V750 + Silverfast + BW

[schlops]

I'm wondering if anyone is using the same combination and could share his settings and workflow? At which height did you set up your filmholder?

I'm happy with the scan I do for the internet, but not for prints. I'm using glass holders but I'm not to happy with the sharpness (compared to a traditional darkroom print)


Cheers,

Alex

 

[schlops]

Any help would be appreciated.

thinking of a switch to VueScan if you guys would rate it over Silverfast

 

[Ronald M]

Software is not the problem. Consumer grade scanner is. Unfortunately the reasonably priced medium priced scanners are no longer made, ie Nikon , Minolta 5400 series.

Other peoples settings are of no value because it is a custom adjustment. First get the film flat. then adjust the height to get the sharpest possible point. I would put one end at zero and the other at max. Then scan the whole strip to find the sharpest area . Say you went from zero to 6 and the middle was best which was 3 in theory. Then repeat 2 at one end and 4 at he other to fine tune..

All digital files need to be sharpened and you now have a digital file. That is what Nik sharpener pro is for or Photoshop. Do a base sharpening, then burn/dodge, adjust contrast, reduce to final size and resolution, then do final sharpening.

Use the scanner software to produce a correctly exposed file. All else needs to be done in a program made for that.

You will need to learn and apply all techniques digital photographers use specially sharpening. Those settings are specific to subject, print size, and resolution, and paper type.

If you do everything correctly, you should be able to make 8x10 as good as an optical print. Some place around 11x17, you will need a better scanner.

A good scan will find things that you never saw in an optical print. Be prepared to retouch.



Glossy ink jet papers are sharper. Lazer printers like Durst Lambda like around 240 ppi.

Search the internet for tutorials on sharpening. It is much to complicated to explain fully here.

http://www.ronbigelow.com/index-2.htm

is a very good site

 

[schlops]

thank you Ronald!!

 

[judsonzhao]

Flatness matters the most for sharpness.
I used to have the same set. I don't find the bundled SF has any advantages, it's not the Ai version, for colors it only scans 8bit, forget the BW though.
Glass is not the final solution, even you use glass, the film is not completely stick to it. You can try to tap the film onto the glass.

For height adjustment, you really need to do the experiment for yourself, cuz it's copy-dependent. Or you can try get the 3rd party which can continuously adjust the height other the the fixed 3-position feet of the OEM holder.

 

[philosli]

I use the combination and do my post processing in LR. Silverfast 8 is pretty good. I think the latest patch has fixed many bugs in the earlier minor revisions.

My bundled SF is Ai, but not Ai Studio. It can do 16-bit BW and 48-bit color. What it cannot do (w.r.t. Ai Studio) is multi-scanning and it has 3 instead of 4 neutral point selections (for white balance). But that's mainly for slides & color films. For BW Ai is fairly capable.

I usually do linear scan (Negafix setting is <other> <other> <linear>, i.e., minimum/no tonal adjustments) and adjust contrast in LR. I found this approach gives more flexibility. In this regard, if you adopt the same approach, I think the scanning software does not matter much as long as it can output 16-bit BW tiff.