Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/03/12

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Subject: [Leica] Plustek Scanner (Lluis)
From: lluisripollquerol at gmail.com (Lluis Ripoll Querol)
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:00:34 +0100
References: <f681deda1003111821g3e20d1e1y3e53f62a5b6e3460@mail.gmail.com>

Hi Wendy,

The picture you show is fine for me, it shows contrast, tones, detail.  
Your described procedure to develop seems correct to me, yhe main  
differences with what I was doing is the concentration and the initial  
agitation, I did at least 30 sec.

I've tried tryal versions of Vuescan and Silverfast, I've always  
concluded that my finishing work was better when I use Photoshop, IMO  
the scanning soft is not the way to finish a picture, these are just  
my experiences. I remember the scanned B&W of Tina with Silverfast HD  
(or something similar) and it was great.

For the Plustek I'm not very sure, I think it should scan individually  
every frame....!

Good luck too,
Cheers
LLuis


El 12/03/2010, a las 3:21, Wendy Thurman escribi?:

> Lluis-
>
> I'll take all the advice I can get!  Thanks for taking the time to  
> write it.
>
> More on the scanner- some of my problems with the film have not been  
> film
> problems, but scanner use (or misuse!)  My frustration level was  
> getting the
> better of me so I shot a roll in careful conditions- test work only  
> using a
> tripod and a gray scale taped to the wall, handheld shots in my room  
> of
> detailed items- text, patterns, etc.  The Hewes reel was a breeze to  
> use.
> Processed the film carefully, at 68F, 1:1, 10 minutes, 5 sec initial
> agitiation and 5 sec every 30 sec afterwards.  The negatives looked  
> great.
> Then I scanned them and was horrified at the results.
>
> Silverfast software asks what sort of film one is using, and from the
> beginning I had indicated Tri-X.  However, there is more!   
> Silverfast is
> deceptively simple to use but there's more going on than I realized.
> Knowing that the negatives were good, I concentrated on the software
> settings.  Here's a result on the test roll I shot yesterday evening-
> pedestrian photo but it's got all the tonal range and the look I  
> expect from
> Tri-X:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Wendy+Thurman/Untitled-1.jpg.html
>
> Onward!
>
> Wendy
>
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 5:44 AM, Lluis Ripoll Querol <
> lluisripollquerol at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Wendy,
>>
>> Many thanks for the Plustek Scanners, this is usefull and I'll keep  
>> some
>> more.
>>
>> Concerning your grain on Tri X is IMO more than usual, the reasons  
>> coud be
>> diverse or a mix or someones, film badly conserved, low exposure,
>> developping temperature to high...., as said I've developped a lot  
>> with
>> ID-11, it is practically the same formula as D-76, but when I've do  
>> this the
>> box containt a graphic time/temperature very useful. My process was  
>> easy:
>> pre-soap the film in water about 30 sec. at the same temperature as  
>> the
>> developper, verse the developper, agitate the first 30-45 sec. and  
>> after 5"
>> every 30". If I wanted special detail on the shadows I interrupted  
>> the
>> developping during 5 to 10 minutes putting water - always at the same
>> temperature - . The other steps, the usuals. I've used too HCC 110,  
>> a very
>> nice developper offering clean contrasts, but basically I've used  
>> for medium
>> format, on 35mm the grain is quite noticeable in my opinion. I've  
>> learned
>> many things and also I've understood better after I've red "The  
>> Negative", I
>> always recommend this book.
>>
>> Sorry to be so long, I'm sure that you already know very well the
>> procedure, I've just talk my old method.
>>
>> Goodf luck,
>>
>> Cheers
>> Lluis
>>
>> El 11/03/2010, a las 2:24, Wendy Thurman escribi?:
>>
>>
>> Lluis-
>>>
>>> I'm struggling with the processing- I haven't hit on the right  
>>> technique
>>> yet.  I've got some Xtol and may try that.  While I don't mind a  
>>> little
>>> grain- expected it with the Tri-X- I am getting more than I'd  
>>> like.  The
>>> other extreme is Pan-F, which I have some of and will try next.
>>>
>>> While I haven't used the Plustek enough to comment with authority,  
>>> it
>>> seems
>>> to be doing the job.  The two SE and AI are the same scanners (I  
>>> believe)
>>> with different software packages.  I have the cheaper version, the  
>>> SE.  It
>>> comes with Silverfast software; if you are using a Mac don't  
>>> install the
>>> Plustek software that also comes with it- it won't work.   
>>> Silverfast runs
>>> fine on the Mac, however.  This is my first experience with a  
>>> scanner so I
>>> am commenting from a pretty shallow statistical pool; it works fine,
>>> doesn't
>>> cost an arm and a leg, is lightweight, and easy to use.  I  
>>> understand that
>>> VueScan works with it as well and is more user friendly than  
>>> Silverfast
>>> but
>>> I don't know anything about that package.
>>>
>>> What I can tell you with absolute certainty is do not spill gin  
>>> and orange
>>> juice on your MacBook Pro keyboard.  I'm having issues as a result  
>>> of that
>>> mistake.
>>>
>>> Wendy
>>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 3:15 AM, Lluis Ripoll Querol <
>>> lluisripollquerol at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Wendy,
>>>>
>>>> I'm always interested for your pictures of this far country, I'm  
>>>> usually
>>>> quite fascinated by the oriental culture. I like the first one,  
>>>> it shows
>>>> a
>>>> dessertic place. IMO ther is quite grainy, I've developped on my  
>>>> darkroom
>>>> days Tri X and HP 5 with D-76 or Ilford ID-11, almost the same  
>>>> formula
>>>> and
>>>> the effect of temperature had a certain big influence on the  
>>>> grain, I
>>>> think
>>>> remember that I prefer D-76 at 1:3 to achieve a more large range of
>>>> tones,
>>>> and I does a systematic quite vigourous agitation. I'm sorry to  
>>>> explain
>>>> this, I want just tell you what I remember.
>>>>
>>>> On the other hand I see on your EXIF that you have scanned these  
>>>> with a
>>>> Plustek Scanner 7500i, I was just planning purchase one of these,  
>>>> I know
>>>> that there is the 7500i SE and AI, and I don't know which is the
>>>> difference.
>>>> I scann with an Epson Photo 3170 flatbed scanner, I'm quite happy  
>>>> for B&W
>>>> but not for color. Are you happy with your Plustek?
>>>>
>>>> Please continue showing us pictures of Afghanistan, I enjoy them!
>>>>
>>>> Cheers
>>>> Lluis
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>
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In reply to: Message from thurmanphoto at gmail.com (Wendy Thurman) ([Leica] Plustek Scanner (Lluis))