Scanning B&W on Vuescan

[taffy]

Hi I'm new to scanning BW negatives with Vuescan. I do my post processing in LR and the NIK suite.

What settings should I apply and do I need for Vuescan to create a RAW file? It seems to create the file in the reverse--is this usable?

I just need to get to a basic file that I can start post processing.

Thanks a lot!

 

[sleepyhead]

I have never bothered with Vuescan's RAW feature, although there are others who like it.

I just adjust the shadow and highlight (left and right) sliders on the histogram view to make sure that I'm not clipping data that's there in the negative to be captured. The resultign scan is flat looking and boring, but it contains all the data, and with an appropriate curves adjustment and some selective dodging and burning, the results have nice tonality.

You can see the B&W examples in my Filckr photostream - none of those were scanned prints - all scans from Vuescan.

Good luck, and remember, like anything, scanning has a learning curve.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I wouldn't bother with the RAW file for black and white. It gives no advantages in film scanning black and white (for color, you can change white balance, which is nice). Here's what I do. Scan using the black and white negative setting in the INPUT TAB.

Here's the settings for each tab:

INPUT:

-Black and white neg.
-16 bit gray (vitally important. don't even consider scanning as 8 bit).
-Preview resolution: auto.
-Scan Resolution: Whatever your scanner's highest is. My Nikon does 4000dpi. Don't scan lower thinking you'll make smaller prints. You'll regret this deeply when you decide to make a larger print and have to rescan and redo ALL your post-processing.
-Auto Focus: Always (if you scanner offers this...flatbeds don't usually)
-If you use a Nikon scanner use FINE MODE. Don't bother with multisampling, it does nothing for BW negs. Use it for slides.

Filter Tab:
None for all filters.

Color Tab:
-Set white point and black point both at 0% to avoid clipping of highlights and shadows
-leave curves and brightness settings at default
-Output colorspace: Gray
-Leave the other settings at default

Output tab:
-Printed size: Scan Size
-Tiff File (not raw or Jpeg!)
-Tiff compression: None
-Tiff File Type: 16 bit Gray


Your scans will be flat. This is NORMAL for neg scans. Add contrast and adjust tonality in LR or photoshop or whatever. You want the flat scan to make sure the whole tone range is captured in the scan without clipping.

Scan without editing...right from scanner

Edited version

Right from scanner

Edited.

 

[ped]

Useful, Chris. Thanks. I'm really happy with the Plustek 7600i and have had success with Vuescan but I see I can get more from it using your steps.

Cheers
ped

 

[Tim Gray]

Here's what I do, more or less:
http://125px.com/articles/photography/digital/vuescan/

Once you get the scan, bring it in to photoshop and adjust using curves.

 

[Bob Michaels]

My workflow using a Minolta MultiPro is the same as Chris Crawford's with one exception. Been doing it this way for about 8-9 years now.

I always use the "scan from preview" function. This speeds things up quite a bit as it does not re-scan but takes the data from the preview scan and applies the software corrections then saves the file. No need to repeat the actual scan process.

I tend to be practical and logical, always seeking the simplest and quickest way to achieve optimum results.

 

[Mcary]

Chris,

Thanks!!!
I've just purchased/ordered a COOLSCAN V ED from KEH and the information you've provided will be extremely useful and helpful when it gets here next week.

Mike

 

[ped]

My workflow using a Minolta MultiPro is the same as Chris Crawford's with one exception. Been doing it this way for about 8-9 years now.

I always use the "scan from preview" function. This speeds things up quite a bit as it does not re-scan but takes the data from the preview scan and applies the software corrections then saves the file. No need to repeat the actual scan process.

I tend to be practical and logical, always seeking the simplest and quickest way to achieve optimum results.

Does this mean your preview scan has to be at full res? I normally like to have the preview scan at low res, enough for me to check the image, and do a full scan on ones I really like.

 

[Tim Gray]

I used to preview images at 1333 dpi on my coolscan, and if they were just ok and something I wanted for the web, I'd save the preview. It's enough for a 4x6 print at 300 dpi. I'd only scan my keepers at 4000 dpi.

I still do this, but I switched it around a bit. I preview a really low dpi like 500 so it's fast, letting the scanner focus and letting me check the crop, then I scan at 2000 dpi for most pictures and 4000 for the keepers. I could probably do without preview step but it's useful for slides where the scanner needs to set exposure.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Does this mean your preview scan has to be at full res? I normally like to have the preview scan at low res, enough for me to check the image, and do a full scan on ones I really like.

When the scanner scans (the part that passes light through the film and reads it on the sensor) it can only do it one way, full tilt. It is the scanner software using the CPU that downsizes the data and processes the lower resolution for the "preview". When you "scan from preview" in Vuescan, it takes that original data from the original pass, before resizing, applies the necessary software corrections and saves the file.

Notice if you check the box "scan from preview" in Vuescan that the box you use to select preview resolution disappears. But it seems to do the preview just as fast.

It is very helpful to understand how your scanner actually works, what part is done in the scanner (very little) and all the parts that are really software based functions carried out in the CPU, not the scanner. I have said this about every 2-3 months for many years, yet people continue to believe all those adjustments have something to do with the original digitization of the film. Really they are just a first pass at post processing.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Does this mean your preview scan has to be at full res? I normally like to have the preview scan at low res, enough for me to check the image, and do a full scan on ones I really like.

No, that's why you set the preview resolution setting to AUTO. The software does the preview at a resolution that looks good on screen so you can crop the scan, then does the final scan at the full resolution if you set the Scan Resolution to whatever your scanner's highest is. Doing a preview scan to look good on screen makes it faster than doing a full res preview.

 

[taffy]

This is really helpful! Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll try out the tips here and post some sample scans!

 

[ped]

Thanks for the info, I have just had my Leica back from it's service so I'll finish the roll and mess about tomorrow

Cheers

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I've completely redone my scanning info page to show the info I gave in this thread and to include screenshots of everything, step by step. Check it out

http://chriscrawfordphoto.com/technical/scanning.php

 

[jon.oman]

I wouldn't bother with the RAW file for black and white. It gives no advantages in film scanning black and white (for color, you can change white balance, which is nice). Here's what I do. Scan using the black and white negative setting in the INPUT TAB.

Here's the settings for each tab:

INPUT:

-Black and white neg.
-16 bit gray (vitally important. don't even consider scanning as 8 bit).
-Preview resolution: auto.
-Scan Resolution: Whatever your scanner's highest is. My Nikon does 4000dpi. Don't scan lower thinking you'll make smaller prints. You'll regret this deeply when you decide to make a larger print and have to rescan and redo ALL your post-processing.
-Auto Focus: Always (if you scanner offers this...flatbeds don't usually)
-If you use a Nikon scanner use FINE MODE. Don't bother with multisampling, it does nothing for BW negs. Use it for slides.

Filter Tab:
None for all filters.

Color Tab:
-Set white point and black point both at 0% to avoid clipping of highlights and shadows
-leave curves and brightness settings at default
-Output colorspace: Gray
-Leave the other settings at default

Output tab:
-Printed size: Scan Size
-Tiff File (not raw or Jpeg!)
-Tiff compression: None
-Tiff File Type: 16 bit Gray


Your scans will be flat. This is NORMAL for neg scans. Add contrast and adjust tonality in LR or photoshop or whatever. You want the flat scan to make sure the whole tone range is captured in the scan without clipping.

Scan without editing...right from scanner

Edited version

Right from scanner

Edited.

Thanks for the great information!

Jon

 

[ped]

Hm. Thing is, sometimes when I want to do things easily I can scan to JPEG and use the curve in Vuescan to get a good looking image like the ones you post after exporting to PS or LR.

I know it's probably technically better to do it your way but I quite like doing it all in Vuescan if I can, sometimes

ped

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Hm. Thing is, sometimes when I want to do things easily I can scan to JPEG and use the curve in Vuescan to get a good looking image like the ones you post after exporting to PS or LR.

I know it's probably technically better to do it your way but I quite like doing it all in Vuescan if I can, sometimes

ped

Problem is, the curves functions in viewscan are EXTREMELY limited. If you want to do that, you're far better off using the software from the scanner manufacturer, if possible. Nikon Scan, for example, has a good usable curves adjustment that works well. Scanning is time consuming no matter what. Not doing it right to save a minute or two is not the best investment of your time and the money spent on the scanner. The quality will be EXTREMELY poor in a jpeg right out of viewscan.

 

[ped]

This was all in Vuescan and exported as Jpeg.

I've been experimenting with your steps this afternoon and have definitely seen how I can improve my scans, though. Thanks.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This was all in Vuescan and exported as Jpeg.

I've been experimenting with your steps this afternoon and have definitely seen how I can improve my scans, though. Thanks.

That looks really nice, i have never gotten good enough results trying to adjust the contrast in Viewscan. The controls are just too primitive for me when I have Photoshop, and I still like to keep it at 16bit because printers are likely to be able to print a 16bit file at its full number of tones soon.