I'm still struggling with this scanner, but I have done some things which have increased my tolerance for it, its reliability (to some degree) and the image quality it produces (which when successful, is excellent). Here are some of my remedies:
- First of all, allow the scanner to start up properly. The filmholders are slotted at the leading edge as a means of identifying the film format they carry. It appears that the leading edge (or some other indexing mark on the holder) is used to index the positions of each film frame. This means that when correctly positioned, film frames will always be in the same position.
- Turn the scanner on. (Always eject film holders before turning the scanner off.) Let it go through its startup motions and settle down to wait for the film holder. When it's ready, insert the film holder and give it enough of a careful nudge for the scanner to start pulling it into the correct start position. Allow the scanner to go through its indexing motions completely and to settle down BEFORE starting the scanning software.
- I have placed the scanner in a separate room away from the rest of the family and bought a noise cancelling head set. They must have designed this scanner in an extremely noisy environment not to notice that it's an instrument of audio torture. I use an older laptop with a firewire port for the scanning. My laptop runs Mac OS X 10.6.
- Make sure the right software is installed on the computer. This applies to drivers (the Microtek Scanwizard software HAS to be installed even though you don't use it for the correct drivers to be installed) and scanning software. Either SilverFast or Vuescan work although both have miserable interfaces. Not having the correct versions of software (for your operating system) results in very erratic behaviour.
- Finding the latest software for the 120tf at Microtek's site is feat of great courage and patience. I have found no newer firmware for the 120tf than 1.6, but the firmware installed on my 120tf is 1.8. I have the feeling we are struggling with an orphan although Mac OS X 10.4 is mentioned on their site. Neither is SilverFast's use manual very forthcoming about the 120tf.
- Taming the software: READ AND UNDERSTAND the user manual. Bear in mind that the machine is made in Japan and SilverFast (SF) in Germany. (SF is often a bit too general, referring to functionality present in one type of scanner and not in the 120tf.) My scanning sequence for a filmstrip is: Set film type, run the image overview, Prescan one of the images by selecting it and clicking OK, run the Job manager, select the images to be scanned, add them to the batch, select the first one, click the pencil, set the scanning parameters (film type, resolution, Negafix, etc.), SAVE the settings, select the frames to be scanned, click the Copy button, approve the settings to be copied, unselect the pencil, and hit Start. (Don't expect the file naming convention chosen to work. If you find out how, please tell me.)
- The crucial element in scanning with the 120tf is focus. Keeping the film flat helps, but getting the beast to focus properly is another matter altogether. While SF mentions several modes of focussing, the 120tf accepts either autofocus or none. i have noticed that turning autofocus off, doing a (small) prescan, and then going back to autofocus helps forcing the thing to focus properly. It is somewhere mentioned that the 120tf uses contrast in the negative for focusing, but the focus point is always in the center of the crop frame. If that is an area with no contrast edges, focus will presumably be hit-and-miss. (There's probably something I've missed here.) Use the optional glass film holder for MF. It also works for other, smaller formats, but takes a lot of coaxing and frame adjusting as it has indexing slots only for MF, not 135. Try mounting cross-curled 135 film emulsion side up in the glassless holder where the cross bars help hold the film flat. (I'm just now experimenting with this method, so no conclusions yet.)
- "Adjustment of film strip position" can be used to position 135 frames properly in the MF glass holder. However, it might appear that the scanner needs to be turned completely off and then back on for it to forget the indexing position induced with that function.
Considering the hours I've spent struggling with this machine and the arcane software that works with it - why on earth can't it work like the software for my Epson 4990? (Do and overview, chose the frame to be scanned [or let it do it for you], chose your settings, and scan!) - I would probably have saved myself, everyone around me and the environment a lot of pain, frustration, and money by buying a super expensive Imacon in the first place. Then I'd be left with a real orphan hooked up to an old G3 machine at best, nursing and nudging it along on SCSI connectors. At least the 120tf has Firewire and when I set aside time and patience enough, the results are terrific.
The odd thing is that somehow I like the thing, because I still feel I haven't given it its due attention and because comments on the Nikon MF scanner don't appear to be very much more encouraging.
- Børre
