Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/12/19

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Subject: [Leica] B&W Film Scanner
From: bdcolen at comcast.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Mon Dec 19 09:13:34 2005

Speaking of the Polaroid - I had a Polaroid and when it eventually went
belly up replaced it with the Microtex - it's said to be made on the same
assembly line, of the same parts, as the Polaroid - 4000 dpi, excellent
results with Tri-X and other black and whites...all the scanned stuff on my
site was scanned with it. And it's relatively inexpensive.


On 12/19/05 12:10 PM, "David Rodgers" <drodgers@casefarms.com> wrote:

> I have the original Minolta 5400. Some people have claimed that it does
> a better job on silver BW film because it has florescent tubes -- as
> does the Polaroid 4000 -- rather than an LED light source. I don't know
> if that makes any difference. But I really like my 5400.
> 
> I bought the 5400 because it was less expensive. I wasn't sure how much
> film I'd be scanning. Turns out I'm scanning a lot. I bought a scanner
> to occasionally scan old negs. I wasn't shooting any film. Now I'm
> shooting film again.
> 
> Nikon scanners are built extremely well. They work. They're a safe bet.
> They're also the most expensive and no guarantee you'll get great
> results. 
> 
> A good negative or slide is easy to scan and scanner will do. It's less
> than perfect negs/slides that test your scanner, and your scanning
> skills.  
> 
> FWIW, I proof everything on an Epson 1680 flatbed, which can scan a
> whole roll at one time. I've spent time and resources scanning images
> high res and processing large files only to end up with a small JPG that
> I could have made on the 1680.
> 
> Scanner software seems to be getting better. Some people swear by
> Vuescan. I have Vuescan pro. I've used Vuescan since I bought my first
> Coolscan 6 years ago, so I'm pretty familiar with it.  But I still use
> Minolta Scan utility (raw mode). It's easy and it works. I make
> adjustments in PS. I've used Nikonscan and Silverfast. I wasn't
> impressed by Silverfast, although some people love it.
> 
> I never understood the difference between having scanner software adjust
> the files, or just scanning raw and adjusting in Photoshop. Everything
> starts with a RAW file. I trust Photoshop more than most scanning
> software; perhaps because I have more visibility into what's happening
> in PS. I make the adjustments. It may make sense to use scanning
> software for color, since most software has built in color adjustments
> for film type. But not BW. Maybe somebody can shed some enlightenment on
> that.  
> 
> DaveR 
> 
> 
> On 12/19/05, Nick Hillyer <obecalp@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I am looking for a film scanner to scan my Tri-X negatives, and an
> curious
>> what others are getting good results with.  I tried a Minolta Scan
> Dual IV,
>> but couldn't get it to work with my Mac, and ultimately returned it.
> I have
>> been thinking about the Nikon Coolscan V with Vuescan (which seems to
> be
>> highly recommeded), but I have not found a lot of info on how it
> handles
>> silver based B&W film.  Anyone using this combo?  What are your
> thoughts?
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> Nick
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
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>> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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In reply to: Message from drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers) ([Leica] B&W Film Scanner)