Ektar 100 scanned - vivid to a fault?

jackbaty

Established
Local time
7:58 PM
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
123
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
I shot my first roll of Ektar 100 and the scans seem a bit much. I know Ektar is quite vivid by default, but this seems abnormal...

3760307492_26e7346ee2.jpg


Used Silverfast (full version) and a Nikon Coolscan 5000. Silverfast doesn't have a Negafix profile for Ektar yet, so I just picked "Other" and set the black point.

Am I scanning this incorrectly? Was it perhaps the "lab" (a local Meijer)? I've seen some terrific Ekar shots, but this one seems to be dialed up to 11.

Thanks.
 
I just gave it a try using the same film and scanner/software. I changed the film setting to Fuji Superia 100 and just did a grey point setting and here is the result

No color adjustment or sharpening.

3764319254_c52e224cb8_o.jpg


I had scanned this roll using Vuescan and a Minolta 5400 scanner 2 weekends ago and the scan is pretty close to the same so you may want to try the Fuji film setting.

I usually go through them all if the scanner software does not have a match and find the one I feel is what it should be.

Also, I shoot a GretaMacbeth color chart with each new film and set the scanner up using the neg/slide with the color chart as a starting point, setting white, black and grey points.

I did not do it with the Ektar yet as this was my first roll and got lazy.

Hope this helps a little.
 
Here is the same one tweaked a little in photoshop. I'm quite taken with Ektar and love the vivid colors for shots like this. Nice that it holds the skin tones real well.

3764380250_911b1f6de5_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
It is vibrant but your result might be a little "hot." I think it might be the software, try it with the Nikon scan software and see how much of a difference there is...

3640377660_9e42f5e9fa_o.jpg
 
Can the software let you create the film profile? It means you basically scan an unexposed area on your film once or twice, and that base color gets "subtracted" from your scans.

I do this with almost every new roll, unless I process a batch together in the same developer.
 
Maybe try using different scanning software. I've had huge troubles with silverfast+negafix for some superia negatives I scanned today. They all looked like crap (waaay to much contrast, saturation and colors were off). Maybe I did something wrong but I could not get a good scan in any way. But I had great succes with vuescan. It does the opposite, gives you a very flat looking image, but after a bit of adjusting in PS they look terrific.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom