How to scan 6.5x9?

[Tim Meisburger]

Is it better to hold the film off the scanner? At what height?

[Leigh]

I would just put it on the scanner glass, do a preview, set the crop lines to the neg, and scan it.

That would result in a much smaller file than scanning a full 8x10 or 8.5x11 and having a useless border area.

- Leigh

[Leigh]

Is it better to hold the film off the scanner? At what height?

Depends on the scanner and the settings.

If you have the software set to scan a negative in a holder, it will assume that the neg is elevated above the glass by whatever holder thickness is standard for that scanner.

If you tell it to scan on the glass it will assume the neg is in contact with the glass.

Putting it on the glass (emulsion down) guarantees that it won't sag, although it could possibly bow, depending on the film.

- Leigh

[Joanna Carter]

Not forgetting that there can be a difference in focus between the glass and where the holder will place the film. Hence why some of us use the Better Scanning holder, because it allows us to adjust the height the film is held at, to account for variations on the manufacturing process of the scanner.

[Leigh]

Not forgetting that there can be a difference in focus between the glass and where the holder will place the film. Hence why some of us use the Better Scanning holder, because it allows us to adjust the height the film is held at, to account for variations on the manufacturing process of the scanner.

The standard holder that comes with the Epson V700/V750 has the same adjustment capability.

Since it was made by the manufacturer they know where the film should be to work properly with the scanner.

- Leigh

[Joanna Carter]

The standard holder that comes with the Epson V700/V750 has the same adjustment capability.

Since it was made by the manufacturer they know where the film should be to work properly with the scanner

They may know where the film should be but that doesn't mean that the manufacturing process actually achieves that.

The Epson holders only have distinct steps in height, whereas the Better Scanning holder has continuous adjustment and can raise the film higher than the Epson holder; something that was necessary to get the sharpest results with my V700.

Other benefits of the Better Scanning holder are that you can dry mount the slide against the ANR glass provided, which keeps the film from drifting when it gets warm as it is scanned; you can even wet mount if you want to.

If you think the Epson holders are sufficient for your needs, then all well and good. For myself, and for many others that I know, they are far from adequate.