lva wrote: > > >I was thinking of upgrading my scanner, and was > > >hoping to get a unit that might be capable of > > >scanning 4x5 (b&w) negatives. Does such a thing exist? > > >Are other people here scanning negatives to > > >create positive "prints" for web pages? > > There is not really a difference between scanning a b/w neg or a b/w pos > as they are not masked. You can just scan them positive and invert them > in Photoshop. > > Greetings > > Brahma >
This is mostly correct, but not quite. Scanning a b/w negative in a scanner designed for reflective scanning only will not produce as good a scan as using a scanner designed for scanning transparencies. The problen is that in a reflective scanner, the scanner "sees" the scanner pressure plate through the clear areas of the negative. Because these pressure plates are never a "perfect" white, the contrast of the negative scan is reduced. The contrast can be adjusted after the scan, but this will not restore the dynamic range of the original. This is why transparency scanner that passes light through the negative will produce a much better scan than a reflective scanner. Mike Vande Bunt
