Thanks very much everyone for the suggestions. They have given me things to think about, and I've been ticking them off one by one. I definitely have some things to think about and check.
I'm pretty sure it's not technique - I focus using either a loupe on the ground glass, or a reflex magnifier on the Sinar. The tripod is also very steady, and I use a cable release.
Under a 3x loupe, the negatives do look very sharp. However, I think I need higher magnification.
A makeshift holder which holds the film slightly above the glass, which I move left and right for multiple passes before joining as a panorama. I've tried various distances from the glass, with no noticeable improvement. I'm beginning to think the scanner is the problem.
Tomorrow I'll make up a backlight box with a flash, a shoebox and some polystyrene, and see if I can get better results shooting macro images of the film with my DSLR. At least with that, I know I can focus on the grain.
No, and I've been using it for eight years. But there's something I really like about film. Not to mention the creative options that a view or monorail camera offer. I am kind of hoping for better resolution than the D800 though.
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