BetterScanning, Epson 700, Calibration Frustration

[Scheelings]

Hi everyone,

I'm on the verge of giving up on film because I can't achieve sufficient scanning quality.

My equipment is as follows: Epson 700, Betterscanning film holder for medium format, anti-newton ring glass for medium format & 35mm

At the moment I have medium format film taped to the correct side of the anti-newton ring glass and I've set all the nylon screws flush with the bottom of the film holder.

So when I run my first scan I use the following settings:

Epson Scan is my default software, I use 2800 dpi and colour positive film. No Sharpening.

Then I set to 'Film Holder' (this uses a higher quality lens right?), however when I 'pre-view' the scan, it cuts all the images in half - Presumably this is because the alignment of the film taped to the glass is not the same as when using the traditional film holder. How do I adjust for this?

There must be a way to get the highest quality file by selecting 'film holder'....even if the film is not in a 'normal' position - otherwise it seems pointless to have anti-newton glass - and even without the glass - the kit comes with T-locks such that different types of Medium Format film can be placed in the holder.

 

[kokoshawnuff]

Use film holder under document type, but instead of "thumbnail" select "normal" and you can select the entire frame with your mouse

 

[EliasK]

-For thumbnail preview check that "configuration"-->"film size" is set correctly for you medium format size (can be set from 6x4.5 to 6x9)
-Also in the "preview" configuration menu check "quality preview" and set "thumbnail cropping area" to "large"
-Set "color" accordingly for your pp workflow.

Do some tests to adjust the screws for maximum sharpness.
Adding some sharpness in pp will improve your scan in most cases.







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[xvvvz]

It sounds like you are experiencing the common problem where auto-cropping does not work (you did switch the format size parameter in the software configuration box to your particular format though, right?). You will find many references to this problem on the internet. Many people never realize that they are missing part of their image(s) until they get an obvious error like the one you experienced. If they did a careful comparison of most scans though, they would probably be surprised to find how many of their images on film are overly cropped or mis-cropped by the software's auto-cropping. Auto-cropping is nothing more than a "guess" based on an algorithm and it is often fooled.

Most people I know just set a batch scan of manual crops. It is easy to set up and you know it will be accurate. In the end, this actually takes less time because you don't have to spend time doing comparisons of scans to film and then have to do the inevitable rescans. The others have pointed you in the right directetion but here is a page of tips I put up to help people learn about creating manual batch scans with the EpsonScan software:

http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/batchscanning.html

Doug

 

[Scheelings]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm still working on getting the scanner calibrated. At the moment I'm scanning by half turns for a rough 4mm adjustment each time.

Here's the thing - I'm worried that I don't have a perfectly calibrated camera (I've adjusted it myself - so now the lens DOES focus properly to infinity) - but I can't be sure. It's a Mamiya 7.

I think if I'm getting OOF images in all my scans, that I'll go out and shoot some film with my M3 - and a lens which I KNOW is accurate.

 

[mfogiel]

The biggest problem with Epson is film flatnes, then there's the holder "focus". Given that you have taped the film to a piece of glass, it should be reasonably sharp. Now calibrate your holder focus. Remember to scan at highest resolution - you will resize down after the scan, this way you get maximum resolution. In practice, it does not exceed 2200-2400 dpi, so resizing down to 3200 dpi will certainly not hurt your sharpness. As to camera sharpness, if you have doubts, take a wide angle lens, set to infinity and stop down to f 22, this should get you sharp negs in most cases.
Epson is not anything to rave about, but it should be good enough for a 8x enlargement, and is particularly forgiving for B&W.

 

[thegman]

I used a very similar set up, but a few differences.

I did not tape the film to the glass, I just put the back arch of the film's curl against the glass and let the weight of the glass pin down the film in the holder. I found this got me some pretty flat film.

I also used Vuescan, so you could try a trial of that, but I doubt that's the issue.

The Mamiya 7, and V700, all configured right should be giving you incredible results, right up there with digital medium format.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

I have the Epson and now I aquired a used FlexTight II. After that I never use Epson for film scanning. Huh! the only problem with The Hasselblad Flextight is that it works only with an ancient Mac. I have two of them, one as spare in case the first gives up. The Epson is good only for print scanning. I make a decent low contrast print with my Multigrade leitz Focomat IIC, scan it in Epson, spot, adjust the curves, burn & hold back in photoshop. Then I have a perfect file to bring to a friend that prints my exhibition prints in EPSON, what else...

 

[Scheelings]

Thanks for the tips guys. Well - One thing I could do to 'guarantee' a sharp image is to slap a 12mm ultra wide angle onto my Leica M3 and shoot a roll of 35mm.

Then I just tape the 35mm film to the medium format glass and try scanning that.