Minolta Elite 5400 - Tips and Tricks

I hope that this thread will become usefull to Elite 5400 users. If

you have an interesting information or a good workflow you would like

to share, your post is much welcome.<p>

<br>

For the Minolta's software:<p>

- Newest version is <b>1.1.2</b> (Firmware upgrade to 1.09) -

available in Europe.<p>

- <b>Oversampling:</b> When you set a Resolution of '2700dpi' or

lower, you get an oversampling of 2x2 (ie: '2700dpi' will make a real

5400dpi Scan, which is then reduced in size by 2 in both directions).

<b>Your '2700dpi' Image will be better than a 4 x Multi-Scan

made at 2700dpi</b> (with Vuescan for example), for only twice a

single-scan time (side note: I didn't see any improvement with 4 x

Multi-Scanning for Color Negatives).<p>

- <b>Exposure & Clipping:</b> Some Color Negatives may get clipped

(shadows/highlights - check Exposure Tab). In this situation, my

preferred solution is to scan as 'Color Negatives' with <b>16-bits

Linear</b> (auto-exposure on): You will get a RAW file that you need

to (1)Invert, then (2)Change Gamma from 1.0 to your default gamma (2.2

for Windows). You can also scan as a 'Color positive' to adjust

Exposure directly.<p>

- The <b>Grain Dissolver</b> is efficient to reduce grain

(+PepperGrain, defects...). You may want to check information on the

<a href="http://scanhancer.iddo.nl/">Scanhancer</a>, on which Minolta

based its own Grain Dissolver.<p>

- <b>ICE</b> does a really great job at removing dust and scratches:

corrections are hardly noticeable and it doesn't soften the Image. I

consider than ICE is much more efficient than Vuescan's IR(light).<p>

- You should use <b>Auto-Focus</b> on your High-Res Scans (change the

focus point, if you have some problem. The GD may improve the usefull

DoF as well).<p>

- When you use ICE, the real minimum resolution is set to 2700dpi.

This is why index Scans at '675dpi' with GD&ICE are much slower than

what they should. In the latest version 1.1.2, Minolta has reduced

Exposure of CCD a lot for '1350dpi' and lower, in order to increase

speed.<p>

- With Color Management On, the ICM Profile chosen is taken into

account and modify your picture, however the Profile is not tagged in

the file (ie: not recognised). You may want to use <a href="http:

//www.imagemagick.org/">ImageMagick</a> to embed the Profile in a

batch process.<p>

- The most CPU intensive Scan is for a '5400'/'2700'dpi Scan, NO GD,

NO ICE. For other configurations (GD/ICE/Negatives...), 1500Mhz should

be enough. RAM: You have plenty with 512Mb to scan at 5400dpi. Editing

is another story (I would recommend 512Mb for 2700dpi / >1.5Gb for

5400dpi).<p>

<br>

Olivier

 

<p>PS: Some of those findings have already been posted in a more

detailled way, with pictures (<a href="http://www.photo.

net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006E3o">Exposure</a>, <a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=006GHH">Focus&GD&ICE</a> and <a href="http://www.photo.

net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006Heo">Oversampling</a>). I hope

that this summary will be more helpfull (If you want to discuss

intensively those points, please post in the detailled linked threads.

Thank you).</p>

Olivier,

 

Do you have the link to download the latest version of the 5400? I looked but could not find it.

 

Did you already install this update and if so is it working ok?

 

Mark

You can get the update from <a href="http://www.minoltaeurope.com/magic_frameEoI.shtml?/pe/head_pe.htm?cgi-bin/db4web_c/db/minoeu/custsupp/support_stage.d4w?language=english">here</a>. The Minolta site just says its a bug fix release, no other details are provided.

Mark B., Costas: I installed the English version over my French one (it first uninstalls the previous version), and it's running fine. The only change I noticed is that '1350dpi' and lower (index included) are really faster (about 2x).

<a href="http://robertdfeinman.com/tips/index.html">Here</a> is a very interesting site dealing with editing & scanning (Elite 5400) - lot of visual comparisons. The 16 bits issue, and the Minolta Fixes are really informative.

Yesterday I tried two different techniques: scanning with ICE and without. I realised some lose in terms of sharpness with ICE, while the image without ICE was amazingly sharp, though I did`nt use USM. But I got black spots on the scan that I couldn`t find on the slide with a 10xloupe. What`s that??? Help! The spots weren`t on the scan when I used ICE.

Another question: I scanned with a resolution of 2700 dpi. Is there a lot of improvement when scanning with 5400 dpi?

Franz,<br>

<br><i>>>I realised some lose in terms of sharpness with ICE, while the image without ICE was amazingly sharp, though I did`nt use USM.<<</i><br>

<br>As has been discussed, ICE turns on <b>Grain Dissolver</b> which diffuses the otherwise highly collimated light source. That accounts for the softening of the grain. Most likely, the difference would be invisible when printed at 300 dpi.<br>

<br><i>>>But I got black spots on the scan that I couldn`t find on the slide with a 10xloupe. What`s that??? Help! The spots weren`t on the scan when I used ICE.<<</i><br>

<br>It depends on the size of the spots in pixels. You would need a much stronger loupe than 10x to show something that is even four pixels across in a 2700 ppi scan. My guess is that it's only microscopic dust, resolved by the scanner and that ICE effectively removes. Other than increased scan speed, I can see no practical reason to turn off ICE and GD. I learned to love diffused light sources in the darkroom. Spotting a silver or RA4 print with dyes makes child's play of spotting in Photoshop<br>

<br><i>>>Another question: I scanned with a resolution of 2700 dpi. Is there a lot of improvement when scanning with 5400 dpi?<<</i><br>

<br>For large prints, absolutely. For any other purpose, I scan at the resolution that is closest to my print size at 300 dpi or for screen display at 1350.<br><br>BTW, my 5400 failed after only five weeks of use and less than a few dozen scans. It's now being serviced for a stuck film holder. I've read a lot of complaints that seem hardware related and that makes me think this model might be a lemon.

Please note that I have started a new thread about <a href="http://www.photo-i.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.pl?s=3face23c0f68ffff;act=ST;f=7;t=44">'Workflows and tips'</a> on www.photo-i.co.uk, where users of the Minolta Elite 5400 are very active.

Does the DiMage 5400 updated software support OSX 10.3+ (Panther)? or will I have

to get Lasersoft from SilverFast?

http://www.silverfast.com/highlights/en.html

Yes, check <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006UpY">here</a>.