Plustek Opticfilm 7400 scanning advice!!

[Matmcr]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi all,

 

Ok, I've just bought a Plustek Opticfilm 7400 and already use an Epson v700.

 

The 7400 came with Silverfast 8 and I already have VueScan and I wondered if anyone had any advice on gaining the best scan quality from the various settings in the software and what to avoid? Which do you find the most suitable for your needs?

 

I've read that a lot of people use the v700 to get a contact sheet and then scan individual frames with the Plustek. The thing is I'm not seeing much difference between the two scanners, and I have also read that the Plustek is supposed to be better quality for 35mm? I know it's not a Nikon Coolscan, but I have also read that some people are getting near that level of quality with the Plustek.

 

Any help of advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Mat

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[tobey bilek]

I uninstalled all Silverfast software. Too many icons, not enough words.

 

But if you have to use it, all scanners work better on manual. Set up a WB, exposure, contrast, and run it. Well exposed film will need little or no tweeking. Save a preset for each type of film.

 

Auto is like a automatic transmission, works decently most of the time except when you really need it to work, then it retards spark, shifts slowly etc. Not to say you can not beef up an auto to work better and it is done all the time. But then you run into warrantee issues, fuel economy and emission standards. If it a race car, you need not worry about such things.

[Matmcr]

Thanks Tobey, good advice.

 

Anyone anything else to add?

cheers.

[kokoshawnuff]

I like you have a V700 (for web and small prints) and also a 7400 for larger prints. I use it with Vuescan and have presets for the types of film I use. All the presets where determined by dozens of minute changes among all the settings...takes a while but you'll only need to do it once.

 

Also the actual resolution is only about 3800ppi, not the 7200 that's claimed.

 

For some negatives multiexposure feature can be quite useful and I always use the multisample feature (typically 6 passes).

 

Here's a pretty thorough review:

 

Film scanner-test Plustek OpticFilm 7400: Scanning slides and 35mm-film strips with film adapters but without the dust and scratch correction based on the hardware

[Matmcr]

Thanks for the info. I'll try the multisample feature.

 

I like you have a V700 (for web and small prints) and also a 7400 for larger prints. I use it with Vuescan and have presets for the types of film I use. All the presets where determined by dozens of minute changes among all the settings...takes a while but you'll only need to do it once.

 

Also the actual resolution is only about 3800ppi, not the 7200 that's claimed.

 

For some negatives multiexposure feature can be quite useful and I always use the multisample feature (typically 6 passes).

 

Here's a pretty thorough review:

 

Film scanner-test Plustek OpticFilm 7400: Scanning slides and 35mm-film strips with film adapters but without the dust and scratch correction based on the hardware

[Matmcr]

Oh and thanks for the review—I'll give that a good read. v much appreciated.