Lines in scans on the Minolta 5400

I've made almost 150 5400dpi scans with my Minolta 5400 and I've

noticed that ALL of them have one or more horizontal lines. They're

not really visible until 100% magnification in PS7, but they're

always there! I've done several scans of a single image and they

don't appear at the same place each time - always ends up in a new

place. It happens both with digital ICE and without, and also

regardless of using USB or Firewire. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

The lines are usually magenta and 3-6 pixels thick. Sometimes they

don't even run the entire lenght of the image and one single line can

be in several different colors!

Looks like a dust problem on the sensor. Try blowing some air in with a blower bulb, avoid canned air cause it can spray liquid.

I've also had a similar problem which I traced to small scratches from the developer

lab. I developed a roll of B/W myself and it had no scratches so that ruled out the

camera. The 5400 seems to be much better at picking up scratches than the Dual

Scan III I have.

It could be a software problem. Try with VueScan (http://www.hamrick.com).

Does it appear even when ICE is enabled?

Hi,

 

Could you post an example of the lines? I am experiencing similiar problems. I returned the SE5400 because all of my scans had lines in - regardless of whether ICE/grain dissolver was enabled - which ran in the scan direction. The lines also appeared when using Vuescan and were only visible in the blue and green channels. The lines in the blue channel were in a different position to the lines in the green channel. No lines were visible in the red channel however.

 

I returned the scanner and I am now on my second SE5400 - from a different supplier (the original supplier was out of stock) - and this one has exactly the same problem!

 

I have found that scanning at 5400dpi and downsizing to 2700dpi reduces the visibility of the lines dramatically. Not ideal but this will have to do until I can get Minolta to look at the problem.

are your transparencies particularly dense? less light entering the CCD will yeild greater artifacts.

 

Also, are the lines in the exact same place all the time? Do they appear mostly in shadowed areas? Worse on slides than negatives?

 

If they are all in the same place every time, you have a physical problem. If they are most pronounced in shadow it might be dynamic range or a thermal or electronic noise issue, which i am unsure how to fix, line conditioner maybve? If they are helter skelter everywhere, then I'd say it is more likely noise than anything else, unless your originals are dense.

Hi Ricky! I am sure we are experiencing the same problem. I've had my scanner sent to Minolta also - and it worked fine with them of course! I think this is general noise, and I suspect its related to our hardware in some way. I used the scanner on a SONY laptop - and no problemo! I'm also running dual OS, Windows XP Pro and Windows ME - the same problems occurs in both OS.

 

I know a great wildlifephotographer who found lines in his original backed up digital images on a Firewire harddrive, and I suspect he has the same problem as we do. It's similar to a badly ripped mp3 which has a distinct "skip" in it, which comes from unstable data transfer.

I am seeing lines (sometimes) on positive film in the completely black regions. I am

scanning using Firewire on a G4 Powerbook. Next time I scan I will scan to a G5

desktop and see if there is any difference.

< I am seeing lines (sometimes) on positive film in the completely black regions >

 

I think these kind of lines are normal and relate to the dynamic range of the scanner - the scanner simply cannot see detail in these very dark areas. I used to get these kind of lines frequently when scanning dense slides using my Canon FS4000. The only way to solve it was to tick the 'Long Exposure Pass' option in Vuescan, which pulled extra detail and lowered noise/eliminated lines in the very dark areas, although using this option occasionally introduced problems of it's own.

 

The lines I'm seeing have nothing to do with the dynamic range of the scanner though as they only occur when scanning negatives - I cannot see any of these lines when scanning slides, in fact the (few) slide scans I've made so far in the short time I've owned this scanner have beaten the pants off anything I got with the FS4000. This is good as most of my images are on slide film.

 

However, the problem is there when scanning negatives. If these lines are a form of noise, and somehow relate to my computer hardware, then why wouldn't the lines occur when scanning slides? I will do a few more tests later, using USB instead of Firewire, maybe my Firewire card is the problem. I will also try and test the scanner on a friend's computer and see what happens.

Just for reference do you have a backlit slide viewing box, or a fluorescent light or an old monitor close to the scanner?

I actually removed the scanner to a place where it would be away from other components - no difference. The strange thing though - I did my first negative scans yetsreday - Kodak 400 film, and guess what - NO LINES! I give up on this scanner...

 

The magenta lines on the slide scans are actually in mid tone areas most often, for instance in sky and water - go figure. I've seen som occational noise in black areas, but they were on the borders of the scan, not in the actual image. Small lines, or dots of solid color, usually a bright green.

Hi Svein-Frode

 

I've attached an example of my problem - do the lines you are getting look anything like this?

 

I'm fast running out of ideas of what the problem could be. I removed my firewire card and scanned using USB earlier and still got the lines. I've found that the lines are much more prominent when scanning negatives, wherever there's sky, white tops etc, these lines are very obvious.

 

I had initially thought that scans from slides didn't have these problems but I just didn't look hard enough! The attached example is scanned from Provia 100F and I've turned the gamma way up so the lines are easily visible.

 

Ricky.

Sorry, as a P.S to the above post I should point out that the example is a cropped section of the full image. The image is 'upright', so the lines go from top to bottom in the scan direction.

 

Thanks,

 

Ricky.

That is excactly what my lines look like, though they're rarely that many - usually just one to three lines, but sometimes the scanner goes mad and creates lines all over the place. The funny thing is that I've never had any lines when scanning Kodak negative film - I've tried 100, 400 and 800 films - no lines at all. I'm about to go mad!

 

Good to see I'm not alone though - should make my case against Minolta stronger!

Hi

 

I have the original Elite scanner and have found RGB-stripes

on slide scans if I boos gamme too much. It seems to be a

feature/fault of these Minolta scanners since the service

could do nothing for it.

 

Here is a link to an image made with Minolta Scan Elite II,

the intermediate scanner in the Elite-series (newer than mine and

older than the 5400). It has just those stripes I have seen too.

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/DSEII/DSETRAA602PS.HTM

 

Is your problem the same do you think so?

 

If it is then I think there is nothing you can do for it.

You need to darken the image. Multisampling doesn't help, it

in fact makes the stripes more visible. You could also make sure the automatic exposure is swithed on so you possible wouldn't need to boost gamma so much.

 

Rats. I almost upgraded my old Elite to the 5400 because I though

this problem is much better with it but I'm not so sure anymore...

 

I hope your problem is just with your unit(s) and not common to

this printer.

 

Vesa

Hi,

 

The lines are very similar to this, but not that thick, the lines are only about 1 or 2 pixels wide. The same areas are certainly affected though, deep shadows for slides, and highlight areas for negatives. It's not so bad scanning slides as I can surpress the lines in the shadows, but the lines are extremely visible in negatives scans, anywhere there's sky etc these lines are there. I have posted a cry for help over in the scanner group on Google (copy and paste into your browser):

 

http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=3f991720%240%2458702%24e4fe514c%40news.xs4all.nl&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Dimages%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as_ugroup%3Dcomp.periphs.scanners%26as_scoring%3Dd%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den

 

Other owners of this scanner have told me to return it, as they are not getting any of the problems I am getting. One very experienced scanner, who's judgement I would tend to trust (and a fellow SE5400 owner) has indicated that it is either dirt/dust on the sensor, or defects in the sensor itself.

 

I am expecting delivery of a new unit on Monday. If this scanner shows the same characteritstics then I will return it for a refund. I am starting to wish I had stuck with my FS4000!

 

Thanks,

 

Ricky.

Ricky,

Don't know if you are still checking the thread as it is a bit old now but I've got the same problem. Did the new model solve your problems?

Thanks,

Patrick

I noticed that Minolta has released version 1.1.3 of its scanning software, claiming that this version solves the banding problem.<br>

Did anyone who had the "green lines" problem already try this version, and is this problem indeed solved by this software version ?

Well I have had exactly the same problems. Initially I had the vertical pinstripes which I think was largely solved by the 1.1.3 software. (In actual fact the problem still occurs though not as often).Incidentally installing 1.1.3 was a horrible buggy process which involved about 20 stalls and restarts.

Then I noticed the horizontal lines, at 100% magnification and most notable in the shadow areas (slides). Haven't tried with negs. I sent sample images to Minolta. THey said they couldn't see the lines - till I told them to turn their monitor brightness up!

Eventually sent the unit back and received a brand new replacement today. Guess what - the same problem! Not as bad this time it seems, but still there. It's got me pulling my hair out too. I am operating on a powerbook g3. Should I just give up on the 5400 as an option? It's hard to find a firewire scanner of similar spec and price. The 5400 seemed ideal for my needs and needless to say I am quite disillusioned now.

Has anyone found how to fix the problem?

I've read that recaliberate after warming up could help, but while I as using Vuescan, recaliberation didn't seem to help a bit. I turned to Minolta software and did a 2700dpi scan without ICE, the results looked fine, without lines. But they showed up again on my next scan, 2700 dpi with ICE and 8x sampling on the same slide.

Maybe tomorrow I will try turning on at least 10 mins before caliberating. Hope it helps...

Tried the PS filter provided by Patrick, worked wonders and minimized the problem.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00D9bv

Tried the PS filter provided by Patrick, worked wonders and minimized the problem.

Minolta says streaks on scans are factory specification

 

Hello there

I know this is an old topic but I've got the same issue with my minolta, what are the PS filter you're recommending ?

 

Thanks !

Hello there

I know this is an old topic but I've got the same issue with my minolta, what are the PS filter you're recommending ?

 

Thanks !

The OP and all who responded were last seen years ago, varying from many to several. You may want to start a new thread and be specific with Model and issues you are encountering..