Trying to evaluate scanned negatives??

[Stradibarrius]

When you scan a negative and have it in a software like photoshop, should the image still look good at 100% crop? If not what is a reasonable expectation to the image to hold up on the computer screen?

 

[Bob Michaels]

I scan but I evaluate negatives to scan using a good 4X loupe on a light table. I know that I can focus and that the lenses I own are sharp so I am strictly looking for impact of the image content. So I only scan 2-3% of what I shoot.

Once I am looking at the image in Photoshop, I have already decided it will be proof printed as it has high potential for selection for exhibit.

Begin to believe you has mastered all those technical details. They are not that hard after all. Then you will not have to worry about what things look like when pixel peeping.

 

[StaaleS]

Depends, I guess. I've certainly scanned shots off high-quality 35mm film taken with high-quality optics that are shockingly sharp at 100% in Lightroom. This with a Nikon V ED scanner. Flatbeds don't do nearly as well as dedicated film scanners of course. I'm not saying it applies to every shot I've taken either 🙂

 

[Chris101]

The only time I look at a scanned negative image at 100% is when I am cloning out dust spots. It usually looks too big then (even on the biggest monitor, I only see a small fraction of the picture.)

I put the the roll of film into a 7x5 PrintFile sheet, and lay the sheet on my flatbed scanner. Then I scan it at 600 dpi. This gives me images that are about 600x900 pixels, about web-sized. Then I can evaluate them on the computer screen and decide what I want to print. If I want to post a picture, and I'm feeling lazy, I use the 'contact scan' for that.