Is Coolscan about to ruin my life?

Hello,

I've recently bought a digital camera and printer and am very happy with the transition

from my darkroom but I miss some of my old favourite images, and I'd love to scan them

to be able to create digital prints from my B&W negs.

I'm quite shocked looking at the available scanners on the market and finding out there

are so few available here in the UK. Nikon seem to be the only real player? I'm about to

order a Nikon Coolscan V. This is a reasonable investment ﾣ425. So I'd be grateful if

anyone could let me know if this model will give me the results I'm after:-

I'll be scanning 35mm B&W film only; Kodak Tri-X and Fuji Neopan 400. I plan to scan at

top resolution and will be printing on an Epson R2400 between 16 x 11 inch and 19 x 13.

I've read mixed messages about the ability of this scanner to deliver pleasing B&W scans. I

hear a lot of good things about Vuescan, and am keen to use it with the Coolscan but I am

cautious about how the scanner will handle film grain - is the grain likely to blow up like

golf balls (I'm used to a smooth diffusion enlarger), and how is the sharpness likely to

compare with my darkroom prints (good scanning technique accepted). Any advice would

be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

It can be tricky to scan B&W, but the LS-50 (Coolscan V) is up to the job. You want to scan in 14-bit mode for better tonality, either in RGB or B&W, as a negative or positive. Some people have better luck with one combination or another. You can't use Digital ICE because the silver in the negative blocks infrared light (ICE can't distinguish the image from dirt). That means more work in Photoshop to remove dust and lint marks. Unlike in the darkroom, you only have to do this once.

In general, the results will be sharper than in the darkroom. This is because the negative is held flatter than in most enlargers, and the lens is optimized for a single reproduction ratio. Grain, which is on the order of 2 microns, won't be resolved, but grain clumps will be - so the print will look grain-sharp. Basically, you will resolve anything you can see with a 20x loupe. Use Photoshop sharpening judiciously or with masking to avoid emphasizing grain in open areas (like sky). There are third-party plugins that handle grain reduction better than Vuescan or SilverFast AI (which I recommend over Vuescan or NikonScan).

I've been scanning Ilford films with the Coolscan V and it does a fine job with Vuescan. My

results with Nikon's software and traditional b&w negatives were... disappointing. Even on

my extremely modest budget, I haven't for an instant regretted the investment in either

the scanner or the (pro version) software.

Did you ever have a bad enlarger? Or a bad enlarger lens? Or, even a camera lens that just wouldn't take good photos? Or, do you know people that swear the expensive camera they just bought didn't take any better photos than their old one? Have you known a person that couldn't drive a nail in straight, no matter what hammer they bought? This is a similar situation.

Scanning, adjusting in Photoshop, and printing is 95% user skill and 5% equipment. There is a learning curve just as in the wet darkroom. It's not "point and click" by any means. But you certainly will not be quality limited by the Coolscan or R2400 you mention. That's top of the line equipment.

I think if you look around that you can find some digital b&w prints made with those equipment combinations that will blow you socks off. Just realize in those cases that it's the person doing the work and not the equipment used.

I began using a Coolscan V a few months ago and I am very ipressed with the scans I can

make. As mentioned previously, it does take some practice, but it is not rocket science. As

for graininess, your input will determine your output. Grainy film will scan and print grainy,

and in my opinion the digital "grain reducers" are useless. But if you shoot on smooth film

you should be happy. I have been very pleased with Tri-X (grainy but nice) and even moreso

with Plus-X (very smooth).

Excellent,

many thanks for your responses, a big help, I'm a lot more comfortable about the potential

purchase.

Thanks again