Epson 4990 How to Get Full Frame Scans

[paul_stern1]

Hi,

 

I just got an Epson 4990 for scanning medium format film. I'm scanning 6x7 negs/trans from a Pentax 67

and 6x6 negs/trans from a Holga. I'd like to be able to scan the entire frame so I can get the full effect of

the sloppy Holga borders and the film edges (wiith film type/numbers, etc...).

 

I can get the sides of the frames ok, but the top and bottom is always cropped by the Epson film carrier.

How do people get around this? Are there other film holders (Doug's) for example or is there another way?

 

Finally if anyone has any good advice or links for getting the most out of the Epson 4990 (it came with the

Epson software as well as Silverfast SE) I'd really appreciate it.

 

Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

Paul

[paul_viapiano]

Use the film area guide instead of the holder and lay the film on the glass. Use blue painter's tape or Scotch Magic low-tack tape to get the neg/trans to lay flat.

 

This scan of a 4x5 transparency was done this way:

 

 

Some films are more prone to Newton rings than others, some aren't bothered at all by it.

 

You can also do a quasi-wet scan this way by using Prazio Anti-Newton Spray.

[paul_stern1]

Thanks Paul,

 

I never knew about the film area guide. That's good to know. I tried two scans. One

where I just layed the film on the glass and it was ok. The other one I taped down as you

said, but I did get some Newton rings (Kodak E100G tranny). After searching the web I

found some people who have made their own glass holders by getting some anti-glare

glass from a framing shop and sandwiching the neg/tranny between them. I may give that

a try, but I wonder about the thickness of the glass and if that would effect the focus of

the scanner.

 

Have you ever tried that?

 

Thanks again for your help to get me going.

 

Paul

[paul_viapiano]

The thickness of the glass may inhibit correct focus, but you should try it.

 

There is a pdf floating around on another solution but I can't find the link right now. I'll look around for it and post it if I find it...