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Film scanner suggestion?


tbusra

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I've got a Coolscan, which does the job OK for me, had a bit of probem with the programme initially, but once it was up and sorted no further probs.

Ron

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I have a Microtek which I bought quite a few years ago but its very complicated and I never got the hang of it. Now I am thinking once again of scanning negs (on my new second hand MP) should I persist or chuck it out and buy a Coolscan?

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Here's my film/scan workflow...

 

- Have the films developed only.

- Batch-scan my rolls with the V750 PRO in a resolution good enough to judge the photo's.

- Don't worry too much about colour correction.

- Negatives I really like and want to print for customers, I just have scanned by a pro lab.

 

the difference between the V750 PRO and the Nikon scanners is, I think, not as interesting as the difference between Epson/Nikon and professional Imacon/Heidelberg scanners.

 

The money and time I save batch scanning my rolls of film on the V750 PRO, is well spent on the pro-lab scans when I really need the quality.

 

BTW the scanning quality of the V750PRO is quite good, and one roll of film doesn't take a whole lot of time.

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I have both. I use the Nikon for 35mm and the Epson for 120. both are well recommended kit! If you get the Epson for 120 get Doug Maxwell's negative Holder.

 

Keith ... a question.

 

When using your flatbed do you scan with the emulsion up or down? Have you compared the difference?

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Keith ... a question.

 

When using your flatbed do you scan with the emulsion up or down? Have you compared the difference?

 

kent,

 

Interesting question- usually emulsion down. If I have (rarely) a film that curls. The holder that I use suggests that I turn the film so that i can control,the curl. In that case occasionally I have scanned with the emulsion side up. I must check out next time if there is a difference. Do yo have a view?

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Do yo have a view?

 

No view yet. I have just got back into shooting some MF film (Pentax 67 TTL) and am sort of feeling my way with the scanning part. The Nikon I use for 35 mm is relatively easy; just stuff in the film and it does its job. But scanning on a flatbed seems to be a bit more tricky. Epson tells us to scan with the emulsion up, but as noted elsewhere that's probably just so the image isn't flipped. It would seem logical that eliminating the layer of film backing from the optical path (i.e. scanning with the emulsion down) would be preferable, but I haven't done any experiments, which is why I was wondering if you had. Drum scanners and wet mounting methods place the emulsion down, so I'm just guessing that's the better approach.

 

Looks like it will take a while to suss this out.

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I guess everyone has figured the same thing.

 

Take the new roll, scan on my Flat bed Epson, make a contact sheet in photoshop, then make a good final scan on my Minolta 5400 of the best.

 

Select the thumbnail option at the bottom of the dialog, right side of the prescan box, drop down menue.

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My approach is identical to Peter's -- except I use a V700 for the first scans, and then off to a lab with an Imacon for the scans of the best images.

 

My approach is that you can even get rid of a pro Lab.

 

You'll see below a simple comparison between an expensive Imacon scan done by my pro lab and what I obtained with my V700 and its OEM film holder.

The film is Fuji 1600 ASA (detail)

My workflow :

I scan (part of) a roll (24 frames) with the Epson software to get a fast but high res contact sheet within less than a minute ;

Then I re-scan the good shots with Vuescan in DNG format (RAW data) without any boring tweaking (exposition, color balance, sharpness or whatsoever...) ;

Then I can "develop" and edit the files in CS3 or Lightroom quietly and anytime after.

 

All this for 500$ + Vuescan (80$).

Better than the V700 Epson wouldn't be the Nikon, the Imacon or whatsoever but... the darkroom.

Cheers

Chritophe

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My contribution is this - I have recently purchased an Epson V500 for scanning for this site and emailing. So far I have scanned slides and B&W negs and I am more than pleased with the results for under £200. I suppose it all depends as to what use you want to make of the scans, as to how much you want to spend. As I do film, I would always use the source material for any prints to be made. Nowadays I don't do my own D&P......Gerald

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One 'issue' I've had with flatbed scanning is getting the film in the holder. It was be very fiddly if there is the slightest curl to the film. The curl can make it very difficult to get the film in the correct alignment before closing the holder. One advantage of the Nikon is that it 'sucks in' a strip of up to 6 negatives.

 

One other suggestion, at least try the Vuescan scanning software - VueScan Scanning Software - it has a messy interface but allows quick access to all the relevant settings.

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  • 4 weeks later...
My approach is that you can even get rid of a pro Lab.

 

You'll see below a simple comparison between an expensive Imacon scan done by my pro lab and what I obtained with my V700 and its OEM film holder.

The film is Fuji 1600 ASA (detail)

My workflow :

I scan (part of) a roll (24 frames) with the Epson software to get a fast but high res contact sheet within less than a minute ;

Then I re-scan the good shots with Vuescan in DNG format (RAW data) without any boring tweaking (exposition, color balance, sharpness or whatsoever...) ;

Then I can "develop" and edit the files in CS3 or Lightroom quietly and anytime after.

 

All this for 500$ + Vuescan (80$).

Better than the V700 Epson wouldn't be the Nikon, the Imacon or whatsoever but... the darkroom.

Cheers

Chritophe

.

 

I live in Bangladesh and do not have the pro lab option anyway. So the choice I presume is between the Nikon (model?) and the Epson (any arguments on V700/V750?). Most of my stuff is 35mm. some 120, some archival prints as well as some glass plates. I realise the flat bed would handle all of them and gives quite good results from what I hear, but since the bulk of the work is 35mm film, the comments about handling is what gives me pause.

Shahidul

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Sorry, I'm new to the forum and probably pressed the wrong button. What I wanted to know was how I could prevent my Nikon 5000 ED scanner creating soft dark bands on either side of the frame of my b/w negative scans. Presumably it is because of the light leak from the separator between the frames.

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