Film Scanners.

[andym911]

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Erl,

 

no problem with your comments...I acknowledge that a web posted image cannot demonstrate scanning quality well.

The intention was simply to mention that one can also get good results from Flatbed scanners, which when printed well deliver lovely quality prints, within certain limitations.

 

In my previous life I worked with drum scanners and flatbeds in the Pre-Press environment for many years.My initial scepticism of Flatbeds was huge until I saw what they could deliver with careful preparation.

 

Today (thankfully ) I only scan for my hobby and am pleased with the results for me.

 

Best

Andy

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In my previous life I worked with drum scanners and flatbeds in the Pre-Press environment for many years.My initial scepticism of Flatbeds was huge until I saw what they could deliver with careful preparation.

 

 

I totally agree with you Andy. My distrust of flatbed scanners was huge as well following a few years reading 'reviews' that slagged them off.

 

But recently I needed a new flatbed for work, so got an Epson V700. Before long I was delving into the deeper workings of how you make it work better by reading some of the cleverer reviews. And I started doing a few 35mm comparison scans with those from my Minolta Multi Pro (a wonderful scanner). And you know what, with colour or B&W it is hard to tell the difference. I mean very hard to tell the difference. On a straight back to back 'out of scanner' comparison the V700 seems about the same for sharpness in image details, but the Multi Pro records more grain, which is not to be confused with detail (so thats the tradeoff).

 

Three main things became apparent. You should experiment with the height adjustment on the V700 neg carriers to make them optimum for your scanner. Do not use Epson Scan, use the Silverfast SE that comes with it (the 48 bit HDR option works very well to get a high dynamic range) or Vuescan, and pay attention to mid range/micro contrast in post processing, it is often this which makes a dedicated film scanner seem sharper.

 

And on top of which the V700 is easier to work with for scanning a whole contact sheet, can do 4x5 and 8x10 (so I'll have to get my field camera up and running again), and it costs a fraction of the money I paid for my Multi Pro, which is now SOLD. All in all I tend to think the scepticism about flatbeds such as the Epson is born of simple disbelief rather than concrete experience, and which perpetuates the urban myth that they just can't be as good can they? A dedicated film scanner may still be ideal for some people, but the days are numbered.

 

 

Steve

[Stealth3kpl]

I've been using my old Minolta Scan Dual 2. How does it's performance compare with a more recent scanner such as the Plustek 7600i or the Epson 700? Presumably, the Minolta sensor and processing is very old technology and I could expect less noise as well as resolution by upgrading - or will I be disappointed?

Pete

[johnalex141r]

...

And on top of which the V700 is easier to work with for scanning a whole contact sheet, can ...

Steve

 

Yikes; I have an Epson V700, but I did a bunch of contact sheets in the darkroom last week. How do you do a contact sheet with it? I only have the Epson sw; looks like I'll have to dig through this thing again! I'd love to have digital copies of the contact sheets.

 

Hmm - more reading of manuals and stuff online, I guess...

 

JohnS.