Howtek 8000 Drum vs. Epson V850 flatbed scanners

[Corran]

No...

The drum scan has the gamma automaticly adjusted and the Epson scan not, adjust the curves before comparing, man...

I did, and as you show they still have obvious differences. But, I'm sure you'll keep arguing otherwise. Have fun.

[Tin Can]

Only checked in to see what Bryan posted

[Corran]

Alan please let us know what aperture you used to shoot the photo.

[Pere Casals]

I did, and as you show they still have obvious differences. But, I'm sure you'll keep arguing otherwise. Have fun.

Just show in a side by side what differences you find, I see none:

Alan please let us know what aperture you used to shoot the photo.

is that a soft image ?

The x10, x20 and x40 crops suggest it's a quite well shot sheet...

[Alan Klein]

Alan please let us know what aperture you used to shoot the photo.

f/22 at 1/8. Used asymmetrical tilt. Focused on clouds then tilted back standard top backwards to focus nearest part of fence. Picture below was the scan from Howtek. Circles items are out of focus according to Peter Figen who did the Howtek scan. I can't account why these areas are out of focus.
Camera: Chamonix 45H-1, Gitzo tripod, Schneider Symmar APO 150mm, orange filter, Tmax 100, 4x5.
AK_TMAX100_HowtekNonAdjusted by Alan Klein, on Flickr

[Alan Klein]

Just show in a side by side what differences you find, I see none:









is that a soft image ?

The x10, x20 and x40 crops suggest it's a quite well shot sheet...

What I find interesting is how blurry my Epson V850 scan is and how it gets so much better when sharpening. Compare my first two post on page 1 to see the difference. That begs the question. Do drum scanners have more blurry results that aren;t seen because the scanner adds sharpening during their scan process?

[Alan Klein]

Just show in a side by side what differences you find, I see none:









is that a soft image ?

The x10, x20 and x40 crops suggest it's a quite well shot sheet...

What I find interesting is how blurry my Epson V850 scan is and how it gets so much better when sharpening. Compare my first two posts on page 1 to see the difference. That begs the question. Do drum scanners have more blurry results that aren't seen in the final image because the scanner adds sharpening during their scan process?

[Pere Casals]

Circles items are out of focus according to Peter Figen who did the Howtek scan. I can't account why these areas are out of focus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheimpflug_principle

[Pere Casals]

What I find interesting is how blurry my Epson V850 scan is and how it gets so much better when sharpening. Compare my first two posts on page 1 to see the difference. That begs the question. Do drum scanners have more blurry results that aren't seen in the final image because the scanner adds sharpening during their scan process?

Some drum scanners are known to sharpen automaticly in a hidden way that it cannot be disabled. This is noticed when the scan is sharper than the negative seen in the microscope.

In general Pro machines make image optimization in several stages, for example motion blur from the rotation has to be sharpened by the firmware (hardware) itself, as the firmware knows what exact rotation speed the machine is rotating for every for it is scanned.

Of course many design facts are not disclosed, but in general Pro machines had an array of image optimization features to improve productivity.

[Kiwi7475]

I really don’t want to get into this war. Seems like every time we compare the epson to a high end scanner everyone gets immediately polarized and there is no constructive discussion to come out that others can benefit from. But anyway I digress.

All I want to say is that I have personally found the epson v850 more than sufficient for my own prints up to 3 feet wide, which is the largest I can print. I have sent out for drum scanning a few times, and to my eyes, I don’t get a better print, even though on my computer it may look slightly better / higher resolving power.

In the end, the “best” solution without considering the final product is not that useful, and ultimately a waste of resources.

Others may have different applications, uses and final products and may benefit from more capability/quality than what the Epson can offer.