RE: filmscanners: Polaroid Sprintscan 120
Ian's tip about changing the Auto threshold for highlight and shadow did the trick for 48 bit editing in Lasersoft. I'm now much better able to control the values in the blackest blacks and whitest whites. . . . So, other than waiting for Ian to write more tutorials, or just experimenting for countless hours with Lasersoft myself (I've already been there and done that with Photoshop, but at least I can reasonably expect I'll be using Photoshop in one form or another for the next 5 years at least, if not 10 years), how does one go about learning the ins and outs of this program (Lasersoft)? I find the manual to be barely better than useless (and I have spent several hours reading through it). . . For instance, is there a way to zoom into an image in Lasersoft (HDR -- because that's where I'm doing my editing of hi bit images) other than recropping? Everytime I try to zoom, I get a message that says I can't do it because the window is already filled up, so I need to recrop the image to zoom in which is a slow, clunky way of zooming. BTW, the Lasersoft window does not fill all of the real estate on my desktop, but it apparently won't go larger than a certain size. Thanks again, Ian. Ian Lyons responded to my previous post by writing: I followed Ian Lyon's tutorial religiously in calibrating the scanner with Silverfast; is losing the blackest blacks and brightest whites a result of using a 2.2 gamma (as opposed to say 1.8 gamma)? Is there some easy way to retrieve these more extreme values? I can of course increase the contrast in Silverfast HDR or Photoshop 48 bit editing (for example by moving in sliders on the Levels command), but then this has other effects as well. . . . Fortunately, you haven't lost anything; the data in your shadows is all there to be extracted. True clipping is when the data ends in a cliff at level 0 or 255 and nothing exists at either of those points, it's gone forever. Going to gamma 1.8 means the image will be darker and will therefore require more editing to get it to the brightness level you want. You can set SilverFast HDR to clip the end points quite easily - just set the Auto threshold for highlight and shadow to about 7 or 8 % and you'll get what you want. I suggest you don't, but you feel that something's needs to be done then choose 4 or 5% (you'll need some headroom for later). see Page 9 of the HDR tutorial for the screen garab off the dilaog box
RE: filmscanners: Nikon 8000ED
Hey, Lawrence, how are you making out with the SS120? I'm liking mine better and better, now that Ian's giving me a few additional pointers on the SilverFast software. I am a bit concerned about Polaroid's economic problems and support; hopefully they'll sell a bunch of them so someone will continue supporting the scanners . . . The only feature I really am missing is digital ice, . . . how about you? Have you fixed your problems with the scanner? BTW, a few times the Silverfast software has not recognized my scanner, but then I start up Polaroid's software, and then try it with Silverfast's again and it does recognize it. Next time it happens I'm going to contact Silverfast with the details. (I'm working on a Macintosh G4). I've noticed that the scanner accentuates the grain (in Velvia) especially in low density (overexposed) areas of the slides much more than the Tango drum scans I've been getting. What's weird is that I could swear its accentuated more in the medium format than 35 mm slides I've scanned. Maybe it has to do with the development procedure? My lab for medium format may be doing something to increase contrast? . . . From what I've read, Nikon's LED light source would accentuate grain even more than the SS120, so I guess there's no tradeoff there. Howard. -Original Message- From: Lawrence Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 11:54 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: filmscanners: Nikon 8000ED What about the ls-4000? I am waiting for Polaroid (or someone else) to release a 4000+dpi 35 mm slide scanner with ICE^3. Looking at the current prices on the SS4000 ($950 according to CNET) and the $200 rebate currently being offered, I expect something soon.
filmscanners: Polaroid Sprintscan 120
I'm new to this list. I just purchased a Polaroid Sprintscan 120 with the Silverfast software. I have some initial impressions to share and some questions. First, overall the scan quality is, IMHO, excellent and the scanner is very fast. For medium format I am scanning 6 cm x 9 cm slides (mostly Velvia). I am scanning into 48 bit raw files and then exporting to Photoshop. At 4000 dpi, this gives me files of about 660 Megabytes in 10 minutes! If I scan at 1/2 maximum resolution, 2000 dpi, the scan time drops to only 2 minutes or less for 6 cm x 9 cm slides, and I get an excellent 160 MB 48 bit file, which is 80 MB after reduced to 24 bit color. Sharpness on the scans is excellent. 35 mm scans are also very nice; 4000 dpi in 48 bit mode in about 2 minutes. Here are my questions/problems with the scanner that maybe someone can help me with: 1. Did I make a mistake spending $300 extra for the Silverfast software? The main reason I purchased the software was for the color calibration module and IT8 slide, and because I'd heard so many great things about Silverfast. However, I find that, while the color calibration is very good, it has some shortcomings, depending on the particular slide, with the yellows and magentas; sometimes the yellows are overemphasized and the magentas underemphasized, or vice versa, as compared to the original viewed on a light table (BTW for those who have never worked with a custom ICC profile for a scanner before, these shortcomings are quite minor, nothing compared to color shifts you see without a custom-profiled scanner, but I'm a perfectionist when it comes to color; fyi, I have a fully calibrated workflow on a Mac G4 using Optical and a DTP92 to calibrate my monitor, so the problem is not elsewhere in my workflow). I am making raw 48 bit scans and gamma correcting them for a 2.2 gamma in the Silverfast software, and then exporting them to Photoshop 6 (depending on the image I am doing the 48 bit editing in either Photoshop or Silverfast HDR). Another problem I am noticing with my raw, profiled scans is that the blackest blacks and whitest whites are clipped in the raw 48 bit, profile-corrected, scan. My darkest shadow areas never get below 20 on the Photoshop histogram and the whitest highlighs never above 235. I followed Ian Lyon's tutorial religiously in calibrating the scanner with Silverfast; is losing the blackest blacks and brightest whites a result of using a 2.2 gamma (as opposed to say 1.8 gamma)? Is there some easy way to retrieve these more extreme values? I can of course increase the contrast in Silverfast HDR or Photoshop 48 bit editing (for example by moving in sliders on the Levels command), but then this has other effects as well. . . . Back to my question about whether the Silverfast software bundle is worth the extra $300, other than IT8 calibration, what does Silverfast off that you can't just do in 48 bit mode in Photoshop 6.0? What's the advantage of learning an entirely new interface? Am I missing something? Moreover, Photoshop has excellent masking tools, which Silverfast does not (while not available in 48 bit mode, you can save a duplicate of the file to 24 bit mode, mask in 24 bit mode, and then, reopening the 48 bit file, use the masks created in the 24 bit mode on the 48 bit file). To be fair, Silverfast's automatic correction tool with manual override is a nice feature, but is it worth $300? 2. With one 6cm x 9 cm slides I've scanned (out of about 8 or 9 images scanned), there is noticeable softness introduced by the bowing of the film because the film carrier does not hold it perfectly flat. (The original does not have this softness.) Are there any tricks that people have come up with to reduce this bowing? BTW, for people who are thinking about bowing as a purchasing decision, despite my pre-purchasing concerns and my one negative experience, I'm overall pleasantly surpsied with the lack of bowiong for 6 cm x 9 cm slides. Of the five or so cut 6 x 9 cm slides I've scanned thus far, there was bowing softness in only one portion of the very top of one slide (covering less than 5% of the overall area of the scan); in the other 6 x 9cm cut slides I've scanned, I have not observed ANY bowing effect. For film that is still in strips (another 5 sample scans or so thus far), bowing does not appear to have any effect at all; scan one end of the strip, then flip the strip around before scanning the slide at the open end. The thing I don't like about the Polaroid 120 mm holders, however, is that they necessarily mask off a portion of the slide. If the slide is in landscape format, you are losing a small portion at the top and bottom of the slide. This is because the holder has a ledge to holder the slides, but the ledge intrudes slightly into the image frame. Overall the lost image area is not horribly significant (you're probably left with the equivalent of about 95% viewfinder coverage in a single lens reflex), but,
filmscanners: Profiling a Scanner -- Was Polaroid SprintScan 120
One thing I realize I left out from my previous (long) post about my experiences with the SprintScan 120 was the alternative to spending $300 on the Silverfast software. To the extent that Silverfast doesn't offer any significant advantages over 48 bit editing in Photoshop 6, why not spend about $150 on ICC Scan (from www.profilecity.com), plus $40 for a Kodak IT8 35 mm slide. With the software and slide, you can use Polaroid's Polacolor (is that the name?) included basic software which DOES SUPPORT exporting 48 bit raw scans. Export a 48 bit raw scan and use ICC Scan to profile it. Voila, you have a profiled scanner with Photoshop's 48 bit editing to work on your raw scans. My strong suspicion is that the profiling of ICC Scan will be better than that of Silverfast, although I'd love to hear any comments agreeing/disagreeing with this suspicion. I've been following an Imacon email group, and several users on that group have had glowing comments about ICC Scan. It's a one trick piece of software -- it only profiles scanners. It's up to date, and engineered (I think) by the same folks who designed some of the Gregtag software (or from another big color profilnig company, I can't remember which one). It should do it's one trick very well, and user reports seem to confirm that it does. Howard A. Slavitt www.enaturephoto.com
RE: filmscanners: Polaroid Sprintscan 120
Overall, I admit, I like Silverfast. The more I use it, the more I like it's basic structure, automatic corrections with detailed options for manual override, i.e., here's what our artificial intelligence thinks you should do, now go improve on it, if you have the inclination and/or time. The documentation is really lacking, however. Even the documentation for version 4, while apparently comprehensive, is obscure, at best. Features are described, but still not clarified. Thank God (or at least Ian) for Ian's great tutorials to get one started. Ian Lyons wrote: You haven't wasted your money. I think there is a lot to SilverFast that you haven't quite discovered yet. That's said LaserSoft don't make life easy for the user with their poor documentation for version 5.
RE: filmscanners: SS120 first impressions and a few questions.
The Polaroid 35 mm slide holder, while basic, works perfectly well in my experience. -Original Message- From: Wilson, Paul [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2001 1:57 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: filmscanners: SS120 first impressions and a few questions. I haven't used the Polaroid's mounted 35mm slide holder yet though it doesn't seem quite as good as the Nikon's. This one is also plastic vs. cast metal for the MF and 35mm strip holders. Why is this? The best Photoshop book I've used is Blatner and Fraser's Photoshop __ (fill in the number of your version; I've read Photoshop 4 and 5, I think Photoshop 6 is out now). It's more conceptual that technique oriented. A good place to pick up techniques is with a subscription to PEI Magazine. - Can anyone recommend a good book on Photoshop and/or scanning? I need to learn quite a bit about histograms, levels, curves, etc. I too wonder whether the Polaroid may have problems with dust getting insde. I strongly suspect that with either the SS120 or Nikon 8000ED scan quality may decrease over time as more dust gets inside the machine. You should definitely put a dust cover over the machine whenever it's not in use. I will probably send mine to a Polaroid service center once a year to have it cleaned as a precautionary measure -- Polaroid makes this service available I assume? I also wonder whether the Polaroid won't have problems with dust getting inside it as the film chamber (correct term?) is always open. The other question you haven't asked is about warm up time. Should one let the scanner warm up for a certain amount of time before scanning to get maximum quality? (I know on my flatbed recommended warm up time was 10-15 minutes.) The Polaroid SS 120 lamp shuts off automatically after 30 minutes of non-use. How does this affect scan quality? Also, I suppose to maximize scan quality we should plan on replacing the lamps every 1 year or so? Paul Wilson
