Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/12/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Dec 20, 2005, at 2:23 AM, Daniel Ridings wrote: > David, I use exactly that scanner for all my medium format negatives > and, rarely, slides. I'll answer your questions individually below. Ditto! > On 12/20/05, david feingold <dfeingold@hotmail.com> wrote: >> I have an Epson 2450. My experience with scanning is basically >> limited to >> that scanner. Here are my questions: >> >> Can anyone here can tell me what has worked best with that >> scanner and >> B&W (silver film). > > I use Vuescan. I don't bother with the "proper" film holder. I lay the > negative down on the glass and use the short end of the 4x5 holder to > press the film to the glass. I put the emulsion side down and tell > Vuescan to "mirror" the scan. I pretty much do the same thing...I do use the film holders on 120 film, but when I'm scanning old 616 and sheet film negs I'll do exactly what Daniel says. > >> Is it okay to use Twain? I can't seem to link my Silverfast to >> that >> scanner having tried to load it > > I've never installed the Epson drivers or scanning programs. There's > nothing wrong with Twain per se. Way back when I downloaded a test > version of Silverfast but saw no reason to use it compared to Vuescan. At first pass I did install the Epson program on my Mac - bad bad bad. Slow, clunky. Went to Vuescan - life is pretty good. > >> unsuccessfully on several occasions. I scan through Twain and >> edit in >> PS Elements. > > I scan directly with Vuescan, save the file as a TIFF file and then > edit it with Photoshop. More or less, exactly. >> I find scanning at higher resolution than 1600 takes a really >> long >> time. Is this normal. > > Yes. Seconded. Very slow. > >> Slide scans don't come close to the real thing...any surprise >> there? > > Transparencies are tough, particularly high contrast transparencies > (Velvia). You'll never be able to capture those lovely, clear, vibrant > colors. There will always be a difference. > > I have much better luck with color negative film (lower contrast). On > the other hand, with both color negatives and transparencies I usually > get problems with Newton rings. I suppose the dedicated film holder > which holds the film slightly off the glass, would help, with > concommitant degradation in sharpness if your scanner lens focuses at > the plane of the glass. Agreed again - in fact, for nice slide scans I have an Windows box that still lives to support my SCSI drive first generation HP Photosmart scanner. Don't laugh too hard - it does a nice job for web viewing and it's paid for :) Craig Zeni Cary NC