Pherdinand
the snow must go on
Well.
First of all - this scanner is GOOD. It's damn good i'd say. I would buy it again, if i had a choice. However, being so good, it shows me how a lousy photographer I am.
Scanning in hi-rez is faster than I thought. I've read all kind of horror stories on the Web about long scanning times etc. I guess those are written by busy professionals who have to scan 100 pics or more a day for a living. I don't, luckily.
A few things I did NOT like:
-in bright light, the inner side of the glass window already seems to have some fogging. Come on, it's a brand new scanner!!! can't be because of outgassing! But i can/t see its effect on the images, true. It also has a rather large, visible dust spot, also in the inside, but it's exactly off the scanned transparent area for 35mm and MF film
-the machine is HUGE.
-the Epson scan software can do batch scan in Pro mode but screws up the auto frame recognition with medium format film. There is NO way i can tell him where the frames begin and end, manually.Practically on a sdtrip of 3 6x6 frames one is okay and two are cut. It works well with 35mm strips, though.
-the Silverfast SE software does not screw up with the frame recognition...but it's IMPOSSIBLE to do batch scanning. If it is possible please tell me how - i managed to draw several selection areas on the scan area and use different scan settings for these, but still, at the final scan it scans only ONE frame which means i have to sit there and wait and do a few clicks between each scan, in every 1-3 minutes.
-generally, Silverfast SE is a bit dumb and non-intuitive.
-the ICE feature is working okay, but it takes TWENTY times longer to scan a frame when it's on "quality". When it's on "speed" it does not do much to the frames...
-the MF filmholders are weird. I put the film in and have to press VERY strong at the edges to make it click in. Maybe it's new that's why, but i'm afraid to break the flimsy plastic. Then, when it's in, the film is NOT FLAT, It's buckled, depending on the film also, a bit or alot. Good point ghough, that i did not see any sharpness difference due to this, between the central and edge regions of the frames.
-apparently Epson did not solve the tagging-with-profile issue. I've read that previous scanners also come with good scanner colour profiles but they are never attached to the image when saving it, so you have to do it yourself when opening in PS, unless you don't care and are happy with approximately ok results. Well, it still saves without any profile, no matter if I tell him to scan+save in epson or in sRGB or whatever profile. Frankly, it is totally unclear when you scan a frame, in what colour space it was scanned, and it's not obvious (and time consuming) when you have to assign a profile to each image at loading.
Final remark: The whole colour management theory (and practice) sucks.
First of all - this scanner is GOOD. It's damn good i'd say. I would buy it again, if i had a choice. However, being so good, it shows me how a lousy photographer I am.
Scanning in hi-rez is faster than I thought. I've read all kind of horror stories on the Web about long scanning times etc. I guess those are written by busy professionals who have to scan 100 pics or more a day for a living. I don't, luckily.
A few things I did NOT like:
-in bright light, the inner side of the glass window already seems to have some fogging. Come on, it's a brand new scanner!!! can't be because of outgassing! But i can/t see its effect on the images, true. It also has a rather large, visible dust spot, also in the inside, but it's exactly off the scanned transparent area for 35mm and MF film
-the machine is HUGE.
-the Epson scan software can do batch scan in Pro mode but screws up the auto frame recognition with medium format film. There is NO way i can tell him where the frames begin and end, manually.Practically on a sdtrip of 3 6x6 frames one is okay and two are cut. It works well with 35mm strips, though.
-the Silverfast SE software does not screw up with the frame recognition...but it's IMPOSSIBLE to do batch scanning. If it is possible please tell me how - i managed to draw several selection areas on the scan area and use different scan settings for these, but still, at the final scan it scans only ONE frame which means i have to sit there and wait and do a few clicks between each scan, in every 1-3 minutes.
-generally, Silverfast SE is a bit dumb and non-intuitive.
-the ICE feature is working okay, but it takes TWENTY times longer to scan a frame when it's on "quality". When it's on "speed" it does not do much to the frames...
-the MF filmholders are weird. I put the film in and have to press VERY strong at the edges to make it click in. Maybe it's new that's why, but i'm afraid to break the flimsy plastic. Then, when it's in, the film is NOT FLAT, It's buckled, depending on the film also, a bit or alot. Good point ghough, that i did not see any sharpness difference due to this, between the central and edge regions of the frames.
-apparently Epson did not solve the tagging-with-profile issue. I've read that previous scanners also come with good scanner colour profiles but they are never attached to the image when saving it, so you have to do it yourself when opening in PS, unless you don't care and are happy with approximately ok results. Well, it still saves without any profile, no matter if I tell him to scan+save in epson or in sRGB or whatever profile. Frankly, it is totally unclear when you scan a frame, in what colour space it was scanned, and it's not obvious (and time consuming) when you have to assign a profile to each image at loading.
Final remark: The whole colour management theory (and practice) sucks.
Attachments
Buze
Established
I scan using my own calibrated profile as a source, and ColorMatch RGB as an output; The profile is not tagged into the resulting file, but is correct when you assign the ColorMatch profile in photoshop...
But yes it sucks!
I made myself some custom "flatenners" for 120 by flattening a film canister, and cutting aprox 60mm long strips of metal that I put ON the film (between frames) before closing the holder. Helps a lot to control the flatness...
But yes it sucks!
I made myself some custom "flatenners" for 120 by flattening a film canister, and cutting aprox 60mm long strips of metal that I put ON the film (between frames) before closing the holder. Helps a lot to control the flatness...
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
Buze said:
Yes, that's a good idea, thanks!
thelovecollect
Established
sounds like a 4990 with a different body, higher resolution, and same faults...
i hate flatbed film scanners..
i hate flatbed film scanners..
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
yeah, but try to get a film scanner for this $ that handles multiple formats... Even a secon- hand minolta multi pro sells for 3x as much.
No really, the scan quality i got is extremely good for my needs! Just little annoyances.
Even a secon- hand minolta multi pro sells for 3x as much.No really, the scan quality i got is extremely good for my needs! Just little annoyances.
Buze
Established
I re-read the review on the Canon 9950f (?) and I must say their film holders seems a lot better than the Epson ones...
thelovecollect
Established
Pherdinand said:yeah, but try to get a film scanner for this $ that handles multiple formats...
No really, the scan quality i got is extremely good for my needs! Just little annoyances.
yeah there really is no in between..
i'm considering a minolta or nikon to get away from the foggy glass and dust...
i have to clean dust out of the top glass every month on my 4990...
plus dealing with newton rings and the cheapest looking film holders that resemble molded parts from a hobby kit...
Buze
Established
I solved the newton ring problem by ingnoring Epson direction and putting the film /emultion down/ in the holder. Since then, /zero/ newton ring ;-)
thelovecollect
Established
Buze said:
thanks for the tip. i will try that...
xvvvz
Established
>>-the Epson scan software can do batch scan in Pro mode but screws up the auto frame recognition with medium format film.<<
Did you make sure to go into the configuration menu and change the frame size to 6x6 from the default 645? This is a new setting with V series. Even when that is correct though, you often will still have cropping problems. Many times this is hard to notice because it only crops out along the edges where you are not so likely notice/miss the deleted portion. I always go with manual cropping so that I am sure I get the whole frame. It is faster than scanning and going back to check each auto scan and rescanning the inevitable bad one. Here are some tips I put up in case you aren't familiar with manual cropping and batch scanning with EpsonScan:
http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/batchscanning.html#_Epson_Scan_Twain
>>-the Silverfast SE software does not screw up with the frame recognition...but it's IMPOSSIBLE to do batch scanning.<<
True. They have to give you some sort of incentive to upgrade to Ai
>> -the ICE feature is working okay, but it takes TWENTY times longer to scan a frame<<
The amount of extra time will vary for each person and their computer. ICE is very processor and RAM intensive so a faster computer will drastically affect the times.
>>-apparently Epson did not solve the tagging-with-profile issue.<<
If you want a good laugh, call Epson support and try to get one of the reps to explain why this is true. Most won't even understand your question.
Doug
---
www.betterscanning.com
Did you make sure to go into the configuration menu and change the frame size to 6x6 from the default 645? This is a new setting with V series. Even when that is correct though, you often will still have cropping problems. Many times this is hard to notice because it only crops out along the edges where you are not so likely notice/miss the deleted portion. I always go with manual cropping so that I am sure I get the whole frame. It is faster than scanning and going back to check each auto scan and rescanning the inevitable bad one. Here are some tips I put up in case you aren't familiar with manual cropping and batch scanning with EpsonScan:
http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/batchscanning.html#_Epson_Scan_Twain
>>-the Silverfast SE software does not screw up with the frame recognition...but it's IMPOSSIBLE to do batch scanning.<<
True. They have to give you some sort of incentive to upgrade to Ai
>> -the ICE feature is working okay, but it takes TWENTY times longer to scan a frame<<
The amount of extra time will vary for each person and their computer. ICE is very processor and RAM intensive so a faster computer will drastically affect the times.
>>-apparently Epson did not solve the tagging-with-profile issue.<<
If you want a good laugh, call Epson support and try to get one of the reps to explain why this is true. Most won't even understand your question.
Doug
---
www.betterscanning.com
ffttklackdedeng
Registered User
Congratulations for your choice, Pherdinand!
I'm also thinking hard about the 700, currently having a Coolscan V and a 3170. I'm thinking of replacing both scanners but I'm not sure whether the 700 will be fine enough for 35mm film.
Two questions:
- do you think it is easy to cut the 35mm film strip holder so that also almost the sprocket holes are scanned? Or are there some metal parts in the way?
- If you have scanned some 'old' 400 B&W film (like HP5, Tri-X), presumably with Rodinal : could you please post an unsharpened 100% excerpt?
Thank you and wish you lots of success (and fun)!
Btw: there are some 'custom made' MF film holders made by a guy named Doug (Fisher I think). I bought once one for my 3170 and it was much better than the ones included - but the 3170 never pleased me because of uneven lighting and stripes.
Robert
I'm also thinking hard about the 700, currently having a Coolscan V and a 3170. I'm thinking of replacing both scanners but I'm not sure whether the 700 will be fine enough for 35mm film.
Two questions:
- do you think it is easy to cut the 35mm film strip holder so that also almost the sprocket holes are scanned? Or are there some metal parts in the way?
- If you have scanned some 'old' 400 B&W film (like HP5, Tri-X), presumably with Rodinal
: could you please post an unsharpened 100% excerpt?Thank you and wish you lots of success (and fun)!
Btw: there are some 'custom made' MF film holders made by a guy named Doug (Fisher I think). I bought once one for my 3170 and it was much better than the ones included - but the 3170 never pleased me because of uneven lighting and stripes.
Robert
Chaser
Well-known
snip...
Btw: there are some 'custom made' MF film holders made by a guy named Doug (Fisher I think). I bought once one for my 3170 and it was much better than the ones included - but the 3170 never pleased me because of uneven lighting and stripes.
Robert[/QUOTE]
here is alink to those holders
http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/vseries.html
Btw: there are some 'custom made' MF film holders made by a guy named Doug (Fisher I think). I bought once one for my 3170 and it was much better than the ones included - but the 3170 never pleased me because of uneven lighting and stripes.
Robert[/QUOTE]
here is alink to those holders
http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/vseries.html
S
Simon Larbalestier
Guest
I'd second Chaser's above post- Doug makes some good MF flatbed film holders -i've been in email correspondence a few hours ago with him and he has been very helpful.
I've just got the V750 and it's taken me a few days to get my head around the Silverfast software as i'm used to the NikonScan and Vuescan on my Coolscan 5000 but i'm getting some good results. In fact the Vuescan performs very differently on the flatbed than the Nikon film scanner. Film flatness should be much better with Doug's MF filmholder and additional AN glass inserts - just a pity i have to return to Bangkok (sans scanner) shortly so will be ordering Doug's scanner a few months on when i'm back in the UK.
I've just got the V750 and it's taken me a few days to get my head around the Silverfast software as i'm used to the NikonScan and Vuescan on my Coolscan 5000 but i'm getting some good results. In fact the Vuescan performs very differently on the flatbed than the Nikon film scanner. Film flatness should be much better with Doug's MF filmholder and additional AN glass inserts - just a pity i have to return to Bangkok (sans scanner) shortly so will be ordering Doug's scanner a few months on when i'm back in the UK.