Coolscan 8000/9000 35mm strip film holder tips

<p>Hi, I've been using the Coolscan 8000 to scan various media for 2,5 years now and lately something has started to annoy me. That is the inability of the FH-835S 35mm strip film holder to keep film flat enough. I was wondering if someone could share some tips on improving the situation?<br>

The problem is that most of the time, the film grain is sharp and tight in the area where I focused the scan on, but in the corners and edges of the frame, the grain goes significantly softer. I believe the film is slightly curving itself upwards in the holder even though you would think that the top part of the holder won't let it.<br>

I can get around the problem by putting the film to be scanned under a big pile of books for 2-5 days. But often I just don't want to wait that long. <br>

So what I would like to know, is if someone has figured out a neat trick that would help? Other than patience or learning to live with it, that is.</p>

 

<p>Get the Nikon glass carrier. That'll sandwich the film strip between two glass sheets and keep it flat. I haven't tried this with 135, but it should be fine if you just specify 6x9 to Nikonscan.</p>

<p>For a DIY solution, you can get the requisite ANR glass from <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ANR-Glass-For-Nikon-8000-9000-Epson-V750-700-Others_W0QQitemZ320482654611QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9e413993">this fellow</a>. You will still need two glass sheets, but only one of them has to be ANR. A single glass sheet will still allow the film to bow unacceptably.</p>

<p>Lastly, try focus stacking. This can be a real hassle because multiple scans are necessary, with each pass focused on a slightly different height. The scans will also be slightly mis-registered relative to each other so will require realignment in post.</p>

<p>Hi Toni: Wet Mounting or fluid scanning is the only way to obtain perfect film flatness, there is a wetmounting site where this is demonstrated. In addition you will obtain higher resolution and color saturation. Glass holders degrade the image and often result in Newton Rings. Fluid scanning is the newest and best technology.</p>