Digital BW, The Print

Thanks again.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Martin Wesley" 
<mwesley250@e...> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "frankg_photo" <frank@f...>
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y...>
> Sent: Sunday, July 14, 2002 9:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] tips please -SprintScan120
> 
> 
> > Martin,
> > Thank you for the guidance on using the SS120.
> >
> > I willl be bringing the unit home and hooking it up to my PC
> > (Windows98SE) - I have a SCSI card so the hook up should be fairly
> > straight forward. Although I agree that the better part of a day 
will
> > be getting it alll straightened out and up to speed. Fortunately,
> > they will let me have the unit for a weekend at a one day rate 
(about
> > Canadian$120). I should be able to get a good deal of scanning 
done
> > if I work around the clock :-)
> 
> Great! That is ideal situation and the price sound really 
reasonable,
> especially over a weekend.
> 
> > Regarding a few of your comments:
> > 1.Upgrading Silverfast to 5.5
> > If the supplied CD only has 5.2 - and I install the 5.2  - is the 
5.5
> > an easy download from the Silverfast site and will it install over
> > 5.2 or would I need to uninstall first ?
> 
> Download the upgrade and just install that without using the disks.
> Silverfast's tech support has always recommended uninstalling 
previous
> versions before installing new ones. To get the upgrade you will 
need the
> serial numbers for Silverfast and Silverfast HDR which should be on 
the disk
> packaging or provided by whoever is renting the unit and the name 
and
> business name. Silverfast will then e-mail you a user name and 
password to
> get the downloads (different one for each). When you start 
Silverfast and
> again when you start Silverfast HDR the program will prompt you for 
the
> serial numbers.
> 
> > 2. RGB vs Greyscale.
> > If the larger file size and rental time is not a great concern, 
would
> > it be qualitatively (is there such a word :-) be better to scan a 
B&W
> > neg in col ?
> 
> Well I develop my negs in a staining pyro developer and scanning in 
RGB
> makes sense to me in this case since I get significantly different
> information off each channel, particularly the blue. With a 
standard B&W neg
> I see little difference between the channels and suspect that the 
difference
> has more to do with the scanner than the neg. One of the three 
channels may
> be sharper than the others, probably the blue so that may be of 
help. This
> is probably one you are going to have try for yourself.
> 
> > 3. Raw scan .
> > You mention that with 5.2 you can only get a raw scan or a HDR 
scan -
> > what does this mean ?
> 
> Silverfast 5.2 has lots of controls but only for an 8-bit scan. If 
you want
> 16-bit you need to do a raw scan. This is not an issue with version 
5.5. A
> raw scan is simply the raw data output by the scanner with no 
manipulation.
> Scanners only put out raw data. Everything else that the scanning 
software
> looks like it is doing to the scan is simply a software 
manipulation of the
> raw scanner data either on the fly or done post scanning.
> 
> You can make a good argument for just doing raw scans because then 
you have
> exactly the data the scanner produced and can go back and play with 
it. This
> was my method for a long time but I have started to use the 
Silverfast
> controls because sometimes the raw data is compressed into a narrow 
range in
> the 16-bit space close to one end of the range and is very hard to 
work
> with. So I have been setting my end points to make sure things 
easier in PS.
> 
> If you get a scan that is jammed up into the black or white the 
gamma
> setting can be used to move the data back to the center a bit.
> 
> > 4.Is it better to use the software's controls, or to do the 
editing
> > in PS later and just scan everything at default settings ?
> 
> Well I guess I answered that mostly above. I don't think it makes a 
quality
> difference but doing some work with the scanning software will make 
the job
> in PS easier. Don't try to correct everything in Silverfast, Just 
make a
> first levels adjustment conserving your important black and white 
points
> 
> > To ask it another way, since I'm scanning a neg and viewing it 
prior
> > to Inverting and seeing a positive in PS, how can I "see" 
or "know" I
> > have a quality scan ?
> 
> You set Silverfast to transparency and negative. This pops up 
a "NegaFix"
> window that is mostly full of color adjustment files for different 
films.
> There are three boxes in "NegaFix" from top to bottom they should be
> <other>, <other> and monochrome. This will give you a positive 
grayscale
> view of your neg on screen so you can see the effects changes made 
using
> Silverfast.
> 
> Also check out Ian Lyon's Silverfast Tutorials at:
> 
> http://welcome.to/computerdarkroom
> 
> A very big help in getting started with the software. The manual is 
not much
> help at all.
> 
> Oh, on the "Frame" tab of the main SF control panel and make sure 
you have
> the "Q-factor" set to 1 and the "Filter" box set to None.
> 
> Martin
> >
> >
> > > Frank,
> > >
> > > Right off the bat ask them to upgrade to the current version of
> > Silverfast
> > > for the 120 which is version 5.5.2r20 for Windows, 5.5.2r08 for 
the
> > Mac OS
> > > or 5.5.2r11 for Mac OS X. These are free upgrades and the 5.5 
will
> > be very
> > > important for you. With the 5.2 version you cannot scan 
directly to
> > 16-bit.
> > > You can only get 16-bit with version 5.2 by doing a raw scan or 
what
> > > Silverfast refers to as a HDR scan.
> > >
> > > So if you are working with Silverfast 5.2, under options set the
> > gamma to
> > > 2.2 (to match PS 2.2 grayscale), check the "for HDR output" box,
> > scan
> > > everything to 16-bit HDR Grayscale. Scan at 4000 dpi to get the
> > most info
> > > out of the negs. This will give you raw tiff files that you can
> > edit in
> > > Photoshop. They will look rather compressed but will expand out
> > just fine.
> > >
> > > If you have version 5.5 also set the gamma to 2.2 but scan 
directly
> > to a
> > > 16-bit grayscale file and use Silverfast's level's command to 
set
> > the white
> > > and black points just outside the data range. This will save you
> > time in PS
> > > and will translate the scanners 14-bit data over a broader 
portion
> > of the
> > > 16-bit space of the file. You could use the other functions in
> > Silverfast
> > > but time will be money and you can do the same things later in 
PS.
> > >
> > > The solution to perfect flatness with the 120 is to use the 
glass
> > carrier.
> > > If it doesn't come with one, I would not be concerned in regard 
to
> > flatness.
> > > The problem with the medium format carrier and, to a lesser 
extent,
> > the 35mm
> > > carrier is that they are not full frame. On my medium format 
negs I
> > lose
> > > about 1mm on the sides. This may vary depending upon the camera 
you
> > used
> > > since not all camera have the same frame width.
> > >
> > > Definitely scan in 16-bit! You can switch down to 8-bit later in
> > the process
> > > but you want to do as much as you can in 16-bit at the start.
> > >
> > > As to scanning in grayscale or RGB there is debate. Since you 
are
> > on the
> > > clock the grayscale route would seem to be the way to go. An RGB
> > file is
> > > three times as big as a grayscale file.
> > >
> > > What are they going to charge you to use the scanner and how 
long
> > is the
> > > "day"? You will probably find that you will use the first day 
just
> > getting
> > > acquainted with everything. After you have taken your scans home
> > and worked
> > > with them you may find you want to rescan some of them.
> > >
> > > Do your math. If you really have a mountain of negs be sure you
> > don't wind
> > > up paying for a substantial portion of a 120 bit by bit.
> > >
> > > Also, how will you get your files home? You will need to burn 
them
> > onto a CD
> > > and this takes time as well. A 4000 dpi grayscale scan of a 6x6 
neg
> > will be
> > > about 160 MB so at best you will only be able to get 3, maybe 4
> > scans on a
> > > single CD.
> > >
> > > Of course if this is a rental you can bring home and hook up to 
your
> > > computer it will be a much better deal or if you have a lap top 
to
> > take to
> > > the scanner to transfer files.
> > >
> > > Martin Wesley
> > >
> > > http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "frankg_photo" <frank@f...>
> > > To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y...>
> > > Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 2:55 PM
> > > Subject: [Digital BW] tips please -SprintScan120
> > >
> > >
> > > > I cannot afford to purchase one of these Polaroid 120 film
> > scanners
> > > > but a local photo equip rental house has a unit with 
Silverfast
> > 5.2
> > > > available to rent on a daily basis - I have a mountain of 
black &
> > > > white 120 & 35mm negs to scan.
> > > >
> > > > Can you offer any pointers to help me get the very highest 
quality
> > > > scans possible ?
> > > >
> > > > One thing I searched the archive for but I didn't turn up any
> > > > results  - apparently there is a way of keeping the film 
flatter
> > > > (particularly the 120 negs) for a sharper result ?
> > > >
> > > > I guess I should scan 16 bit not 8 ? Comments ?
> > > >
> > > > Should I scan in 256 greyscale mode ?
> > > >
> > > > I'm using Photoshop6 & Windows98SE
> > > >
> > > > Thanks
> > > > Frank
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks,
> > Polls and
> > > other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> > > >
> > > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> > > >
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or
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the
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> > > >
> > > >
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> > > >
> > > >
> >
> >
> >
> > Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, 
Polls and
> other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> >
> > Please follow these basic guidelines:
> > - Include your full name with your message.
> > - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> > - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier 
messages to keep
> them short.
> > - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject 
header.
> > - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or
> "flames."
> > - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> > - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the 
various
> resources on the homepage.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to 
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
> >