Urgent - How to scan 35mm negs at full 8000dpi on an Imacon X5?

<p>Hi all,<br /> My local, well-equipped lab here in Shanghai can't get their X5s to scan 35mm negs at the full 8000 dpi res but "only" at the next best step (6300 dpi). Does anyone know exactly how to do it?<br /> I am scanning for an exhibition of mine and could certainly do with all the res I can get.<br /> I have been trawling the net for an answer to this, but haven't found it. Some say it can only be done on the single frame holders and only in portrait mode, but we have tried that as well to no avail. We may just missing one semi-obviuos step. I don't mind coming off as stupid on this one - just as long as we get it working;-)<br /> (Oh, speaking of holders - but not as important as my original question - I still cannot understand why it is that so many years on, Imacon/Hassy standard 35mm holders are still too small and crop into 35mm negs... Ever since I was in photo journalism school we have filed them down and here in Shanghai, I had to go buy my own holder and file it down since the lab would not let me do it to theirs. It is easy enough with a fine-grained metal file, we just shouldn't have to do this)</p>

<p>All best,<br /> David</p>

<p>if i remember correctly, i use to have a Imacon flextight, and depending of the holder you use you could get a higher resolution,.. for example by using a portrait oriented holder vs a landscape one.</p>

<p>Also, how big do you need your final print, and what ppi? what you ask for will give you a 38x56inch @200ppi... if you want something like a 16x20 or even a 24x36 the 6300ppi scan is more than enough. And in need you can double that size via interpolation in Ps.. not the same as doing it on the Imacon.. but whe are talking about a 48x72 inch print.. that people will look at least 10feet away..</p>

<p>Hi Patrick,<br>

Thanks for the response. It seems like my lab guy might just have found the solution. Was just on the phone with him. Something not entirely obvious, but apparently buried a bit deeper in the menus and instead of choosing "optical res" he had to pick "quality" or something like that. Good news and especially since it seems it will work with my modified 24X36X6 holder which takes a whole strip with no cropping. <br>

Minimum size for the print show I am doing is around 100cm (40'') and the bigger ones will be around 165cm (65''), so yes, I can do with all the res I can get. Even scanned at full 8000ppi and printed at 200dpi, I would need to upres in post. That said, I did a large print show last year and you are right - often it is extremely difficult to see any close-up difference between inkjet prints printed at 200dpi vs. 300 or 400dpi.</p>

<p>Best, <br />David</p>

<p> </p>

<p>David,</p>

<p>When enlarging a 35mm neg to those sizes, you won't find a difference between 180ppi or 240ppi on print. With that in mind, just take your scan and give it a bump to 180ppi if you like for that 65" print. Let the printers RIP do the rest from there. </p>

<p>Glad you got your resolution problem fixed.<br>

On the matter of 35mm frame cropping I think it is somewhat historical from the days of cheap film cameras and people who took photos of groups from too far away and included lots of sky and grass. In the mass photoprinting market the photo finishers found that by heavily cropping the image 99.9% of the market didn't notice and in the main the picture quality improved. It also meant that the automated printers need be less accurate in their alignment. I too spent time altering my enlarger film carrier to capture the whole frame. After filing the inside edge don't forget to matt black the filed edge.</p>

<p>David,<br>

To maximize the res on our Flextight holders, we create a custom holder (in the software) and then adjust the size to the minimum mm's needed for scanning the particular negative. I believe that the narrower the holder, the higher res you can get out of it, so 35mm in portrait orientation should do it. And you will need to take the 'quality' setting off optical so the software will give you the higher res choices in the dropdown menu.<br>

I also have wondered why the factory holders are made to crop the frames (not just on 35mm, but med format frames as well). You can order custom holders made to your specs for full frame scanning.</p>

<p>OK,<br>

Thanks for all the valuable input. I did go ahead and call the support desk in Denmark and what they had to say may be of interest to others. It is very much in line with what people have been saying about chosning the right neg holders.<br>

Basically, we are not supposed to use the "Quality" option but to stick to the one which is called something like "Optical Resolution". But then, an X5 will still only go up to 6300ppi. The trick is to go into the "Frame" menu and then go to "Customize" and from the list there find the "hi res' version of the holder, you are using. Remember it has to be a 35mm neg in portrait mode.<br>

Eg. I have the 24X36X6 holder and when I had picked the normal version of that, I could not get it to more than 6300ppi. When I choose the version same holder in the frame menu which has a "hi res" at the end of the name then I can pick the 8000ppi option.<br>

The support staff said this was the way to do it. If chosing the "quality" option, it will interpolate...</p>

<p>Best,<br>

David</p>

<p>I think the correct name for the frame option you need to chose is "true resolution". Also, supposedly you have to turn off "Auto Frame Recognition".</p>