Need Scanning Help...

<p>I used to use a Nikon SuperCool Scan 9000, until it broke. From 2013 until recently, I didn't have a film scanner, but finally replaced it with the Plustek OpticFilm 120, which comes with the SilverFast software. During the time when I didn't have a scanner, I was able to get a friend of mine to do some scanning for me. He has an Epson flatbed, tho I don't remember what kind nor which software he uses.</p>

<p>I'm currently having trouble learning the SilverFast 8 software. I'll post pictures below of the same image scanned between the Epson flatbed and OpticFilm, with the OpticFilm image adjusted in lightroom. Basically, it seems like the SilverFast software is really overexposing my negatives. When I look at my negs, they don't look anywhere near as dense as SilverFast is scanning them to be.</p>

<p>How can I fix this?</p><div></div>

<p>Here's the same shot scanned using the OpticFilm and SilverFast 8</p><div></div>

<p>Here's the OpticFilm scan again, but adjusted in Lightroom</p><div></div>

<p>Here's another one... my negative is nowhere near as dense as this scan makes it look</p><div></div>

<p>Silverfat AI or SE?<br>

When I had Silverfast AI 6 I selected a good negative and Slide, scanned both at optical limit of the scanner in Auto exposure and saved them as the reference. Next I set the software to Manual and started moving one adjustment slider 10% at a time and did a scan at 1200 to 2400 dpi, evaluated the results, moved the same slider another 10% and made another scan. Once I hit the scan that had obvious distortion I backed up in 5% then 1% increments until I found the limit for that control. Next I reset the first control to default and tried the next one repeating the procedure until I had gone through all settings individually then started adjusting them in pairs then in higher multiples until I had all combinations of controls worked out. It took 3 to 4 hours per night for 4 or 5 nights to work through everything. Vuescan is the only software I still need to work through as it has settings I'm not familiar with and has some auto settings I need to turn off.<br>

While I'm not familiar with Silverfast 8 I can most likely figure it out quickly. Take the time to learn to learn scanning with it. In the mean time post a screen shot of the settings window as you are currently using it. </p>

<p>Charles, thanks for your help. When I get home from work tonight, I'll post a screenshot</p>

<p>Silverfast AI. Below is a screen grab of the workspace</p><div></div>

<p>Tells me nothing about your settings. What setting are visible are so small that they cannot be read. There are several free screen shot programs that allow one to to select an area to be saved. http://download.cnet.com/windows/?tag=hdr;brandnav<br>

show the settings plane only. </p>

<p>Including the film edge or the holder frame will throw the autoexposure off when scanning.</p>

<p>Sorry, the following screen shots should help more. Let me know if there are additional settings you need to see. Interestingly enough, I ran a few samples through VueScan. The initial previews in that software were very overexposed, but then were automatically brought back down to very reasonable levels. I'd compare VueScan's auto adjustments to what I get after adjusting SilverFast's scans in Lightroom.</p>

<p>Anyways, the screenshots</p><div></div>

<p>Densitometer</p><div></div>

<p>Navigator</p><div></div>

<p>Picture Settings</p><div></div>

<p>Negafix</p><div></div>

<p>Histogram</p><div></div>

<p>Gradation</p><div></div>

<p>Selective Color to Gray</p><div></div>

<p>General Settings</p><div></div>

<p>Auto</p><div></div>

<p>CMS</p><div></div>

<p>Special</p><div></div>

<p>Header</p><div></div>

<p>If you look back at the Navigator grab, you can get an idea of what the finished preview scan looked. I took a full screen grab just before the preview scan finished and whatever auto adjustments occurred. Here's what it looked like:</p><div></div>

<p>In CMS you have both input to working space and working space to monitor set to the same.<br>

Input should be the scanner calibration profile if created, Adobe RGB, sRGB, but not the monitor profile.<br>

What options are available in the input to workspace drop down box?<br>

What options are available for the workspace to monitor and working space to output drop boxes?</p>

<p>In the Negafix plane you should use the drop down menues to select the film manufacturer, film type, and film speed. They should only be at the generic position they are now in if the film type is not listed.<br>

Picture setting, histogram, gradation all show the layout of the scanned image. Current state shows the majority of the image information is compressed into the mid highlight to highlight section. This can be due to exposure/processing of the film, the lack of the correct film type selected, incorrect profiles selected in Color Management (CMS) or a combination of these 3 elements.<br>

Selective color to gray is for removing color cast or inducing one for a toned image look.</p>

<p>Thanks for the detailed screen shot breakdowns.</p>

 

<p>John-Paul, I have the same setup--Opticscan 120 run from Silverfast--and I tend to be very intuitive about the settings. Keep playing with them until the image looks good. Ansel Adams's advice still holds: "get the information onto the negative," or in this case, into the scan. I actually prefer a somewhat overexposed, low-contrast scan because it's easier to darken it later than to brighten it, as brightening can introduce noise in the shadows. I agree with Charles that you should make sure you've selected the correct film type. But if you have, and the scans are still overexposed, you can use the sliders to lower the exposure or adjust the histogram until it looks better. Remember, too, that once you start working with the image, you can always lower the exposure in Camera Raw before you put it into Lightroom or Photoshop--where you can also darken it. <br>

The detail that concerns me more than the brightness is that you have the resolution at just 300 ppi. Unless you have a severe problem with storage space on your hard drive, the resolution should be up around 2650 or even 5,300. (There's also an option for 10,800 but that's only for fanatics.) Otherwise, if you need to crop or make a large print, the image will look soft. </p>

<p>Charles and William, thanks for your replies. I'll adjust the settings when I get home from work tonight. I normally do scan at 5300, but sometimes that gets reset when I remove all the items from the Job Manager window.</p>

<p>As for the CMS window, there are no other options for Input to Working Space and Working Space to Monitor. How would I go about creating a scanner profile?</p>

<p>In NegaFix, there are no options for Fuji Acros, which is why I had it set to generic.</p>

<p>By the way, there's no way to Batch Scan the previews? I only seem to be able to get them done one by one.</p>

<p>I also forgot to post a shot of the 'General' area within the preferences. Here is that now.</p><div></div>