MTF for scanners

<p>Hi all. Anybody ever thought of coming up with an MTF chart for scanners? That way, we could have a bit more objective look at, at least, resolution and sharpness. Color rendition would take a bit more work, I think. But am I missing something that would prohibit that?</p>

<p>No, I've got and had scanners, I was just wondering, since a scanner is comprised of a lens, why that lens' performance isn't quantified like a shooting lens. It's not going to help me make a decision, just thought that it could help buyers know what they're getting besides ' remarkable resolution, true film scanner performance etc. blah blah blah.'</p>

<p>Nikon has not published MTF data for their scanners, at least in the usual places. Feel free to conduct your own tests however. DxO has the software, all you need is a standard.</p>

<p>Standard! That's the rub. Unlike camera targets, you can't use a relatively low resolution target or photo reproduction and stick it on a wall at a prescribed distance (magnification ratio). For a scanner, you need something that actually delivers 200+ lpi at high contrast. That translates to metal-on-glass slides, which start at about $400.</p>

<p>The lens in a scanner could be characterized by MTF data. The MTF of the scanned image is far more complicated since is is a function of the lens and the scan frequency (i. e. pixels per inch). </p>

<p>Les, thanks for your response. I sorta figured someone had already thought along these lines. And I use an Epson V700 with Fujichrome 100 4x5 films, so just getting minimum results is not what I'm after. But I guess it is limited to the subject matter. In the lens MTF testing, specific known value targets are used. Never thought of that.</p>