Digital BW, The Print

dritz@... wrote:

> Hi there, I'm new to this group.
>
> I'm currently using a 3year old Minolta Dimage Scan Dual (2700dpi)
> borrowed from a friend... a tool for learning about the process
> before making the big-$$ plunge into equipment.
>
> The B&W scans on this old-timer leave much to be desired, especially
> in capturing details from areas of high negative density.
>
> Without provoking a religious war, any recommendations for a scanner
> for unmounted 35mm B&W negatives?  I'm shooting fine grain 100 & 400
> ASA, Leica optics, materials ranging from high contrast to those of
> long tonal scale!  Alas! I wan't it all!
>
> Also, any recommended literature on this subject to augment the
> acquisition of knowledge through experience?

If you have the budget, the Imacon Flextite line of scanners is better (IMO) than any of the 'prosumer'
(Nikon, Minolta, Polaroid etc.) scanners available on the market today.  The Imacons though, are in the $10K
t0 $18K price range (new).

Harvey Ferdschneider
partner, SKID Photography, NYC




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> The B&W scans on this old-timer leave much to be desired, especially
> in capturing details from areas of high negative density.

I don't understand.  Do you mean highlights or shadows?

> Without provoking a religious war, any recommendations for a scanner
> for unmounted 35mm B&W negatives?  I'm shooting fine grain 100 & 400
> ASA, Leica optics, materials ranging from high contrast to those of
> long tonal scale!  Alas! I wan't it all!

If you are shooting exclusively 35mm B&W, I would highly recommend a good
used Leafscan 35.  It scans B&W with a single neutral density filter,
instead of scanning in RGB and converting to grayscale.  It's 4000 SPI, 3.6
dMax, and around $500.  Software is very utilitarian, but everything is
there to make superb scans.