Digital BW, The Print

At 12:44 PM 6/19/2003, Julian wrote:
>f you scan 'image' the scanner MUST be profiled using an IT8 target (or
>similar ) on the slide stock you are using. Otherwise the scanner has no
>benchmark  to convert the numbers it reads. It is basically uncalibrated -
>although I guess Austin will give you the technicalities. Scanning 'image'
>in BW gives you great data - this is what I do. But a scanner isn't
>intelligent - it is just a tool that transfers data. 'Image' give you the
>best 'raw' data VS will provide, but you have to calibrate it by building a
>profile. Using the slide setting uses canned profiles, better than none, but
>not as good as image with IT8. I said you shouldn't use 'slide' as it didn't
>sound as if you were profiling the scanner.
>
>Julian

Actually you said you shouldn't use "Image." But maybe that was just a 
typo. Anyway, me and my hundreds of slides scanned as "Image" will just 
have to disagree with you. Quoting from the Vuescan user's guide:
If you choose "Image", no film correction is used, so the cropped file will 
be comparable to the image on the film. If you choose "Negative film" or 
"Slide film", the cropped image will comparable to the original scene that 
was photographed. When you use either film option, options on the Color tab 
lets you choose the film manufacturer, the film brand, and the film type to 
further refine how VueScan processes the result.
The difference between "Image" and "Slide film" is subtle. If you take a 
picture of the same scene with Kodachrome and Ektachrome film and scan them 
with the "Slide film" setting, VueScan tries to make the resulting scan 
look the same (i.e. to resemble the original scene). If you use the "Image" 
setting, the resulting scans will look different and will reflect the 
slightly different color characteristics of Kodachrome and Ektachrome film.
If you then took a picture of this same scene with Kodak Gold color 
negative film and scanned it using the "Negative film" setting, the 
resulting scan should look close to the scan you get from using the "Slide 
film" setting and scanning the Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides (i.e. all 
three should look like the original scene).
Again, I want my scans to look like my slides, not like the original scene 
(see paragraph 2 of the quoted material above). If you use the "Slide Film" 
setting, Vuescan applies a film profile to convert the image; if you use 
"Image" it does not.

Stan

================================
Photography by Stan McQueen
http://www.smcqueen.com