ChrisP
Grain Lover
I'm new to Vuescan, just trying it out. I have a number of questions. (and yes I went through the manual but couldn't get this stuff).
1. When I scan an image it doesn't match the crop I selected. I got threw and make a "preview". Than I put "frame number" to "1" and go to the "crop tab". There I set "crop size" to manual and make that 24x36. Than I change the "offsets" to match up with the frame. I do this for all the frames. However when I click "scan" than the first frame isn't in a 3:2 ratio. So its not using the crops I selected.
2. Next I found the "lock exposure" trick on flickr. Does everyone use this? If so how does it work? I just go to an additional frame number (if I have 5 frames that actually have pictures I select them through the crop method described above than go to frame 6), and than select an area between frames and hit "lock exposure" and I'm set? Or is there more too it than that?
3. Finally using the lock exposure method described above is there any disadvantage to it? Some frames are pretty dark and I would probably be lifting shadows in LR3. Is it better to have them scanned so that the shadows are lifted? Will this reduce noise or anything? Will the lock exposure method + lift in LR create more noise or anything? If so is there a better way to set the exposure for each frame and avoid too many blown highlights?
If you got here thanks for reading through this giant post.
1. When I scan an image it doesn't match the crop I selected. I got threw and make a "preview". Than I put "frame number" to "1" and go to the "crop tab". There I set "crop size" to manual and make that 24x36. Than I change the "offsets" to match up with the frame. I do this for all the frames. However when I click "scan" than the first frame isn't in a 3:2 ratio. So its not using the crops I selected.
2. Next I found the "lock exposure" trick on flickr. Does everyone use this? If so how does it work? I just go to an additional frame number (if I have 5 frames that actually have pictures I select them through the crop method described above than go to frame 6), and than select an area between frames and hit "lock exposure" and I'm set? Or is there more too it than that?
3. Finally using the lock exposure method described above is there any disadvantage to it? Some frames are pretty dark and I would probably be lifting shadows in LR3. Is it better to have them scanned so that the shadows are lifted? Will this reduce noise or anything? Will the lock exposure method + lift in LR create more noise or anything? If so is there a better way to set the exposure for each frame and avoid too many blown highlights?
If you got here thanks for reading through this giant post.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I just use the auto exposure, it works well most of the time and compensates for over/under exposed images to give you a usable image. Scans are NEVER perfect, they ALWAYS require post processing. The goal is to get a scan that has a full range of times so nothing is clipped. This usually means a low-contrast scan that needs work in Photoshop or lightroom but it ultimately gives the best quality and most flexibility for post processing.
I don't mess with the crop options either, I set to manual and draw the crop box around the image manually rather than inputting numbers.
Always scan at full-resolution, even if you only intend to use the images for small prints or the web. You will eventually decide you need a bigger file, and rescanning is a waste of time.
Read my Viewscan workflow for black and white negs, it tells how I scan my photos. Everything I post on RFF is scanned this way, except my color transparency work. I use Nikon Scan, despite it being extremely slow and buggy, because it really does give better color transparency scans. For black and white or color negs, I think Viewscan is better.
I don't mess with the crop options either, I set to manual and draw the crop box around the image manually rather than inputting numbers.
Always scan at full-resolution, even if you only intend to use the images for small prints or the web. You will eventually decide you need a bigger file, and rescanning is a waste of time.
Read my Viewscan workflow for black and white negs, it tells how I scan my photos. Everything I post on RFF is scanned this way, except my color transparency work. I use Nikon Scan, despite it being extremely slow and buggy, because it really does give better color transparency scans. For black and white or color negs, I think Viewscan is better.
capito
silver halide punk
I've got a Nikon Coolscan with a negative feeder, so I first do preview scans at 1333 dpi, auto crop, auto exposure, auto everything.
For the 2 or so keepers I do everything manually, (crop, etc) with exposure lock and multiple exposure.
For the 2 or so keepers I do everything manually, (crop, etc) with exposure lock and multiple exposure.
craygc
Well-known
This sounds a little complicated. I just drag the edges of the marching ants crop frame to where I want it on the preview - never set anything on the crop tab. Haven't specifically checked the accuracy of a crop but also haven't felt concerned by any scan to date.
I use exposure lock all the time. It requires setting it against a blank piece of film leader (per emulsion). The idea is that auto exposure does what it should - set the exposure of your neg to a mid tone average. Depending on what you've shot it may or may no reflect what you wanted. With "Exposure Lock", because you set it against clear leader - for each film type - it now understands what will be your "black point". On a scanner such as a Nikon, the dynamic range is in excess of 3.5 in reality, however, most negs max out at around a dmax of 2.0. So if you have locked your black point, and your white point white point is only a dmax of 2.0 with a scanner offering a dmax of 3.5 ~ 4.0, your 2.0 looks more mid tone than white. Thats why the result is dark - it should be. You now need to adjust that in post.
Why do it? 1) you get consistent exposure where you know what you are getting - i.e., where the histogram sits. 2) Given that when you set a white or black point you actually "stretch" the histogram; however, you stretch it more on the side you are setting. So if black is more or less set, when you set the white point, you stretch the lighter tones much more than the darker ones. Now, in testing I did a long time ago around this, I found that stretching the shadows, especially with B&W film, tended to introduce speckling and exaggerate noise, whereas doing the same to the highlight side didn't really have a noticeable impact. Locking exposure supports minimizing stretching the shadows.
CorreCaminos
CorreCaminos
Vuescan can be rather frustrating at times but it's very good once it's setup correctly.
Its greatest strength, ability to customize its operation, is also its main weakness and can easily lead to to less than optimal scans. I've tried setting up the parameters per the manual but they often seem to work against each other, not work as expected or have unintended consequences that adversely affect image quality if you're not careful. So, periodically, I reset all the parameters back to default and follow this workflow:
1. Scan at maximum resolution (4000dpi for Nikon CS 9000)
2. Set the crop box using the "marching ants" and crop to "scan size".
3. Output to raw file
4. Use Vuescan to open the raw file
5. Use the crop box to select a small area of the negative, perhaps 10% of the area, and move it around the image until I get an exposure and color balance (as shown by the preview) that I can work with (low contrast, pleasant color balance). Leave teh crop selection the same until step 11.
6. At this point, I'll try "Auto levels", "white balance", and other settings until I get the image that I want. This is by no means the final image but rather the image I'll import into PS or LR.
7. Set "Lock exposure"
8. Click Preview
9. Set "Lock Film base Color"
10. Set "Lock image color"
11. Size the crop box to select the desired scan area.
12. Scan into a tiff file to use with PS or LR.
The resulting tiff file should be pretty close to perfect, showing exceptional detail in the shadows and highlights, and with all the information in the negative present in the file. You can then tweak Curves and color to taste.
I've tried the "Lock exposure" method per the manual but never had satisfactory results that way.
PS: The workflow above will work when scanning to a tiff or jpeg file (just ignore the first 4 steps and follow steps 5-12).
Its greatest strength, ability to customize its operation, is also its main weakness and can easily lead to to less than optimal scans. I've tried setting up the parameters per the manual but they often seem to work against each other, not work as expected or have unintended consequences that adversely affect image quality if you're not careful. So, periodically, I reset all the parameters back to default and follow this workflow:
1. Scan at maximum resolution (4000dpi for Nikon CS 9000)
2. Set the crop box using the "marching ants" and crop to "scan size".
3. Output to raw file
4. Use Vuescan to open the raw file
5. Use the crop box to select a small area of the negative, perhaps 10% of the area, and move it around the image until I get an exposure and color balance (as shown by the preview) that I can work with (low contrast, pleasant color balance). Leave teh crop selection the same until step 11.
6. At this point, I'll try "Auto levels", "white balance", and other settings until I get the image that I want. This is by no means the final image but rather the image I'll import into PS or LR.
7. Set "Lock exposure"
8. Click Preview
9. Set "Lock Film base Color"
10. Set "Lock image color"
11. Size the crop box to select the desired scan area.
12. Scan into a tiff file to use with PS or LR.
The resulting tiff file should be pretty close to perfect, showing exceptional detail in the shadows and highlights, and with all the information in the negative present in the file. You can then tweak Curves and color to taste.
I've tried the "Lock exposure" method per the manual but never had satisfactory results that way.
PS: The workflow above will work when scanning to a tiff or jpeg file (just ignore the first 4 steps and follow steps 5-12).
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