Microtek F1 (M1) ... again

[Matus Kalisky]

Hello,

after longer time I am coming back to my Microtek F1 as I have lot of film back from the lab (most of it C41) and so I thought let's get some use out of that thing again.

Well - loaded the holders with Kodak Portra 400 in 120 format and was pleasantly surprised that the preview actually looked quite reasonable. I used SilverFast 6.6 (not the latest one, I know) which in the past produced quite usable scans at leas for color negative films.

But once the scan came out it was just horrible! Colors totally off, contrast way too high, highlights blown out.

My main question is - could this be a hardware problem? I have experienced sever color casts towards magenta with positive slides and spent time and money to calibrate the beast with no success.

I consider sending the scanner off for a repair but I am not sure whether it may even yield some improvements ...

The preview:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6117/6237453729_9ccaa8c95f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6237453729/in/photostream)

The final scan (just resized):
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6216/6237977090_91bf90e296.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6237977090/in/photostream)

P.S. Yes - it is the same scanner I fought a year ago with calibration issues ...

[BarryS]

That's weird. My final scans always seem very close to the previews. If there was a hardware issue, wouldn't the preview look funky, too? My guess is you have a software setting messed up somewhere. Is there a profile mismatch issue between Silverfast and Photoshop--like a profile that isn't getting converted to the host colorspace? Have you got the IT8 targets and can you recalibrate?

[Matus Kalisky]

Thanks. I also first thought about the calibration, but this is color negative film, for those there are only built-in profiles, but not real calibration is possible. I would also hope it is just some mismatch of setting, but what could be wrong there?

When I was having troubles with slides, I saw the same effects with two different scanning softwares ...

[BarryS]

I'll take a look at Silverfast when I get home and see if I can find anything. It looks like the raw scanned image isn't being processed correctly for some reason.

[Matus Kalisky]

Thanks, that would be great.

[Herb Cunningham]

call the silverfast help line. Arne in Germany is really good to work with; their number is a Florida number, but hours are European.

[BarryS]

Matus--it would help if you can post screen shots of the General, Auto, CMS, and Special tabs in the Options menu.

[Matus Kalisky]

BarryS, I will do that tonight, thank you. If that does not help I will turn to SilverFast helpdesk.

[Matus Kalisky]

OK, here it comes.

You may notice that the scan posted below looks actually better than it did above - I did not auto adjustments and no Nega-Fix. So the scan is less blown-out, but it has still very strong color cast compared to preview and that is what really bothers me.

1) The top level general settings (to show that this was no HDR or something):
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6168/6244050769_0aacdd69d5_z.jpg

2) The Prescan + Frame settings:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6100/6244050485_19113c9632_o.jpg

3) The scan itself:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6151/6244050305_2b1903b745_z.jpg

4) And now all the Options:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6040/6244568076_179c746e0e_b.jpg

You help will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[BarryS]

Hi Matus-- Ok, great. I'll check your settings against mine for any differences. In the meantime, you might try unchecking the active box for Color Cast Removal under the auto menu. I don't know how that algorithm operates--so it may be unexpectedly causing a shift--worth a test.

[Matus Kalisky]

OK, I tried that one, but could not see any difference color wise.

Interestingly - the second scan was MUCH softer - I supposed that the AF failed to find the correct focus. So much for it being an advantage. This is something what I have observed many times already (and not the problem I am trying to solve now, just to warn potential buyers .. ).

[Preston]

Barry and Matus,

When I used Silverfast with my Microtek 1800f I always made sure that ' Color Cast Removal' was unchecked when scanning both my color transparencies and color negs.

--P

[Matus Kalisky]

Thank you Preston. Was it the same 'Color Cast Removal' Barry was talking about? Un-checking did not help in my case.

[Preston]

Matus,

Yes I believe it is. It's a been a while since I used Silver fast, but I always had Color Cast Removal turned off, so I don't know how much affect it had. Wish I could be more helpful.

--P

[Matus Kalisky]

Guys whoever could have an idea what could be wrong here PLEASE do not hesitate to share. This scanner is really driving me nuts and I even can not sell it at this condition :o

[Marco Polo]

It looks like your default setting under General Option settings is TMax400 when it should be the Kodak 400 Portra film you are using. You might want to download the latest Negafix profiles for your scanner.

[Matus Kalisky]

Marco, thanks. That indeed looks strange. Given the name I am sure that it is a setting that I have produced. This is actually not the place where the negafix comes into game (there is a separate small window for that I did not show here as it is quite trivial) but if it contains some color (curves, levels) setting, than it could of course screw the scans up. I will try to change that and see what happens.

[Matus Kalisky]

A short update. I have updated my SilverFast 6.6 to the latest subversion (Version 8 does not support this scanner) and I have reset the setting that was commented on above.

So - the strange cast in the color negative scans is gone. Not that I would be thrilled by the results (even with using NegaFix), but color-wise these are usable. However the sharpness of the scans is low. I will post some scans soon as I would like to hear your opinion. Unfortunately it is not possible to set the focus manually (it is only possible to set the AF point manually - what I do not to try to focus on the blue sky) and turning the AF off makes the scans even worse.

Anyhow - I will be back soon with some updates - I still do not know what will come out from E6 scans.

[Matus Kalisky]

Ok, a little update with a few scans. All 3 below were scanned at 2400 spi and then downscaled to 1200 spi and sharpened. Do not look at the color to close - no further adjustments were made after scanning. I am posting those sharper ones.

My other problem is that the scanner often misses the focus and will miss it with VERY high probability of I rescan the image without change of the setting (now that is strange but not 100% confirmed).

I will try E6 soon. Hope the color will be usable.

Oh, and there are also the dreaded 'lines' in the scans. Not too strong, but add to total discouragement a bit.

Links will take you to full size (1200 spi) scans:

Ektar 100, Mamiya 6 150/4.5
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6413853311_1288532dbc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6413853311/in/photostream)

Portra 400, Mamiya 6 50/4
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6413848313_438cc68e6e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6413848313/in/photostream)


Portra 400, Mamiya 6 75/3.5 (wide open)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6413843027_cbbbb684f3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6413843027/in/photostream)

[aming]

Guys whoever could have an idea what could be wrong here PLEASE do not hesitate to share. This scanner is really driving me nuts and I even can not sell it at this condition :o
Hi Matus, do you want sell your F1? I am searching a scanner for my films now.

[Matus Kalisky]

Hi aming (and welcome to the forum :) )

To be honest I have not thought about selling the scanner seriously (though I will). I have yet to make some E6 scans to see what I can get out of that scanner - I would not feel confident to sell it without knowing what it can (or can not do). I will update this thread within next few days. Should you have any question that would go in the direction of the purchase (scanner details, accessories, etc.) please PM me as this thread would not be the correct place to discuss it. In ay case please notice that I am located in Germany (shipping outside EU would not be reasonable thing to do).

In general - I did some more C41 scans and when the scanner get the focus right I am able to get reasonable scans - in particular if play with the color levels (SilverFast) by hand.

Actually - I did get once exceptional 4x5 scan, I will post some crops later. I am convinced that it is the AF that limits the resolution of my F1. I was in fact in contact with the developer of Vuescan as I would like to be able to set the Focus point manually (via software). Silverfast only allows to turn AF ON or OFF.

One of the last scans I did was BW (link will get you larger size - 1600 x 1600):
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6531925663_608dbf7ed5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31007239@N06/6531925663/)