Film Scanner Ideas

[JohnL]

I also have a Minolta Dual Scan IV and on the whole it does a good job. My negatives are all old, as I'm now 100% digital, but mostly they are reasonably free of scratches. There are some very old ones that have fungus on them, and these would probably be awful even with digital ICE. In these cases I'm working on them in PS (or other editor), but only a few of those I really want to restore, because of the work involved.

 

[michael]

What does YMMV mean?

 

[bmattock]

I also have a Minolta Dual Scan IV and on the whole it does a good job. My negatives are all old, as I'm now 100% digital, but mostly they are reasonably free of scratches. There are some very old ones that have fungus on them, and these would probably be awful even with digital ICE. In these cases I'm working on them in PS (or other editor), but only a few of those I really want to restore, because of the work involved.

With reference to the fungus on your older negatives, would a wash and rinse in a fungicidal solution help them? I have no experience with this, but it seems that you could do something like that, assuming the emulsion itself is not eaten away...

I've re-washed older B&W negs that I had improperly rinsed years ago, and that seemed to work out pretty well. I even rescued some that were stuck together (stored outside of sleeves, I'm such a sicko) and got them to the point where I could at least scan them...

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[back alley]

ymmv = your mileage may vary

 

[JohnL]

With reference to the fungus on your older negatives, would a wash and rinse in a fungicidal solution help them?
<snip>

Thanks for the suggestion, but maybe I forgot to mention it, but the ones with fungus on are mounted slides. I think the trouble and risk of unmounting them, then trying to wash them one by one, would be rather a tall order. Unless anyone knows of a technique for doing this efficiently?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Just Googled. Trying to figure out how you guys were using In-Circuit Emulators for Dust and Scratch Removal... WOW, that is some fancy Programming...

Image Correction and Enhancement! Oh! Nevermind...

 

[Doug]

I believe the phrase "Your mileage may vary" derives from the window sticker on unsold new cars. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requires a disclosure of the fuel mileage rating of the vehicle according to EPA-designated tests.

So the sticker may say Fuel Mileage of this Vehicle: 25mpg Highway / 21mpg City, then adding (Your Mileage May Vary) as a disclaimer that the rating is not guaranteed to be the mileage the customer will experience.

So this is one of those interesting things that has entered the culture, meaning simply that "this is what I experienced, but you may have a different experience."

I just post this mainly for the benefit of those not immersed in the American culture! 🙂

 

[DougK]

I have an Epson Perfection 2580 Photo which is definitely not high-end but I think will be sufficient for my needs... if I can figure out how to get decent scans from negatives. I'm wondering if my limitation is the scanner software. What is this Vuescan that folks have mentioned? Does it come in a Mac flavor?

Doug K.

 

[Doug]

What is this Vuescan that folks have mentioned? Does it come in a Mac flavor?

Hi Doug -- Sure does! Here's a link to the developer's site: http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html

 

[Designer]

I do also think that both Vuescan & Silverfast always perform better than those software coming w/. the scanners.

 

[Honu-Hugger]

Microtek?

Microtek?

Friends have recommended either the Microtek Artixscan 120 or 4000 (I am probably more interested in the 120 as it does both 35mm and 120). I have not seen this brand mentioned in this discussion; has anyone on the list had any experience with these scanners? Thanks!

D2

 

[Doug]

I believe the 120 Microtek is the same unit that Polaroid markets. Supposed to be pretty good.

Here's a great resource for learning about film scanners with extensive reviews and examples: http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN1.HTM

 

[rover]

Polaroid is no longer selling film scanners, but their models were made by Microtek. I learned this today at the Photo Expo in NYC in a converstation with the folks from Polaroid. The Microteck 120 is a BIG machine. I was actually surprised at how much larger this model and the Nikon 9000 are compared to 35mm only film scanners.

 

[DougK]

Thanks for the link to Vuescan, Doug! That just might fill the bill.

Doug K.

 

[Pherdinand]

I guess the microtek120 and the 120TFT are different models. Can't find any reference to the 120; discontinued? The tft sells for 1500$...that's way over the limit for me🙁

 

[Honu-Hugger]

I guess the microtek120 and the 120TFT are different models. Can't find any reference to the 120; discontinued? The tft sells for 1500$...that's way over the limit for me🙁

My error -- I think they mentioned the "TFT" suffix, I forgot to include that. Yes, the price is a little scary. 120 and 35mm would be a nice feature, though.

D2

 

[Jeroen]

I have just ordered an Epson 3170 for 200 euros, postage included. I guess it will be around on tuesday or wednesday. I'm not going to post any clips of its resolution, but it's definitely time to start posting pics. I'm curious!

 

[Nikon Bob]

Huck

Sorry to be late on this thread but I use a Minolta 5400 and am well satisfied with it. At max rez with ICE on etc it can take upwards of 10 minutes to do a neg scan. The scan quality can be seen in my gallery. Remember that these have been drastically resized down, converted to JPEG and compressed to about 70 KB . ICE is very handy the way 1hr photo labs handle negs and can save a lot of time retouching in photo shop. Nikon scanners are supposedly faster but I have not used one. Hope this helps.

Bob

 

[Jeroen]

Well, so I bought an Epson 3170. I must say, I'm quite impressed by it. It's solid and makes good scans - that need some USM and ofcourse the stamp tool (no ICE). Good buy!

 

[peter_n]

I too am about to get a scanner (my first!) and I'm leaning to the Minolta Scan Dual IV. A lot of people like it (including some here) and it seems to have the best reputation for a low-end scanner. It retails for about half the price of the next step up in resolution.

It doesn't come with ICE but that doesn't bother me as I'll only be scanning B&W. I'll give the Minolta software a whirl based on what Michael said above...