and meter for the middle of a 4 stop range; with Astia 100F, for the middle of a 6 stop range; I don't use Velvia 50, but that only has a 3-3.5 stop range and needs to be exposed around 1.5 stops less than the highlight at around 32-40 ISO.

But, I would never expect to over-expose by 1-1.5 stops over the highlights, as you suggest.

[Ken Lee]

Could you make a copy of the original film - giving long enough exposure to read the low values ?

If so, then you could scan both the original (for the high values) and the copy (for the low values), and merge the two in Photoshop.

This would be a form of "bracketing", albeit an awkward one.

[Athiril]

Could you make a copy of the original film - giving long enough exposure to read the low values ?

If so, then you could scan both the original (for the high values) and the copy (for the low values), and merge the two in Photoshop.

This would be a form of "bracketing", albeit an awkward one.

Yes, exposure sees through density no problem (example: macro lens on dSLR + backlit film), there will be less physical contrast in the subject (the film) and thus use less of the available histogram then a properly exposed shot, so it'll still suffer in that sense.

The contrast is likely to drop into the shadows and then go to zero contrast (burned out), you'll still have any problem of the film associated with incorrect exposure of that film, such as grain etc.

[Lenny Eiger]

I appreciate that a lot of 750 users have worked the processes to get the best out of their machines... I met Keith Walklet up at Yosemite a few weeks ago and he showed me some very interesting scans from a flatbed... it's all great.

That said, if I had one scan where the neg was imperfect, I would probably send it off to some drum scanner who was really good at getting every last bit. I don't say you have to buy a drum scanner, or drum scan everything, but it seems that if you are trying to fix something that went awry you might choose the right tool for the job....

Lenny

[Jehu]

Here's the shot that started this:

[Harley Goldman]

That image does not look bad for slide film. A scene like that is a bitch for tranny. Best thing it to use a graduated neutral density film to hold the sky and expose for the foreground. I am not sure you would be able to pull detail out of the distant mountains no matter what you did.

Joanna mentioned Velvia 50 above. I would agree with using ISO 32-40 with the original, but I have been shooting the "new" 50 at 50 and it looks right to me. I used to shoot the old stuff at 40.

[Eric James]

It's a pretty shot. The foreground is not your only exposure problem - most approaches you take to obtain more foreground detail will exacerbate your hot sunset. These are tough shots to get right and beg for a 3-stop hard graduated ND filter. (Placing a GND filter across this horizon will darken the more-distant rocks. A tall tripod and a ladder may have helped circumvent this problem.) Anyway, back to the problem at hand.

Pengun mentioned Vuescan - this is an even better option considering your hot horizon. Ultimately the Vuescan multi-exposure function won't fix the image but it may bring you closer an image you find more pleasing. Once you have a scan with more DR you can try your hand with the Photoshop shadow/highlight tool. (This tool can easily be abused, giving you an HDR-like look.)

Once again, pretty shot and nice composition. It's certainly worth the stuggle you are facing.

[Jehu]

I was set up in lake tahoe for this. My tripod was on a rock much like the ones in the picture only a couple of inches below the surface. Yes my feet got wet. That's a cold lake. The park was closing and I had to get my shot and leave before they locked me in. If I would've been able to wait 20 minutes this shot would've been much tamer. As it was, I had a .9 ND grad filter on the sky. That's three stops.

Perhaps this is as good as I could've done. Another stop would've blown out the sky even more. Then I'd be trying to pull detail out of the overexposure. I may go to the same area again this weekend but I'm going to park somewhere that I can stay until after sundown.

[Joanna Carter]

... but I have been shooting the "new" 50 at 50 and it looks right to me. I used to shoot the old stuff at 40.
Now that is interesting. As I said, I haven't yet used either of the 50 ISO films, I have been very happy with Velvia 100, but it is always useful to know your enemy :D

[D. Bryant]

Here's the shot that started this:

This shot doesn't appear to be 2 stops under exposed IMO.

One technique you can use is to make two scans with different gammas. Scan for the highlights - more or less what you have here and then scan for the deeper tones below zone 5.

Blend the two into one image.

Don Bryant

[Eric James]

...Yes my feet got wet. That's a cold lake...

Here's my favorite LFP accessory. (They work surprisingly well for hiking.):

http://www.xtratufboots.com/product_info.php?products_id=82

Good luck with the reshoot - I hope the purple reappears.