Sharpness Issues

[Maxapple88]

I just started out with film again and although I will be going into the darkroom aswell I am currently scanning my negatives. The thing is just that I'm very unhappy with my scanned results and I don't know whether I'm having problems with my scanner, developing or camera.

The sharpness is ridiculous in these, and I'm not seeming to get any better results:

Currently I'm using a Leica M4-P with a 50mm Summicron, the shot is Tri-X developed in RHS and it was scanned using a Epson Perfection 1200 Photo.

Where is my problem?

 

[Bryce]

We'll need more details, really. You're scanning film, not a print I assume?
What don't you like?
I see: Lack of contrast. You'll just have to get that via photoshop or similar. The scanner has to be designed to deal with a range of contrast or it couldn't handle slides...
Lack of sharpness. Scanners invariably need unsharp masking to get close to dong the film justice. Just how it is, unfortunately.
Banding: Something wrong with either the scanner or your shutter. Repairs required.
Best results I've seen for digitized B+W's come from a scanned print. There are a lot of opinions out there, read and experiment and form your own!

 

[40oz]

my opinion? It's not bad. I rarely use scans for printing or internet sharing, and I use a dedicated film scanner. But in general, I prefer my scans need minimal contrast adjustment and don't bother with sharpening.

Two minutes in photoshop made this (I hope that's OK):

I simply used auto-contrast and then unsharp mask (amount:50, radius:1, threshold:0). I'm no expert with unsharp mask, so used whatever it was at the last time I played with it. As I said, it was a quickie job. Not a real drastic difference, so I don't think you have any real problems with your scanning.

Anyway, ignoring the scanner artifacts (banding), it's not bad to my eyes. Could it be sharper? Probably, but I haven't seen the negative or a wet print. I would guess from the general look that the original is sharper, but that's just a guess.

I would say that if you have a flatbed, experiment with scanning prints and negatives to see what gives the best results. My film scanner leaves bands when it gets hot - typically after 20 or so frames, depending on ambient temps. But it's an inexpensive HP Photosmart S20 (that I wouldn't trade for anything, personally). I let mine determine the ideal setings, but all scanners and control software are different.

FWIW, I use my scanner just for a form of contact print and organization. I wet print the shots I like. I have the ability to browse my negatives on my PC, and find the frames I want by referencing the folder (titled by date) and looking the negative up in my three ring binders, organized by scan date. I label the negative holder page with shooting date, scan date, film, any push, camera, and any other relevant data.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I agree with the other guys about increasing contrast. Film scanners are designed to scan transparencies, which have much higher density ranges than negatives. When I scan a black and white or color negative on my Nikon LS-8000ED I have to increase constrast considerably. Your scan you showed wasn't as bad, contrast wise, as mine are before I Photoshop them so Epson's software likely adds some automatically to neg scans. Your lack of sharpness is simply a result of using a scanner that hasn't got sharp enough optics to resolve the full detail of the film. The Epsons use a simple fixed focus lens, while true film scanners like my Nikon use a more complex lens with ED glass and automatic focus that focuses on the film grain, like you'd do in the darkroom with a grain focuser to focus your enlarger. Look at my website, virtually everything there was scanned from film on the Nikon scanner and it resolves the grain of the film so I know I am getting every bit of detail.

I just added this shot, taken on Tmax 3200, to my website today. See how sharp it is in the cat's whiskers? and you can see a hint of the film grain even in this small low-res web picture.

Shot with an Olympus OM-4T, Zuiko 50mm f1.8, Tmax 3200 at EI 1600 developed in Tmax Developer and scanned on a Nikon LS-8000ED using the glass negative carrier.