scanning lots of film

I just got myself an LS4000ED a couple of weeks ago, did the small modification (as dfoo mentioned) to scan complete rolls (nearly DUSTFREE !!) and I works like charm. Before that I used the V700 and really liked the results. But ... it took me a while to see it (or get Vscan set up correct) and the results of the LS4000ED are visibly better compared to the V700, especially for fine-grained BW film.

I have to add that I also used a Coolscan V ED before the V700 was annoyed that it can scan only up to 6 frames in one batch and sold it.
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Really? I remember those samples you showed in which the V700 was basically the same as the Coolscan V - does it depend a lot on film type or something?
 
historicist said:
Really? I remember those samples you showed in which the V700 was basically the same as the Coolscan V - does it depend a lot on film type or something?
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I was in doubt, too. (... and defeat the V700 for the quality of the results a lot 😉) The differences - judging from the 20 rolls or so I have scanned with the LS4000ED - are mostly visible with fine-grain films like ACROS100, Ilford Pan F plus, and Velvia 50. The Epson V700 has one advantage over the LS4000ED, true 16 bit A/D, while the LS4000ED delivers only 14 bit A/D (this is from understanding of the spec sheets), so colors should turn out a little bit more detailed with the Epson.

Another factor is the scan-software, used. The Epson software delivers already very good results without much tweaking, whereas Vuescan (I don't use Nikon Scan software because of the menue / GUI) needs much more tweaking. Also, when I used the Coolscan V ED two years ago, my version of Vuescan was older than the actual version. There might be some improvements in the software.

I am planning to scan one or two ACROS100 frames (developed in Rodinal 1:50) with both scanners (V700 and LS4000ED), sharpening OFF, levels adjusted via white, black, and grey points, and scanned at 4800dpi and 4000dpi, respectively. I will then upload the files in original size to my pBase account and provide a link here.

One more thing I should mention, my Epson V700 has been in use now for nearly two years and when I did compare it to the Nikon V ED it was brand new. It might be that the mechanics starts to wear out (plastic parts holding the scan-unit) and this will reduce the optical performance. (judging from my experiences at lab with different kind of spectrometers, where the slightest mis-alignment / mechanical vibrations cause a huge loss of spectral details and increases noise significantly)
 
I get sharper, grainier results with a 400 speed black and white film with the 5000 ED than the v700. The v700 gives much smoother results (as it is not grain sharp, unlike the 5000). The actual result when printing, however, is very similar. With a fine grained film, the 5000 is clearly superior.

I find vuescan excellent with the 5000, but you have to learn how to use it.
 
dfoo said:
I get sharper, grainier results with a 400 speed black and white film with the 5000 ED than the v700. The v700 gives much smoother results (as it is not grain sharp, unlike the 5000). The actual result when printing, however, is very similar. With a fine grained film, the 5000 is clearly superior.

I find vuescan excellent with the 5000, but you have to learn how to use it.
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Exactly my results using VueScan with my Minolta DS 5400. "If you know what to look for, you'll find it there."


- Barrett
 
^^ Similar experience here with the LS4000ED. The grain is more visible and the grain structure is slightly better resolved when scanning with the Coolscan compared to the V700. I haven't printed scans made with the LS4000ED, yet. As a guess, I expect prints made from scans with my LS4000ED to look closer to wet-prints (regarding visibility of grain).
 
I have used both but have only owned flatbeds due to their versatility so I also vote for the V700 as I can scan my 35mm, MF, and 4x5 film. Slides or even larger sheet film plus if you want to do scanograms or other creative things the lid is seriously expandable.

I haven't checked prices but the dedicated scanners are much more expensive right? The 35mm roll film adapter sounds really cool, but I would still need a flatbed for other film formats...

Are you interested in other film formats? Flexibility beyond 35mm may be a key factor.
 
I have both the v700 and 5000, since I do medium format and 35mm (mostly 35mm these days). There were several 4000's on this site in the classifieds running around $400 USD, which was less than I payed for my new v700.
 
About that tutorial for the LS5000ED + Vuescan have a look here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ishootfilm/discuss/72157608204093047/?search=Vuescan+locking+exposure

I basically use the same workflow, but lock changed to lock exposure and the entire frame after preview, preview again, adjust curves and scan batch. BW film scans best as color negative film and set to 16 bit grey in the input menue.

As I have mentioned earlier in this thread, I have rescanned one frame of Fuji Acros100 (developed in Rodinal 1:50) with both, the Epson V700 (GT-X900 in Japan) and the Nikon Coolscan 4000ED. Lens was the 90mm Summicron-M with BW UVa filter and exposure f/5.6 - f/8 shutter ~1/250s.

The scans in the following links were both scanned with Vscan, all sharpening OFF and levels set to 0.25 and 0.75. RGB exposure was ~ 3.4 for the Epson and ~2.1 for the Nikon. The scanned files were saved as JPG files with 100% quality.

Coolscan 4000ED with one pass / 4000dpi:

http://www.pbase.com/gsamj/image/112572792

with 16 pass / 4000 dpi:

http://www.pbase.com/gsamj/image/112572793

Epson V700 using 4800dpi / one pass:

http://www.pbase.com/gsamj/image/112572794

using 6400dpi / one pass:

http://www.pbase.com/gsamj/image/112572796

If you follow the link just select "original" under the photo. The files are ~ 11MB large !

Cheers,

Gabor
 
Count me as part of the Coolscan 5000 + wire mod club. I want to make some sort of makeshift adapter for the film to load onto in the rear, hehe.
 
maddoc said:
About that tutorial for the LS5000ED + Vuescan have a look here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ishootfilm/discuss/72157608204093047/?search=Vuescan+locking+exposure

I basically use the same workflow, but lock changed to lock exposure and the entire frame after preview, preview again, adjust curves and scan batch. BW film scans best as color negative film and set to 16 bit grey in the input menue.
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I used the same tutorial you mentioned. I find that it clips off my black 🙁 It gives good detail in the highlights though.
 
I should start a new thread for this. but maybe somebody who knows my needs can tell me about cheaper scanners with bulk feed?
it's only for web resolution so I'm not very demanding.
 
dfoo said:
If you clipping black then you are not selecting the film base correctly when setting the film base color.
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I followed the tutorial to the word and I do notice that black clipping part. Let me show you two examples. Please let me know your opinion -

1. Nikon Scan - auto exposure -

3381795080_20d9b83f44.jpg


Vuescan - from tutorial -

3381786740_aa878d952b.jpg


If you look at the window on the top right side, you can see details of the grills in the Nikon Scan as opposed to the Vuescan. though the Vuescan retains details in the white bucket near the woman's feet.
 
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