JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
someone asked me not too long ago if it's possible to do multi-pass scanning with a Nikon Coolscan V using VueScan software.. at the time I didn't think so, but I've gotten more into the program and apparently the answer is yes.. it's possible to do up to SIXTEEN passes on a single scan
bmattock
Veteran
I've tried multiple passes on my SD IV with Vuescan - never saw any difference in scan quality with multiple scans, I'm sorry to say. You?
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
I haven't played with it enough to say for sure.. I've done a few 2-pass scans on my few good shots.. they certainly turned out nice.. but I didn't do a single-pass scan of the same image to compare
but I can say for sure that the scanning takes a helluva lot longer .. I can't imagine how long a 16 pass scan would take
but I can say for sure that the scanning takes a helluva lot longer .. I can't imagine how long a 16 pass scan would take
treehouse
Newbie
JoeFriday and Bill,
It does take longer - the primary benefit being in shadow details for high resolution scans. Another use for it, that I've stumbled on, is helping to pull detail out of 25 year old color negatives that have suffered fading.
For very dark areas, where you want to pull detail out of, the addtional setting of "long exposure pass" really can help. Black cats, deep shadows with important details, night skies. On my Dimage Scan Dual, add 10 minutes or more for the long pass (depending on crop area).
Regards,
treehouse
It does take longer - the primary benefit being in shadow details for high resolution scans. Another use for it, that I've stumbled on, is helping to pull detail out of 25 year old color negatives that have suffered fading.
For very dark areas, where you want to pull detail out of, the addtional setting of "long exposure pass" really can help. Black cats, deep shadows with important details, night skies. On my Dimage Scan Dual, add 10 minutes or more for the long pass (depending on crop area).
Regards,
treehouse
bmattock
Veteran
Thanks, I'll have to give it a try!
JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
treehouse, you're definitely right about the 'long exposure pass' setting.. I've used that on a few of my scans with great improvement
peter_n
Veteran
Very interesting. Thanks for the tip. I just bought Vuescan for my KM SD IV and I expected it to be impossible to use but it's not that bad.treehouse said:
egpj
50 Summilux is da DEVIL!
I use both the "Number of Samples" function and the "Long Exposure Pass" for all my scans. Usually I select 8 samples and Long Exposure Pass. It really does not take all that long. I think it is relative to the speed of your computer and the type USB connection.... maybe not the connection not sure about that.
bmattock
Veteran
I have used the 'multiple pass' option in the past, but had not combined it with 'long exposure pass'. What I ended up with was a TIF file of the exact same size as my one-pass scan - and using my handy Linux tools, I was able to 'diff' the files and see they were bit-for-bit identical - so no point to wasting all that time. However, if 'long exposure pass' makes a difference, I shall try it again. Thanks!
schmoozit
Schmoozit good...
I don't recommend long pass or multiple pass scanning, unless you can verify that your scanner is high-quality enough not to soften up your images with those settings. On my Canon FS4000US, I don't even use the dust removal setting, as there is, for me, too much softening of the image. I have a workflow in PS that isn't too long and difficult to deal with dust, and if need be, I save the scan with a 64 bit RGBI (I = infrared), so that there is an extra pass and an extra layer to the image (larger file size of course), but Vuescan doesn't actually remove or alter anything; it just tells me where the dust is. I then go to the infrared channel in PS and select the dust (usually needs a curve adjustment first to completely isolate it), and apply the removal in one of many way. I haven't quite refined and settled on a "best" or preferred method for the removal.
Anyway, I like doing straight one pass scans because they give you a much sharper file from the beginning. I hate trashing any more of the image than I have to. Of course, since I shoot Velvia, I have no choice but to deal with the shadows, which would usually dictate multiple pass scans. They do give you more detail in the shadows, and, as importantly if not more, significantly reduce noise. I simply found that I cannot deal with the softening, however, so I found a much better way. I said "better", mind you, not more convenient; it's not!
I do two completely different scans. One is for highlights, the other is for shadows. They are both one pass, however. The shadow scan is done by increasing the RGB Exposure to, say, 3 or 4. That effectively gives you a very long exposure pass, completely blows out highlights (and often a good deal of higher mid-tones), but brings out detail from the shadows that make me freakin' jump for joy! It's flat-out amazing!
Then, opening them in PS, I combine them to make a very nice, rich, virtually noiseless image, that is much sharper because I didn't use any multiple pass settings. I'll have to write down my workflow so that people can at least use it as a reference point. Until then, you can find basically what I do HERE!
Sorry! I'm too tired to write out much more for now.
Anyway, I like doing straight one pass scans because they give you a much sharper file from the beginning. I hate trashing any more of the image than I have to. Of course, since I shoot Velvia, I have no choice but to deal with the shadows, which would usually dictate multiple pass scans. They do give you more detail in the shadows, and, as importantly if not more, significantly reduce noise. I simply found that I cannot deal with the softening, however, so I found a much better way. I said "better", mind you, not more convenient; it's not!
I do two completely different scans. One is for highlights, the other is for shadows. They are both one pass, however. The shadow scan is done by increasing the RGB Exposure to, say, 3 or 4. That effectively gives you a very long exposure pass, completely blows out highlights (and often a good deal of higher mid-tones), but brings out detail from the shadows that make me freakin' jump for joy! It's flat-out amazing!
Then, opening them in PS, I combine them to make a very nice, rich, virtually noiseless image, that is much sharper because I didn't use any multiple pass settings. I'll have to write down my workflow so that people can at least use it as a reference point. Until then, you can find basically what I do HERE!
Sorry! I'm too tired to write out much more for now.
kaiyen
local man of mystery
schmoozit,
When you say you're softening your scan with multipass...are you scanning mounted or unmounted slides?
I am doing some comparison testing with some black and white negatives with 1, 3, and 8 passes, with no, light, and medium grain reduction. While I"m definitely losing sharpness with the grain reduction, I am not noticing any sharpness decrease with the multipass. I do notice sharpness issues when doing multipass on mounted slides, however.
allan
When you say you're softening your scan with multipass...are you scanning mounted or unmounted slides?
I am doing some comparison testing with some black and white negatives with 1, 3, and 8 passes, with no, light, and medium grain reduction. While I"m definitely losing sharpness with the grain reduction, I am not noticing any sharpness decrease with the multipass. I do notice sharpness issues when doing multipass on mounted slides, however.
allan
schmoozit
Schmoozit good...
You know, that may be the problem. I assumed that it was the actual carrier that wasn't lining up properly. Hmm... more fun ahead in the scan quality wars! Thanks for the nudge, Kaiyen.