Betterscanning holder/ANR

[gilpen123]

I did the adjustments 1 full turn at a time and would adjust accordingly when I see or know where I will start. I started with the original and work my way from no adjustments to +3 full turn. I also did it with the dull side and bright sides touching the negatives. Scanner was set to zero adjustments no sharpening. PS only for resizing to 72 res. Original scanned at 3200 dpi, 16 bit grayscale. Here we are:

Original Film Holder V500

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Bright Side Touching Neg 0 adjustment

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Dull Side 0 Adjustment

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Bright Side +1 Full Turn Adjustment

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Dull Side +1 Full Turn Adjustment

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Bright Side +2 Full Turn Adjustment

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Dull Side +2 Full Turn Adjustment

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Bright Side +3 Full Turn Adjustment

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Dull Side +3 Full Turn Adjustment

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[gilpen123]

I can not really see if there are improvements even in the original file. I do hope some eagle eyed RFF'r can spot the difference.

 

[xvvvz]

It is kind of tough to evaluate given that viewing size/magnification level of the posted image and the fact the exposure/contrast settings are different between the first scan and the later scans which can affect perception but you may be in the situation where 1 mm is the best height or the ideal height may be lower than 1 mm. As you go toward 3 turns, it does appear to be getting softer.

Doug

 

[gilpen123]

I think in between +1 to +2 full turn may be a good start. Yes +3 seems to be softer than the rest.

 

[Jamie123]

As has already been mentioned, one can't really tell from the size of the pictures. You should start out with a sharp neg to begin with and then show us 100% crops of the same image area with different height adjustments. Also, don't bother using the 'shiny' side of the glass as all you're doing is increasing the chance of Newton Rings. It won't have any effect on the resolution.

 

[oftheherd]

What an interesting thread.

 

[ruby.monkey]

I did the adjustments 1 full turn at a time and would adjust accordingly when I see or know where I will start. I started with the original and work my way from no adjustments to +3 full turn. I also did it with the dull side and bright sides touching the negatives.

The matte surface doesn't affect sharpness of scan. It lies against the film to minimise the formation of Newton's rings, which are caused by light reflected off the two closely-spaced surfaces (film being scanned, glass surface next to it) causing interference patterns. The glass itself is intended to hold the film flat for scanning - that is how it improves sharpness; but it still means that you must have your negative carrier adjusted properly.

 

[ReeRay]

Lots of misinformation here...

First off, the ANR matte side touches the film. If you reverse this, you'll only create more Newton's rings.

Secondly, the holder is useless unless you fine-tune it for your scanner. This involves scanning a spread of images and comparing them. Start with the screws all the way in (flush with frame) and scan. Turn the screws one revolution out and scan again. Repeat until you've covered several full turns (approx 4 or so) and compare your images. You should be able to look at the images and say, "the image is sharpest between 2 and 3 turns" (or similar). Now set your screws to (for example) 2 turns, and repeat the spread - but this time with more gradual increments - perhaps 1/4 turns. Repeat until you've got the sharpest scan possible. Now you're dialed in... And may want to put a drop of nail polish on your screws. It is also very important that you start off with all screws flush with the frame and turn them all identical amounts.

In my experience, the bs...com holder w/ANR inserts is leaps and bounds better than the (frankly) crap holders Epson provides. Using the combo with my v700 I get fairly grain-sharp scans (I usually scan at 3,200dpi).

I think you and I exchanged on this on the Hasselblad forum.

Entirely agree with the above with my V700. The critical factor is indeed to get the adjustment screws ABSOLUTELY flat at the onset and to adjust their height EXACTLY the same. Tricky but well worth the attention.

The BS tools improved my scans by a country mile to the extent that on MF they nigh on equal my Minolta Multi Pro scans - and that's some endorsement.

 

[gilpen123]

My perception is very simple, if there is a noticeable difference between a stock holder and a supposedly better holder with ANR, I will by all means subscribe to that concept. However, I don't work with 100% crops to prove that one is sharper over the other, I rely on the normal way of looking at prints and if I or most people can't notice, then it's an exercise in futility. Well I have the BS holder/ANR now so it may be good in as far as flattening my negatives but not on the output. I don't print A3 and larger size that much anyway and if I need to I'll have it professionally scanned.

 

[gilpen123]

Scanned images are never tack sharp it has to undergo some contrast and sharpness adjustments in post processing. Drum scans are different though. Btw, I took this shot on an overcast sky and lots of shade maybe 1/30 4.0-5.6 at ISO 400.

As has already been mentioned, one can't really tell from the size of the pictures. You should start out with a sharp neg to begin with and then show us 100% crops of the same image area with different height adjustments. Also, don't bother using the 'shiny' side of the glass as all you're doing is increasing the chance of Newton Rings. It won't have any effect on the resolution.