DPL users/owners of Howtek/Aztek scanners

[sanking]

Hi sandy, as I’ll too be scanning a lot B&w 4x5 negs any tips here and in the reversal process? Btw re the computers I’ve been reading that the Mac Pro 5,1 models are good as can upgrade and expand where the 6,1 models don’t have this advantage? . Not sure if 5,1 is a viable option as it’s older Mac technology now esp compared to the new iMacs. The new 2019 Mac Pros are going to be ridiculously expensive so not really an option?. Also with the 2gig scan files coming off the scanner what would be the Max image size one could print to?? The giant files sizes are really determining what Mac to buy although I only plan to do basic curves and retouching as want to shoot as much in camera as possible, thus do I really need a medium to high spec Mac?.

Hi Dean,

The last Mac Pro tower of 2012 was very good in that it could be upgraded with RAM, storage and PCi cards. I have a 12 core 2012 model and it still works fine for image processing. The 2010 Mac Pro is essentially same as the 2012 model. Both the 2010 and 2012 models can be upgraded to current MAC OS systems High Sierra, and even Mojave (replace the existing video card with a metal one).

The Mac Pro tower was replaced in 2013 with a cylindrical shape computer known as the "Trashcan", and can not be upgraded nearly as much as the tower models. The "trashcan" Mac Pro is not a bad device but was not a suitable replacement for the tower in the opinion of many Apple customers. The new Mac Pro tower, introduced this year, appears to be a great computer, but for now it is a bit expensive for my budget. Many feel that the late iMacs are better computers than the "Trashcan" Mac Pro, and they are certainly much less expensive.

To work with very large files of 2 GB and larger you need a lot of RAM, and "scratch disk" storage for Photoshop. You should not have a problem with 48-64 GB of RAM and lots of storage, in general RAM and storage is more important in processing image files than processing speed.

What is the MAC platform you will be using to scan the files? In general any MAC G4 or G5 with SCSI that runs OSX 10.3.6 or 10.4 is fairly easy to use with Silverfast since the operating system is quite similar to current systems. But old systems with only 1-2 GB of RAM will not allow you to do much image processing so you will need to transfer the files to a newer platform. For that you definitely need a fast port such as Thunderbolt or USB2. The USB1 ports on early G4 towers are very slow.

Sandy

[Dean Wilmot]

Hi Sandy, thanks once again. Im planning now to go with the entry level 2019 iMac 3.0GHZ and add third party 32GB ram (to make 40GB - I can always add more Ram if I think its required???) and possibly replace the 1T fusion drive with a 250 or 500 or 1T SSD drive as I plan to store all my archive/final imaged TIFF files on existing dual external 2T hard drives for long term archiving (for the short term anyways). Do you think this sounds like a reasonable plan til I work out my workflow?? Ive looked at Mac Pro 5,1 and 6,1 options (the new 2019 Mac Pros are absurd due to prices, cry) but I don't like buying such old technology with no warranty period plus some suppliers are offering 3 year interest free terms on new purchases, which is hard not to consider. The platform im using when the scanner arrives (its held up in customs due to an error with paperwork grrrrr) is an old Dell PC running Silverfast 6.6 which is ONLY to scan (no PS imaging) my 4x5 and 120 B&W negs (plus some colour) so plan to continue down this road for awhile as im simply spending too much money at the moment on all the new gear (Howtek 4500, Jobo CPP3 and 3010 drum, iMac, etc, maybe even a Fuju GX680iii??? to replace my Mamiya 645 pro??? (for when I want to shoot quickly and the 4x5 Sinar F2 will take too long to setup eg shooting fast moving storm clouds). What equipment do you use in the field?

[brbo]

Replacing Fusion drive with a SSD in an iMac is not something you can do on your own without voiding warranty (besides the fact that it involves a few steps that could easily damage the computer).

[sanking]

Hi Sandy, thanks once again. Im planning now to go with the entry level 2019 iMac 3.0GHZ and add third party 32GB ram (to make 40GB - I can always add more Ram if I think its required???) and possibly replace the 1T fusion drive with a 250 or 500 or 1T SSD drive as I plan to store all my archive/final imaged TIFF files on existing dual external 2T hard drives for long term archiving (for the short term anyways). Do you think this sounds like a reasonable plan til I work out my workflow?? Ive looked at Mac Pro 5,1 and 6,1 options (the new 2019 Mac Pros are absurd due to prices, cry) but I don't like buying such old technology with no warranty period plus some suppliers are offering 3 year interest free terms on new purchases, which is hard not to consider. The platform im using when the scanner arrives (its held up in customs due to an error with paperwork grrrrr) is an old Dell PC running Silverfast 6.6 which is ONLY to scan (no PS imaging) my 4x5 and 120 B&W negs (plus some colour) so plan to continue down this road for awhile as im simply spending too much money at the moment on all the new gear (Howtek 4500, Jobo CPP3 and 3010 drum, iMac, etc, maybe even a Fuju GX680iii??? to replace my Mamiya 645 pro??? (for when I want to shoot quickly and the 4x5 Sinar F2 will take too long to setup eg shooting fast moving storm clouds). What equipment do you use in the field?

Hi Dean,

The late iMac computers are very good devices, but lack the flexible upgrade possibilities that existed with the Mac Pro tower computers. But on the whole any very late iMac with maxed out RAM should satisfy your needs, and you can always use an external hard drive if the internal drive does not have enough storage for your needs.

However, my advice would be to avoid the fusion drive. Spend the extra money and get a high capacity SSD. In over 40 years of using Macintosh computers the only time I lost data that could not be retrieved was when working with a Mac Mini with a fusion drive. And if in spite of my advice you do get am iMac with a fusion drive, INVEST immediatley in a good external storage to back up your data.

Sandy

[nagairaj]

Hi Dean,

The late iMac computers are very good devices, but lack the flexible upgrade possibilities that existed with the Mac Pro tower computers. But on the whole any very late iMac with maxed out RAM should satisfy your needs, and you can always use an external hard drive if the internal drive does not have enough storage for your needs.

However, my advice would be to avoid the fusion drive. Spend the extra money and get a high capacity SSD. In over 40 years of using Macintosh computers the only time I lost data that could not be retrieved was when working with a Mac Mini with a fusion drive. And if in spite of my advice you do get am iMac with a fusion drive, INVEST immediatley in a good external storage to back up your data.

Sandy

I have been following this thread with lot of interest and I could really see the love for Mac computers in these threads, even though it limits you in lot of ways, including price and ease of do it yourself upgrades. I have been using Windows XP since 2008 with Howtek 4500, with Silverfast 6.6 (May be one day if I am lucky DPL Pro). Mostly 4x5 BW and some occasional transparencies. I have few spare XP mother boards and power supplies and they are very cheap. Once I have the scan, I switch my tiff files to WIN 10 for processing in LR and PS. This set up works very well and has been for awhile. With some new SCSI boards I was told I can even use Win 7 or Win 10. I don't think Apple cares enough about old systems and compatability issues, even though it is a great system.
Any thoughts?

[sanking]

I have been following this thread with lot of interest and I could really see the love for Mac computers in these threads, even though it limits you in lot of ways, including price and ease of do it yourself upgrades. I have been using Windows XP since 2008 with Howtek 4500, with Silverfast 6.6 (May be one day if I am lucky DPL Pro). Mostly 4x5 BW and some occasional transparencies. I have few spare XP mother boards and power supplies and they are very cheap. Once I have the scan, I switch my tiff files to WIN 10 for processing in LR and PS. This set up works very well and has been for awhile. With some new SCSI boards I was told I can even use Win 7 or Win 10. I don't think Apple cares enough about old systems and compatibility issues, even though it is a great system.
Any thoughts?

I use Macintosh computers because of familiarity with the devices and operating system going back to the 1980s. I tried Windows machines a few times and they work fine with LR and PS, but there are many small differences in drivers and navigation that for me are just not worth the trouble.

For sure Apple has rather neglected the high end Mac systems for image processing in recent years, we should not be surprised since about 90% of their sales are in phones and pads. But the major problem was an error on their part in replacing the Mac Pro tower in 2013 with a design that did not reach expectations and was not upgraded or replaced until this year. I am sure that cost them a lot of this customer base.

I give advice about things I understand. Love for Mac computers is not part of the equation, but I do known them well having used them for a very long time. Window XP and Win 10 are certainly valid choices for many.

Sandy

[assanto]

Hi everyone. I recently acquired a Howtek 6500 drum scanner and was wondering how long the bulbs last. I was able to run a few test scans but now my calibration stops at the lamp check. When I manually check the lamps(reflective & transparency) nothing happens. Is this a bulb problem or a fuse by any chance? Thanks, Tony

[sanking]

Hi everyone. I recently acquired a Howtek 6500 drum scanner and was wondering how long the bulbs last. I was able to run a few test scans but now my calibration stops at the lamp check. When I manually check the lamps(reflective & transparency) nothing happens. Is this a bulb problem or a fuse by any chance? Thanks, Tony

The bulbs last a long time but they do need to be replaced from time to time. You can toggle between reflective and transparency setting on the panel, you may have done that and inadvertently turned off the one you need to scan.

You can download a service manual for the Howtek 7500, which is I believe same mechanically as the 6500, from the Scan HI-END files section. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/.../files/HOWTEK/

If you need a replacement lamp, what you want to look for the the Osram 54122 Display/Optic lamp, 8V, 20 W.

Sandy

[brbo]

Can fellow DPL users share experience on max. horizontal dimension (in direction of drum rotation) of scans with DPL?

Whenever I scan anything that is longer than 10.992px (so that would be like 2.73" at 4000dpi, 5.46" at 2000dpi, etc.) I get a dpl32 error with "Buffer Transfer - Length Too Big" message. This seems to be a DPL limitation and not a scanner hardware limitation. I successfully completed a narrow band of 8" in horizontal direction at 4000dpi in Silverfast. I know that scanning the whole 8x10" area would present another problem (file too big), but still, this limit is not present in Silverfast...

I'm using Howtek 4500 with DPL 8.1 on Windows XP (32bit). I've send a question about this to Evan at Aztek, but would like to hear what your experience is on that matter while waiting for his thoughts.

[Dean Wilmot]

Hi all, Sorry to throw the topic off from the most recent threads, but could I get your thoughts on what width Kami tape (1/2 or 1") is better for a Howtek 4500? Thanks