Hey,
The Imacons I've been using (848, 646, and that small one) have been scanning quite well but with greenish shadows (Fuji and Kodak negs)--I've talked to other people using diff. imacons and they say the same thing.
It's totally easy to correct this in photoshop, but I'm wondering if there's a way to make a "something" to correct this while scanning.
Thanks
T
You need to create a modified profile for each film and save it. I don't have access to an Imacon every day, so I can't off the top of my head tell you how, but I have done it to tweak their profiles for my tastes.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
Anyone getting scan lines when scanning very high res? That is a repeating pattern of lines that are parallel to the ccd.
I've had the green tint when scanning negs but i don't regularly shoot color neg so i've fixed it in p. shop.
No scan lines either but i do sometimes get halos around medium density areas that bleed into the shadows when scanning tranparencies. Imacon doesn't offer any help and i've turned off any default settings i can.
vinny
If you're getting a lot of lines it means that the lamp is goin' or the CCD is goin' or the connection for the CCD is loose.
If it's one or 2 pix. wide and happens every once and a while (which I've had happen) I'm pretty sure it means that something (processor or ram or something) was overloaded during the scanning. . . It happens to me when I'm opening a PS file and scanning at the same time.
I used an Imacon years ago and had a very good discussion with then ImaconUSA president Andy Chang about scanning negs.Originally Posted by false_Aesthetic
Problems arise when scanning negs because the blue channel is so compressed due to the orange contrast mask. To fix this a color/contrast/selective color adjustment must be made in the scanning software throughout a neg's tonal range.
To get these parameters nailed down, shoot test negs of the same scene, bracketed, using each film you like. Include a MacBeth color chart, black velvet (for Dmax) and a chrome object (for Dmin). Get a person in there, too, for familiar flesh tones.
Load up the processed film into your scanner and pour yourself a beverage of your choice. Clear all settings and begin at each end point, neutralizing the color casts. Use at least three midpoints to nail down the "3/4 grays, mid grays and 1/4 grays." Save this setting for that particular film, ISO, bracket setting. Use this as a starting point for each scan.
To test your results, make a quick scan and check the histograms of each channel. They should be evenly and equally spread from shadow to highlight, with no combing.
Lastly, even though you're scanning negs, you should profile your scanner for the best results throughout your workflow.
I hope this helps.
The scanner is 3 months old. The problem only occurs on the highest res setting. I thought about the bulb flickering but the problem is very uniform in it's pattern but not perfectly uniform. It's definitely wider than 2 pixels. I have attached a sample.
Last edited by Brian K; 27-Nov-2011 at 23:12.
In your first post you say the lines are parallel to the CCD. So, in your example the film is being inserted into the scanner from left to right (or right to left) not top to bottom, correct?
If this is the case, there's two things I can think of.
1) The transport motor is not moving at a constant speed due to power fluctuations. Is your scanner on a UPS that also stabilizes the voltage?
2) A voltage fluctuation is causing an inconsistent signal from the CCD.
Here is what Imacon has to say about it.
Also, is your scanner under warranty? Imacon has excellent customer support. Give 'em a buzz.
Let us know what your solution is.
Good luck.
Chris thanks for the reply. First the film is inserted into the 646 the standard way for a 6x120cm holder, that is the 6cm side is inserted into the scanner which then pulls in the 12cm length. The lines on the scan are parallel to the ccd.
The imacon is connected to a UPS but not to the battery operated outlet but a filtered surge protected and I assumed somewhat stabilized outlet. I was told in the past not to put motorized type devices into UPSs then again I do have a very high capacity (1500) UPS. I'll try this tomorrow.
I've spoken to Imacon CS and they suggested I swap fire wire cables and connections, which i did and which helped for a day and then got much worse.
Brian,
FYI, not all UPS units stabilize the voltage, they just prevent spikes and blackouts. They are typically not "line conditioners", which take dirty power and output a clean sine wave of power. If your UPS manual doesn't say it stabilizes the voltage, then it doesn't.
If you live in an area with heavy power machines in operation (e.g., a factory with an industrial warehouse crane and arc welding going on all day), or with easily interrupted power (e.g., flimsy power lines out in the country) then you have dirty power. It's usually the industrial "neighbors" who cause weird voltage/power fluctuations, not your toaster.
After looking at your example again, I'd be tempted to open up the scanner and give it a thorough cleaning. After a few months of operating my Imacon Flextight 2, I opened it up and was shocked to see a dirty lens, dust around the sensor area and on the bulb. The film transport drum on my model was rotated with a rubber belt, which was filthy.
If your drum is belt powered there may be crud causing the film transport drum to rotate erratically, giving you those pretty lines.
Also, you say you swapped firewire cables and the problem got better, then worse. Did the problem go away totally? Or was it minimized? With electronic issues, when the source of the problem is fixed the the issue is totally gone, not lessened.
Also, is your scanner powered by the firewire cable? Or does it use its own power supply?
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