Scanner does not focus slides (?)

<p>To make a long story short, I've finally decided to make a (partial) jump into the digital world, and I've bought a second-hand (but completely overhauled + guarantee) HP Scanjet G4010 to digitise at least part of my slides archive. Problem: the scanner work flawlessly with paper photos, but the slide scans are always grossly out of focus. I've tried to chage the settings, I've tried to use slide frames of different thickness, I've tried to remove the slides from their frames and scan them using the tray for negatives - no use. The scans are always out of focus. The manufacturer's troubleshooting web page only says, "if the scans are out of focus, check proper contact with the glass" - which is infuriatingly obvious enough.<br>

I must now decide, in the relatively short time, whether the scanner suffers from some hidden defect and thus return it, or whether I'm doing something very stupid. Can anyone help? Many thanks in advance.</p>

 

<p>I shouls perhaps add that all I'm asking for is a leven of sharpness and resolution that will alow for decent TV screen viewing. I'm not planning to use the scan for printing or anything like that. My current problem is that my scans appear out of focus on my PC, even though the original slides withstand projection (with a P-Sonnar lens) on a very large wall reflecting screen.</p>

 

<p>Are you using HP software?</p>

<p>You might look at VueScan, which has a focus on or off button for most film scanners.</p>

<p>Check whatever scanning software you are using for something similar that might be turned off as it is set now.</p>

<p>"Are you using HP software?"</p>

<p>Yes, I'm using HP software (dowloaded) specific for the G4010, which also has a button for "sharpening", Makes no difference whatseover, not even at the max. resolution of 4800 dpi.</p>

<p>'Sharpening' is almost certainly for enhancing an image, not a control for focus itself. Look in the preferences for the software, or -<br>

download and try VueScan ( http://www.hamrick.com/ ). I often use it in preference to the manufacturer software, and you can try it out without cost.</p>

<p>To clarify: this is what I get (the original is razor-sharp)</p><div></div>

<p>Welcome to the world of scanning!</p>

<p>For the record, have you a successful scan of a negative?</p>

<p>Have you tried flipping the slide on the other side? Sometimes there is a bit of a bow with the film, which can bring it out of focus.</p>

<p>I ask because focus is a common problem with lower end scanners and no amount of sharpening can cure what's not there. Changing software would likely not give you much of a gain either.</p>

<p>If your negatives are also soft I would expect HP just plopped a light hood on a flatbed scanner and called it a photo scanner. It would not be a fault of the unit, as in nothing has broken. It would be a design problem. It this point I would ask yourself if this is actually what you wanted to do, and if so get a better scanner.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The reviewer here http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/printers/105251/hp-scanjet-g4010 seems less than impressed with the quality of the film scans. I've got an Epson Perfection 4870 which has a similar specification but seems to do a much better job. It doesn't sound to me as if you are doing anything wrong, and I somehow doubt if alternative scanning software would improve matters.</p>

<p>An alternative method of digitising slides is to put the slide on a light box and photograph it using a digital camera with a macro lens but if you are not into digital, I guess this is not an option for you.</p>

<p>I had a closer look at the image you had posted. There seems to be a fleck of dirt on the tree stump near the bottom 1/4 of the image. Zoom in on your original image. If it is sharp(er), find out where the dirt is. If it is on the scanner glass, SOL; the scanner only has one focal point and you cannot change it. If it is actually on the slide, you *may* be able to compensate for it.</p>

<p>John, that review date was 2007. Even then....</p>

<p>"We weren't impressed with the scan quality. Documents on white paper weren't crisply focused, and had a blue tint in regions where the document mat hadn't held the paper flush with the scanner's glass. The G4010 didn't produce sharp film scans and wasn't able to distinguish subtly different dark shades in slide film."<br>

<br>

I don't think HP is in this game very seriously. </p>

Flatbed scanners , especially consumer grade flatbed scanners, are simply not very good for scanning film. The Film

needs to held flat and that plane has to parallel to the scanning bar's path and at the exact height where the scanner is

focused. Epson solves these problems somewhat with the fluid scanning option on the V700 /V720.

 

Once you get the mechanical problems sorted out here are some suggestions for getting the most quality out of your

scans no matter which scanning software you use.

 

 

1) scan at the highest optical resolution the scanner is capable of. For flatbed scanners that is generally 3200dpi.

 

 

2) scan into a very large color space: Joseph Holmes' Ektaspace 5 color space is ideal but ProPhoto RGB iWork's very

well too. also scan at 16 bits per channel. You want to capture as much tonal range (for which you'll need 16 bits per color

channel) and with a color space large enough to contain all of the possible colors in your slide (hence my

recommendation of Pro Photo RGB or Ektaspace. With landscapes there are real world colors in slide film that lie outside

of even a moderately large color space like Adobe RGB(1998).

 

3) when looking at the histogram of the preview scan leave the black clipping point at zero but drag in the white clipping

point from 255 to just about 5 points above the right hand end ofthe histogram's "mountain range" as this is the actual

highlight value in the fierce of film you are scanning. This simple step maximizes to the fullest an efficient use of the

scanner'sdynamic range.

 

4) a really good scan looks low in contrast when you compare what you see on screen to the actual piece of film. Don't

try to make the initial scan look exactly like the film.

<p>I used to own an HP Scanjet G4050. While I did get better results than you're showing the lack of focus is just the beginning. Noise in the most perfectly exposed frames just made it less than worth it. The workflow of the HP software was abysmal, you started over every time you changed something. I eventually picked up a used film scanner for less than I paid for the HP and have been happy since. I concur with Ellis' opinion on consumer grade flatbed scanners, at least with an HP scanner they are simply not good for scanning film.</p>

<p>Epson makes some decent flatbed scanners that do a decent job with film at a decent price. They also make pricier ones that do better jobs as well.</p>

<p>Many, many thanks to all for the extremely useful advice I'm getting. Incidentally I was aware of the limitations of flatbed scanners as regards film and slides (although I had missed the negative review of the G4010), but I'm not aiming at top quality here; when I want to see the slides as they should, I project them or use a viewer. I would be happy with a screen-level digital quality, just to share the images on the web or use them as screen saver.<br>

Just to rule out any possible problems with the individual slide I posted, this is what I get with the registration slide I use to check focus with my projector. Needless to say, the original is as sharp as it could possibly be.<br>

If this is arguably the best I can get from the G4010, then I did make a wrong purchase and let the matter rest.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Where is the link to my image?!?</p>

<p>As soon as I posted the above image, I realised that it seems to be much better in focus than the landscape foliage I posted earlier. I'm currently on a trip, but I seem to remember that the registration slide had a much thinner frame than my archive. Could this be the culprit? As soon as I'm back home I will check it.</p>

<p>If what you're scanning is 35mm and you don't have any larger formats to scan you may consider a dedicated film scanner. Otherwise you'll likely never be satisfied with the results. Plustek makes decent scanners if you want new. Nikon and Minolta make great scanners if you don't mind used and are willing to put time and effort into getting it to work either with your current computer or using an older computer with a compatible Operating System to create your own scanning station. There are other good scanners as well, but... you'll notice that you haven't had one person here say that HP scanners are good scanners. I'd get an Epson or Canon scanner if you needed a flatbed rather than an HP. If you can return the HP and afford better I'd encourage you to do so.</p>

<p>Ezio. Some years ago I had an Epson Perfection 3200 which was a budget flatbed scanner. You couldn't set or alter focus. I used that to make countless small scans for screen-based applications from mounted Medium Format slides. I do the same now with an Epson V700, together with a third party slide holders that allow you to position film various distances from the scanner glass, and I use those scans for internet but also for files to print up to 12" square at which size they look pretty good. I know nothing of HP scanners; but I do believe you will find a low cost flatbed that will give you good results on screen, without paying for a film scanner. </p>

<p>Return the unit and get an Epson 3200, 4870, or V700 flatbed. I have has all 3. The 4870 is what the V700 replaced, but it has the same resolution and quality, but can only scan 8 slides at a time, vs 12 with the V700. I think it sells used for very low cost.<br>

The hassles with your HP simply are not worth it.<br>

Get an Epson, and you can still order a few extra slide holders, and for reasonable price. Preload 5 slide holders (an entire box of slides), press scan, and walk away. Makes slide scanning easy. Plus, they have digital ICE infrared dust removal, an ESSENTIAL for slide scanning.</p>