Scanning guide?

[feppe]

I just acquired an Epson V700, and was wondering if there's a thorough guide on how to get best results scanning color chromes (mostly Provia, Velvia and Astia), online or dead tree. Last time I scanned was on a dedicated film scanner over ten years ago, and that was not a quality-oriented effort...

And to pre-empt: I could start searching here reading through the hundreds of posts, and googling, but if anyone has written or uses a good guide I'd appreciate pointers :)

[Peter Mounier]

Here's a good place to start.

http://scantips.com/

Peter

[feppe]

Thanks, a bit rudimentary, but the calculator is very useful.

By the way, are scanners (V700) linear devices? ie. should "expose" to the right when scanning to maximize quality?

[domaz]

Use Vuescan, read about Lock Film Base Color. That really increases consistency at least roll to roll. If all your slides are all mixed up from all different rolls then there isn't much you can do except tweak each one individually.

[timparkin]

Use a sheet of glass, wet mount to bottom side. Use spacers to get a good focus (cut up bits of business card for rough spacers). 4x Multipass scan using 48 bit scan at 6400dpi. Take this scan and apply Imagenomic noise reduction (or some other if you wish) and then downsize to 2400 dpi . use Photokit Sharpener capture sharpening (4x5 superfine).

Try to get a profile built using the best target you can afford or rent (or download my scratch one from http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/more_profiles). Apply no colour conversion when scanning and assign this profile when you are in photoshop.

I have a target made using a Hutch target and it has made a great difference in the shadows.. (I'll blog about it sometime soon and put it up for download)

Tim

[pherold]

Hutchcolor is also a great place to go to get a guide on making a profile for scanning:
https://www.hutchcolor.com/HCT_instructions.htm

Their targets are very good of course, but you can also download their profiling guide for free that tells you everything you would want to know about optimizing a scanner profile.

[stevebrot]

...download my scratch one from http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/more_profiles).

Tim,
The URL for this link is malformed...


Steve

[feppe]

Thanks, guys, this is very helpful!

[timparkin]

url should be - http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/more_profiles

[PenGun]

I just acquired an Epson V700, and was wondering if there's a thorough guide on how to get best results scanning color chromes (mostly Provia, Velvia and Astia), online or dead tree. Last time I scanned was on a dedicated film scanner over ten years ago, and that was not a quality-oriented effort...

And to pre-empt: I could start searching here reading through the hundreds of posts, and googling, but if anyone has written or uses a good guide I'd appreciate pointers :)

You will need to achieve focus. That will require tests to find the proper height for the holder/film combination.

[feppe]

Use a sheet of glass, wet mount to bottom side. Use spacers to get a good focus (cut up bits of business card for rough spacers). 4x Multipass scan using 48 bit scan at 6400dpi. Take this scan and apply Imagenomic noise reduction (or some other if you wish) and then downsize to 2400 dpi . use Photokit Sharpener capture sharpening (4x5 superfine).

Try to get a profile built using the best target you can afford or rent (or download my scratch one from http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/more_profiles). Apply no colour conversion when scanning and assign this profile when you are in photoshop.

I have a target made using a Hutch target and it has made a great difference in the shadows.. (I'll blog about it sometime soon and put it up for download)

Tim

Multi-sampling seems to require an upgrade from SilverFast SE which was bundled with the scanner. But there are several upgrade options listed:
http://www.silverfast.com/comparison/scanner/en.html
What's the main difference between Plus and Ai versions? SE Plus is cheaper and does Multi-Exposure, but it's unclear whether it's better than Multi-Sampling. The other differences don't seem to matter to me, but is there a reason why I should go for Ai instead?

I downloaded your profiles, trying Velvia! edit: it made a huge difference on my test shot which I was struggling with to get some shadow detail. Thanks, very much appreciated!

I have Noise Ninja for noise reduction. How do you use Imagenomic to reduce noise while retaining grain - or do you try to kill grain?

[Nathan Potter]

You will need to achieve focus. That will require tests to find the proper height for the holder/film combination.

V750RESjpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/argiolus/4989733373/) by

Check of a 750 scanner focus plane done a couple of months ago.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[sanking]

V750RESjpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/argiolus/4989733373/) by

Check of a 750 scanner focus plane done a couple of months ago.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Nate,

Very interesting and good work. Thanks for posting.

Sandy King

[Tom Monego]

Start simple, Epson Scan's Professional section works quite well. The Home and Auto settings are next to worthless. See how it scans your chromes without changing settings. Then work on the curves like graph, not sure what Epson calls it. I also scan in 48 bit mode which helps with the DR.
Also don't bother scanning over 3200ppi, take a lot more time and doesn't give anymore detail.

Tom

[PenGun]

V750RESjpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/argiolus/4989733373/) by

Check of a 750 scanner focus plane done a couple of months ago.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Yes. That's about what I found far less technically. There's about a half mm where it does not change much. Nice to see it like that.

I use vuescan and have never looked back. It seems to do my B&W very well.

[feppe]

Thanks for the tips.

Anyone have experience with Betterscanning film holders? The Epson holder is pretty much useless for MF (6x6) due to curved film, but seems to be ok for 4x5. Not a cheap product, but from what I've read here and elsewhere it might very well be worth the investment especially for MF. It's hard for me to tell whether height is optimal with Epson holders - although I might just try shimming them with sheets of paper to see if it improves the results.

I'm planning to get the best shots drum scanned, so the V700 is for web use. I have a 13x19" print from LF scanned with V700 which looks good, but am shooting some "proper" shots when the weather gets better and really seeing how big I can go.

Also, I've done some test scans of a pretty tough Velvia scan, and am considering trying out scanning it twice, once for highlights, once for shadows, and blending them in PS.

[Nathan Potter]

PenGun, the Toppan glass plate is a chrome emulsion of about infinite density so the best target one could work with for extracting ultimate resolution. But the decision as to which line pairs to pick at the best resolution is rather subjective. I'd certainly agree with Sandys' assessment for the V750 of 2300 SPI (perhaps with my machine I got a bit better).

As I mentioned in another post recently the data I collected implies very little about an MTF of the system for reasons so elegantly described by Rick Denny in another thread recently.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Michael Gordon]

Anyone have experience with Betterscanning film holders?

I reviewed this product (http://michaelegordon.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/product-review-betterscanning-com-variable-height-mounting-station/) on my blog. You can also search this forum for additional discussion.

[harky]

nice website information

[stevebrot]

...The Epson holder is pretty much useless for MF (6x6) due to curved film...

I was having big problems with curved film as well. Try mounting the negative emulsion side down (the opposite of Epson's recommendation) and flipping the image at scan time (easy in Vuescan) or in PP. That pretty much cured the problem for me.


Steve

[feppe]

I was having big problems with curved film as well. Try mounting the negative emulsion side down (the opposite of Epson's recommendation) and flipping the image at scan time (easy in Vuescan) or in PP. That pretty much cured the problem for me.

Thanks for the tip, Steve, I'll try it out!

[Robert Budding]

Use a sheet of glass, wet mount to bottom side. Use spacers to get a good focus (cut up bits of business card for rough spacers). 4x Multipass scan using 48 bit scan at 6400dpi. Take this scan and apply Imagenomic noise reduction (or some other if you wish) and then downsize to 2400 dpi . use Photokit Sharpener capture sharpening (4x5 superfine).

Try to get a profile built using the best target you can afford or rent (or download my scratch one from http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/more_profiles). Apply no colour conversion when scanning and assign this profile when you are in photoshop.

I have a target made using a Hutch target and it has made a great difference in the shadows.. (I'll blog about it sometime soon and put it up for download)

Tim

I'm looking forward to seeing your results using an HCT profile.