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non-chromogenic black & white film scanning?


johnastovall

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Ok, what's the deal? I was looking at a good deal on a Nikon Coolscan 5000 but I see this about it at B&H "*Not compatible with non-chromogenic black & white film".

 

I was plaining on using it for Tri-X and Tmax 400 I'm developing but as I understand it only C41 process black and white films are chromogenic.

 

Can I use it or not?

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I agree. I think they must be referring to the ICE feature, which won't work with silver-based films. Many people on this forum and others (including myself) use the Coolscan 5000 successfully with standard B&W films.

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John,

 

I have the Coolscan 5000 and am very pleased with it. As a matter of fact NO scanner will scan "silver" B&W film using ICE - its only compatible with Reversal (but not Kodachrome) and C41 film.

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Keith, Vuescan allows the use of dust removal with Kodachrome.

 

My mistake Steve - but that isn't ICE is it? Its Vuescan's own "dust removal" tool? You know Vuescan much better than I do. I know a lot of people find it excellent but I can't get used to its interface!

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Same here. The user interface is shall we say... opaque? Has a Dummies Guide to Viewscan been published on the internet? The programmer who wrote the software is focused on functionality and features, but if he just employed a usability person to redesign the user interface so that ordinary mortals could use the thing he would see the difference in sales no question.

 

What this program needs is a set of instructions that starts with the end result and provides a series of simple checklist type instructions that a user can go through to achieve that end result. I know what I like in an image and I want a cookbook approach to achieving it. It is very frustrating to buy a program like Viewscan and then be completely unable to use it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Peter, Keith,

 

I understand you have trouble using vuescan. I find the program excellent, although I have to admit that the interface takes some getting used to...

 

Once you manage the interface, using vuescan is simple and fast. Also, the support is just excellent.

 

In case you have any questions about the program, I'm sure you will get answers here. Just ask ;)

 

I use vuescan with a Nikon 5000 and an SR-30 adapter.

 

Best regards,

Stefan.

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The problem with scanning traditional B&W film on Nikon Coolscans was/is not the ICE, which indeed does not work on any scanner with those films, but the harsh direct light of the LEDs which Nikon uses.

 

To my experiance, which is some years back now, the results of regulary developped films were rubbish. I had to expose and develop my films to very light and flat negatives to obtain something one could call a grayscale. Coolsscans were great for slides, but a pain in the a.. for silver-based B&W. I changed to Microtek Artixscan 4000 then which use no LEDs and have been happy for years now. But I use silver-base B&W only!

 

Regards

 

Oliver

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John, The first thing I do before scanning is to blow off the negatives/slides with canned air.

I personally believe it was a darn shame Minolta did not develop their 5400 concept any further and that Sony chose to discontinue it when they took over. It'll be a dark day in my house when mine croaks

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I use a Coolscan V for all my scanning needs and it works just fine on silver based B&W film.

 

It is worth developing the film slightly differently from the way that you might do for wet darkroom work, but not much. (A reduction in the developing time is beneficial to scanning). Since the chances of me ever doing any wet darkroom work again are slim to say the least, i do not see this as an issue.

 

I have been very pleased with the Nikon

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My mistake Steve - but that isn't ICE is it? Its Vuescan's own "dust removal" tool? You know Vuescan much better than I do. I know a lot of people find it excellent but I can't get used to its interface!

 

Vuescan's dust removal function is ICE by another name. Turn it off when using silvber films.

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What this program needs is a set of instructions that starts with the end result and provides a series of simple checklist type instructions that a user can go through to achieve that end result. I know what I like in an image and I want a cookbook approach to achieving it. It is very frustrating to buy a program like Viewscan and then be completely unable to use it.

 

97 pages of checklist instructions available from Ed Hamrick's Vuescan website: http://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/vuescan.pdf

 

As with the best things in life, it is worth persevering with Vuescan as it is, IMHO, by far and away the most versatile scanning software, and in Pro form, an absolute steal. While the interfcae might not be up to "Apple" standards, once you understand what functions are dealt with in which tabbed area, it's not complicated.

 

There is a simple "walk through" method of scanning if you wish, or the full blown interface if you want more control.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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