valerio Posted March 25, 2013 Share #1 Posted March 25, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello everyone, recently I bought the BetterScanning variable height mounting station for my Epson V700 scanner, for both dry and fluid film mounting. I did some testing - both fluid and dry - and although I found the optimal height for the best sharpness, I don't seem to get better scans when compared with the standard Epson film holder. I ran the tests for three different scanning resolutions: 2400, 3200 and 4800 ppi. Again, no discernible differences between the Epson and BetterScanning holders. I'm not implying that the BetterScanning mounting station doesn't work; all I want to know is if you have any experience with it and what would you suggest to get the best out of it. Cheers, Valerio p.s.: the biggest drawback for me is that the mounting fluid makes me dizzy, to the point I need to keep the window in my room fully open... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 25, 2013 Posted March 25, 2013 Hi valerio, Take a look here Scanning Film. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
250swb Posted March 25, 2013 Share #2 Posted March 25, 2013 If the Epson holder is dead accurate at one its set heights the Betterscanning holder can't get any more accurate, most people buy them because the Epson holder settings are just off or somewhere in between. But you can see very fine adjustments are possible with the Betterscanning holder, and it doesn't take much of an adjustment to show a big difference in sharpness. It may be worth trying with more than one negative, finding one with a combination of a fine straight edge and some detail with a medium and high contrast, to make it easier to judge the sharpness. Regarding fluid mounting negs I don't duse it. If the negative has a curl I use the ANR glass insert to flatten it, otherwise I have never found fluid mounting to offer anything significant over dry. Only perhaps for very difficult neagtives would it help imo. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
valerio Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted March 25, 2013 Hi Steve, thanks for your insight. I was hoping that the BetterScanning system would give me the edge over the "bog standard" one, but I guess I'm one of the lucky users whose scanner is calibrated correctly for its own holders. I will definitely do some more testing as you suggested and see if I can get a little bit more out of my negatives. At least that would justify the cost of the BetterScanning holder and related scanning fluid, mylar sheets, etc. I may also test it on my 4x5 negatives and see if in that case I can spot any difference. Cheers, Val Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted March 25, 2013 Share #4 Posted March 25, 2013 I find my Epson 4x5 holder very good and mine is accurate, but not the 35mm and MF holders. But all things considered I think the V700 does a very good job with MF and 4x5, just not 35mm. So I got a Plustek 7400 scanner for my 35mm work, and it is better than the Epson, and the Betterscanning MF holder for the Epson. That is a good flexible combination for me. Glad you are working with 4x5! Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
valerio Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted March 26, 2013 I was thinking of getting a dedicated film scanner and it's good to know that the Plustek ones are good. I love my 4x5 Linhof, but I don't use it as much as I should... Val Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.