Nikon Coolscan V ED LS 50; software for best workflow

Does silverfast permit a more efficient and faster workflow than Nikon scan? Not talking about quality here, just talking about say, taking three 36 exp rolls, preview scanning each frame, identifying 2/36 on each roll for a full scan. If you knew both software very well, is there anything about Silverfast AI that would make this entire workflow process meaningfully faster and smoother?

I want a pakon/nexlab 135+ but they are very expensive.

Bonus question: I only scan color negatives. For black and white I make contact prints, then real prints, and then scan that print. Only rarely do I scan a black and white negative. I like keeping BW in the analog process and use the print scan to just share it with people who are unable to come over for coffee and see the real one, so to speak. I don't think I would try to start making color prints, getting the color right seems too time-consuming. But, if I just wanted to check for framing, focus and exposure, and care less about the color balance, do you think I could mostly get a color contact sheet right the 1st/2nd try just based on standard recommendations for that film? I just want to get a quick idea of which frames I may want to scan and digitally print/share

So, what do you think is the best way to review color negatives and assess which 2/36 get a 4000dpi scan + print?

1) Still struggle with the nikon scan, slow but accurate colors

2) Do a color contact print of the color negative roll and just hope the colors are somewhat reasonable the first or second try and just assess for focus, framing and exposure?

3) Assess focus, framing and exposure of a color negative by doing a black and white darkroom contact print

4) sell the Coolscan and get the pakon, its that much better for what I need

5) most labs make good 4x6 prints, get them developed and printed there and scan these prints for Instagram and the web.

6) Buy a Sigma SD 1 merril and scan negatives this way, sell the coolscan

7) Dont shoot color at all

8) Stop shooting film, why make things harder than it has to be

9) review the negative on a light table + loupe (I do this, and I dislike it very much).

10) Shoot slide film only

I have been struggling with this and honestly, I don't know which road to commit to at the moment for my color negatives. I have my black and white process sorted.

help. Any decision will require some money invested, just looking for others opinions on how you do it.

A lot of questions, some with subjective answers.

I prefer scanning negatives to prints. There are losses in the printing process.

For 35mm, you should use a dedicated 35mm scanner for best results.

The Pakon is good for fast scanning of many negatives. Other scanners take a long

time for a large number of frames. The resolution is good, but not great, so I would

usually rescan on a higher resolution scanner for big prints.

Pretty often when shooting film, I also bring along a digital camera.

For family pictures, it is usually a better choice. But I still like film, mostly

for the fun of it. I sometimes do analog printing, but often enough scan the

negatives.

I mostly do film in black and white, and develop it at home. Sometimes color,

as there is nearby a good C41 and E6 lab. I usually then scan the negatives, but often

not the slides.

I also have ScanDual III and IV, which I use when I need higher resolution.

And an Epson 3200 for prints or medium format negatives.

No idea on scanning software.

I, too, have the Nikon LS50, AKA Coolscan V. I use NikonScan

I scan al my negatives, color and black and white at 600 dpi 24-bit, and file the scans from each roll in a separate sub-directory. These scans become my digital contact sheets. I use the images to select which negatives I wish to print. I find NikonScan is sufficiently speed doing batch scans of my 6-frame negative strips. I have auto-exposure and auto-focus set in NikonScan. I can go about doing other things while the scans progress. Like you, I do at most one or two rolls at a time.

I import my "Digital Contact Sheet" scans into Lightroom, and tag them with keywords Then I backup the Lightroom catalog and the sub-directories with the scans.

I do a 4000 dpi scan of the color negatives I wish to print, and process them in Lightroom and/or Photoshop CS5. I upload them to Costco for printing. I import the processed digital files into Lightroom and tag them.

I print my black and whites in a traditional wet darkroom. I scan the prints on an Epson V600. I import these scans into Lightroom and tag them with the same keywords as the negative scans.

Finally I backup scans of the black and white prints, the final digital files that I upload for printing, and the Lightroom catalog.

I, too, have the Nikon LS50, AKA Coolscan V. I use NikonScan

 

I scan al my negatives, color and black and white at 600 dpi 24-bit, and file the scans from each roll in a separate sub-directory. These scans become my digital contact sheets. I use the images to select which negatives I wish to print. I find NikonScan is sufficiently speed doing batch scans of my 6-frame negative strips. I have auto-exposure and auto-focus set in NikonScan. I can go about doing other things while the scans progress. Like you, I do at most one or two rolls at a time.

 

I import my "Digital Contact Sheet" scans into Lightroom, and tag them with keywords Then I backup the Lightroom catalog and the sub-directories with the scans.

 

I do a 4000 dpi scan of the color negatives I wish to print, and process them in Lightroom and/or Photoshop CS5. I upload them to Costco for printing. I import the processed digital files into Lightroom and tag them.

 

I print my black and whites in a traditional wet darkroom. I scan the prints on an Epson V600. I import these scans into Lightroom and tag them with the same keywords as the negative scans.

 

Finally I backup scans of the black and white prints, the final digital files that I upload for printing, and the Lightroom catalog.

Thank you so much for this. I think I need to simply dial back the quality of my scans initially, and just deal with it :). I mostly do the same process, although I think I am getting bogged down fiddling to much in the nikon scan software first. I will try a more abbreviated process.

I am not exactly a fan of the subscription for lightroom, and would much rather use dxo photo pro (I have used dxo pro optics 9 in the past) .

However, there is a new plugin, called negativelabpro which is interesting me. It sounds like it works extremely well, by all accounts. But for it to work in lightroom you will scan the negative as a negative and then convert it in lightroom vs. in nikon scan.

Should I

1) scan as a negative in nikonscan, and then convert in lightroom with this new plugin? Or with color perfect?

2) convert the negative in nikon scan, and then work up in dxo photo pro?

how good is the coolscan color conversion? I have only ever used this scanner. Perhaps it is good or better than the conversion plug-ins in photoshop?

I think regardless I will be upgrading to silverfast

I used VueScan with my LS-50 to generate a linear TIFF (VScan calls it 'RAW') and I then invert it in ColorPerfect. No workflow is perfect, but this is the closest I've found. The latest SilverFast (8.8.x) is very good, I must admit.

have you tried negativelabpro? Do you find that colorperfect did conversions more to your liking than doing it with the coolscan/vuscan combo?

have you tried negativelabpro? Do you find that colorperfect did conversions more to your liking than doing it with the coolscan/vuscan combo?

Have not tried Negative Lab Pro--might give the trial version a shot. ColorPerfect does a better job than VueScan or SilverFast alone.

Thank you so much for this. I think I need to simply dial back the quality of my scans initially, and just deal with it :). I mostly do the same process, although I think I am getting bogged down fiddling to much in the nikon scan software first. I will try a more abbreviated process.

 

I am not exactly a fan of the subscription for lightroom, and would much rather use dxo photo pro (I have used dxo pro optics 9 in the past) .

 

However, there is a new plugin, called negativelabpro which is interesting me. It sounds like it works extremely well, by all accounts. But for it to work in lightroom you will scan the negative as a negative and then convert it in lightroom vs. in nikon scan.

 

Should I

1) scan as a negative in nikonscan, and then convert in lightroom with this new plugin? Or with color perfect?

2) convert the negative in nikon scan, and then work up in dxo photo pro?

 

how good is the coolscan color conversion? I have only ever used this scanner. Perhaps it is good or better than the conversion plug-ins in photoshop?

 

I think regardless I will be upgrading to silverfast

I can only say what I do, and that I am satisfied with the results.

I let NikonScan do the color conversion. Since I am satisfied with the results, I have not tried anything else. I would scan the "digital contact sheet" as JPEG files. For the color negatives I decided to print, I would scan them at 4000dpi 14-bit color directly into Photoshop, process and save as a PSD file to preserve the layers, then flatten the image, convert to Costco's profile, convert to 8-bit color, and save as a JPEG to upload for printing. It is sufficient for me, but I do not know your requirements.

NikonScan allows the user to save settings. I have three - one for color contact sheet, one for black and white contact sheet, and one for color scan for printing (4000dpi, 14-bit color).

I hope this helps.

Have not tried Negative Lab Pro--might give the trial version a shot. ColorPerfect does a better job than VueScan or SilverFast alone.

Just downloaded Negative Lab Pro. It seems to want me to "scan" with a DSLR or a flatbed--I use neither. It wants me to sample the orange mask, which I don't have on my scans (cropped by film holder). No dice on that one...

i was wondering this! I saw it mentioned flatbed, and I wasn’t sure if that was just speak for any scanner, or if it only worked on flatbeds.

By orange mask do you mean it wanted to See the orange scan of the negative? As in, scan the negative as a positive?

Or are you saying it doesn’t look like it will work at all with the coolscan?

My new laptop is not here yet, I will try both trials (Lightroom and negative lab pro) myself in a few days.

Thanks for the update

i was wondering this! I saw it mentioned flatbed, and I wasn’t sure if that was just speak for any scanner, or if it only worked on flatbeds.

 

By orange mask do you mean it wanted to See the orange scan of the negative? As in, scan the negative as a positive?

 

 

 

Thanks for the update

The 'orange mask' is the clear, unexposed area of the film, such as the leader or the space between frames. My current scanner does not include these areas--I would have to deliberately scan a frame from the leader/tail of the roll. As I am satisfied with my current technique (although I am always trying to get better at it), I won't mess with NL Pro. The attached file is (more or less) what I get after inverting in Color Perfect.

I am going to scan a frame of porta with the coolscan on default except for a few things on highest setting.

Open in lightroom

as a converted image, press auto

as a negative, convert in color perfect

as a negative + an orange mask + convert in negative lab pro

Open in dxo

as a converted image, press auto

as a converted image, apply film pack for porta

I will post the results here, wont be for few weeks

When you can no longer use the original scanning software on a current-operating-system computer

You can buy an older computer (they are often very cheap) that will run the old software

Or

In very many cases, if you can get the interface connections working, you can use VueScan like Wogears does.

I've used VueScan for a long time, and it's not ideal, but it's at least as good as any others.

Just wanted to drop this here. I have finally got around to trying Negative Lab Pro in the trial version a bit more in-depth, and so far so good. No digital ICE obviously for color or XP2 compared to my scanner, but its a great way to quickly preview a roll. I think I may be able to use it to make a contact sheet as well from one image taken of every frame laid out on a light table. But I will need to get my tripod setup first. This video is essentially the user manual