Plustek 7x/8x & SliverFast 8 - How much pp after scan?

[mszargar]

Hi all!

I am evaluating the option of buying a new scanner (no Nikon / Minolta) to scan film. For the time being I shoot strictly 35mm and I don't want to allocate as much as 2000 bucks for an OpticFilm 120. I tried a Canoscan 9000f last week, and also have access to an EPSON v600. None of them gives me acceptable results (Have used ScanGear, Epson Scan, VueScan and SilverFast). I am particularly bothered by color inaccuracy, non-fixable color casts, poor tonal separation, and softness combined with high CCD noise. Nonetheless, I found SilverFast Ai a very capable piece of software. So, I am looking into Plustek's 8200i.

I just want to hear from the owners of 7x/8x Plusteks about their experience with this line of product. How much post processing do you need to put into your photos after the scan for them to look right? Do you get to produce more or less accurate colors right out of SilverFast, or you have given up on color (esp. negatives - Ektar, Fuji ProPlus II, Portra, etc...) and do only b&w?

I am not planning to bulk scan thousands of rolls of films, but I just want to be able to make decent scans of those shots I really like for web sharing and print. I can use V600/Noritsu Labscan/Lightbox to preview the the shots.

I count on your constructive comments, and I thank you in advance for your feedback. Unadulterated scan samples are very much appreciated, specially in color (I am sure Plusteks do great on b&w). My objective is to determine whether I can achieve good results with this gear without spending all my free time tweaking the outputs - I am aware of the learning curve involved.

 

[mszargar]

Well, in answer to my own question, there is a very useful thread on scanning using 7x Plusteks: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/153571-plustek-7600i-se-very-good-money.html

 

[Rogier]

Just be prepared to buy a new full version of Silverfast every time you upgrade your Operating system..

 

[J. Borger]

i only shoot B&W. I scan the negatives in SF as positives with all scanneroptions set to off. No setting of white and black point eather.
In photoshop i invertbthe negativEs to positives and set the white and black point. After that i add contrastcurves to taste.
Best way to keep the highlights with the scanner and best way to scan B&W with the Plustek and Silverfast imho.

What i realy do not like is the only 8 bit output if Silverfast LE.

 

[Mablo]

I previously had a Coolscan 5000ED but sold it for a good money and replaced it with a Plustek 7400 + Vuescan. My scans with Plustek are at least as good as with my previous Nikon scanner.

I know many people don't believe me when I say this but usually they are the same people who seem to believe that a red spot on your camera somehow magically makes your photos look better.

I also have a Canon 8800f (practically the same device as the 9000f) flatbed scanner but it's almost hopeless with 35mm film. For medium format negatives it's alright after I replaced the original negholders with a betterscanning holder + ANR glass.

My PS process is just a few clicks 'Levels' being the most important tool for me. I set the black and white point with levels tool and usually I don't bother with 'Curves' tool after that. I might use some 'dodging' or burning' in PS and maybe a bit of sharpening. With color negs I sometimes use 'Auto color' if my scans look blueish.

 

[V-12]

My objective is to determine whether I can achieve good results with this gear without spending all my free time tweaking the outputs - I am aware of the learning curve involved.

I think you could spend far more time trying to get a perfect representation of the negative out of any scanner than simply doing two minutes of post processing work in Lightroom or Photoshop. Editing software is far easier to use than chasing perfection for each and every negative you scan. My philosophy is to make sure all the information possible is recorded in the scan, and sort the details out in post processing. And if you think learning post processing is difficult, somebody should tell you that most good software has 'Auto' button's that can more or less do it for you, or at least get you very close. I promise you, it is much quicker than trying to get Silverfast to do what you want.

 

[mszargar]

Just be prepared to buy a new full version of Silverfast every time you upgrade your Operating system..

Totally true. Thumbs down for SF on that... Greedy marketing non-strategy that kills the market gradually.

 

[mszargar]

I think you could spend far more time trying to get a perfect representation of the negative out of any scanner than simply doing two minutes of post processing work...

I am quite able in PP. It is just that I don't want the PP to take over the photography itself. As long as I am dealing with curves and levels and simple color cast corrections I am ok. It's fast and easy. When I finish working on a photo and I see that there is no lever left untouched in Lightroom, including color channels, I conclude there is something wrong with the scanner output.

Lets say for example cs9000f creates opposite color casts in shadow and highlight areas and at the same time is unable to detect and remove the base color of the film (again, tested with all the three possible softwares). You end up manipulating the primary color correction settings, the saturation, hue and brightness of most of color channels and also you do split toning... Yet, the photo still looks unbalanced... That's when I take to role of film to the street corner camera shop and I ask for noritsu minilab scans instead! And that is exactly why I didn't keep the Canon, although I had high hopes for it to be an upgrade path towards MF.

So, since I am more or less reassured of the sharpness of Plustek scans and their B&W capabilities (I have also seen satisfying examples of Provia scans after IT8 calibration), the only question remaining is whether they are capable of producing at least correctable scans from negatives. I am particularly concerned with the rendering of large homogenous surfaces like the sky or the walls that fall victim to noise (brightness noise is ok. color noise is nasty and not really fixable), and also skin tones that are very tedious to correct. Any experience or sample on that?

Thanks again