Scanning 6 x 7 film with the Coolscan 9000

[bob_ross3]

<p>

<p>If there is anybody out there using the Nikon Coolscan 9000, or other Coolscan models, for scanning 6x7 Medium Format film..... I need some help!<br>

Ran my first roll of 120 film through my Mamiya RZ and I found the whole post-capture process to be somewhat user-unfriendly.<br>

Now, I want to figure out if that's simply because of my continuing struggles against Murphy and his Law or if maybe my workflow is fraked up</p>

<p>I had the film (Velvia ) processed by a local lab and asked them not to cut the processed film<br>

I then cut off a two-shot strip and placed it in my Nikon MF Glass Film Holder and here is where I encountered my first frustration - <strong>shouldn't there by a mask included that would be a perfect fit for Two 6x7 negs ( or in this case positives ) packaged with the scanner?</strong><br>

So I cut a piece of the supplied green masking material and placed in in the glass holder with the two-image strip and proceeded to scan<br>

Did this 5 times to complete the roll and due to imperfect scissor work on my part, hey I'm left-handed, had to remove and re-arrange with three of the five tries because the preview wouldn't show the whole image - I know this is pilot-error, <strong>but is there a workflow trick or mask that would make this fool-proof </strong><br>

During this entire process I was wearing "lint-free" gloves, that I purchased from a reputable online source, in order to protect the glass holder from fingerprints.<br>

Well I had mad dust and lint all over my scanned images and I'm wondering if there is any way to prevent that in the future. If I lose the white gloves won't I get prints all over the glass?<br>

Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to present all the facts in the hopes that somebody might have some suggestions for my next attempt.<br>

Please no, "shoot digital" responses. I'm already doing that most of the time.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Bob </p>

</p>

[andre_noble5]

<p>Bob, I have the 9000 and the only thing i can say is scanning with the 9000 is indeed a tedious process. it's tedious. tthere is no getting around it.</p>

[ghuczek]

<p>You don't need to mask the film. Just put the two frames in the glass holder, preview, and set the cropping guides. This is what I do using Vuescan with the 9000 and it works well. Removing dust can be tedious, as Andre said, but it is necessary. Gloves are a good idea, since fingerprints will show up in the scans.</p>

[andre_noble5]

<p>Are you using Nikon scan and ICE to remove dust? Sounds not.</p>

[steve_parrott]

<p>I have the 9000 and do medium format film in various sizes. Here is what I do, but you are not going to like the answer! The ROTATING glass holder DOES have masks of all sizes. It is the main reason I got the rotating holder. This holder is designed to scan only one negative at a time, but it has black masks in all medium format negative sizes that frame the negative perfectly. Why these are not included with the "regular" glass holder is beyond me, unless it is because the regular glass holder is used more for batch scanning, which I have NO desire to do. So I know that does not actually solve your current problem, but that is how I do it. Also, as far as dust, I just use a "Rocket Blower" on the negatives and glass and use the ICE dust removal in Nikon Scan and I seldom, if ever, have even a speck of dust. </p>

[PatrickMP]

<p>Coincidentally yesterday I started my adventures in scanning 126 film with the 9000's glass carrier, and I built a custom mask of two 6x7 frames using heavy black paper to hold each 2-frame strip of 126 film. I was having issues of the edges of the frames being cut off, and one thing I found was that there is a setting titled <em>Strip Film Offset</em> to adjust the frame offset of each individual frame. This option is in the tools menu in the last set of commands (<em>Scanner Extras</em>). You might want to try playing with that to get the film registration perfect.<br>

For the record I've never used the masking material. I've had good luck with 6x6 frames, but I've noticed challenges with 6x7. One reason that there is no "universal mask" is that, unlike 35mm, 6x7 frames may have uneven spacing depending on the quality of your camera/camera back; for example my C220 TLR had incredible spacing issues. A universal mask would likely not work 100% of the time.</p>

[christoph_sensen]

<p>There are two OEM Medium format film holders with glass for the Nikon 9000. The fixed one doesn't have any masks and also doesn't need them. I use VueScan with the Nikon 9000 and you can adjust the offset, so that you can even scan two 6x7 slides sequentially. There is also a "rotating" holder, which comes with a number of masks, including the 6x7 mask. That is for a single slide/negative only and the mask has to be inserted for the scanner to recognize the holder properly.<br>

Christoph</p>

[philip_wilson]

I scan 6x8 Fuji and find that you can only scan one image at once and need to put the edge at the edge of the holder.

It is very important to get the negative clean and flat. In my case I wipe the negative (or positive) on both sides with

PEC 12 and PEC pads I alsoclean the glass holder in the same way. While inconvenient it produces good results and

even scans well when still slightly wet from the fluid. This process doesmnot damagenthe imagenatball if done

carefully. In terms of scanning two images I find that even on the 6x8 setting the scannerdoes notbget the second

image right. I justplace the one I want to scan at the edge of the holder and use preview to set the scan edges

[sfcole]

<p>A question for anyone using the rotating glass holder: do the masks allow one to get any of the film frame? My regular holder just isn't quite big enough for a Mamiya 6 frame, but it does allow a tiny bit of Bronica frame, which is a little smaller.</p>

[q.g._de_bakker]

Contrary to what is said above,the Nikon glass holder (non-rotating) should indeed come with pre-cut masks in all sizes. I donlt know why you don't have a complete set, Bob. I certainly got a bunch of them with my glass holders.<br><br>These masks are needed too, to lift the film off the glass, to prevent Newton rings (which will indeed occur when laying the film directly on the glass.<br>Uneven spacing, mentioned by Patrick (not just happens with 6x7 though), will make it a real joy to use these pre-cut masks...<br><br>ICE work, but also removes 'dust' that isn't dust. The best way to deal with dust is to make sure there is as little as possible to remove in post processing (impossible, with no less than 6 surfaces for dust to adhere to), and remove it 'the old fashioned way': spotting each individual particle in postprocessing.<br><br>The image offset thing is something Nikon did not get right. The scanner never gets it right. It's easily adjustable in the scan software, but not something solved by using different scanning software.<br><br>The rotating glass holder, in my opinion, does nothing to make life easier, a lot to make it even more difficult. It increases the number of times you need to load a holder (i.e. clean all dust off, and position the film inside the holder, which often involves opening the thing again, blowing all 'fresh' dust off again, hoping you get it right this time, etc.) by as much as 4x for 6x4.5, still 2x for 6x7 and up, while offering no advantage. If you need to rotate the image, it's best done in postprocessing.<br><br>It's like Andre said: tedious, with no way round the tedium.

[robert lee]

<blockquote>

<p><strong>shouldn't there by a mask included that would be a perfect fit for Two 6x7 negs </strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p>It is bundled in with the scanner. However, I've never found it necessary with either the included glassless holder or the Nikon ANR glass carrier.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Well I had mad dust and lint all over my scanned images ... If I lose the white gloves won't I get prints all over the glass?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I don't use gloves. Just hold the film by the edge or rebate. Finger prints on the glass wipes off easily with alcohol (PEC-12) and lint-free sheets.</p>

<p>As for dust, blow across the film with a few squeezes of a bulb blower (no brushing!) after the film is placed on the carrier. Some dust will still remain on the film, unfortunately. Turn on ICE for color media. For B&W, it helps a lot if you develop your own film and scan just after it dries.</p>

[stp]

<p>I use the "masks" that came with the glass carrier -- they come in all of the common sizes. However, their main use for me is to lift the film off the glass to prevent Newton rings, and they are excellent for this purpose. Even with the "masks," I still use the film offset button located near the bottom of the tool palette, as others have mentioned. With practice, I can generally get the film perfectly centered on the first try, because I know just how much offset is going to be required before I make the first pre-scan. I use nylon-based gloves an an antistatic brush, but I'm also a bachelor and dust is part of my life; for that reason, I use ICE if the image contains large areas of uniform color, such as the sky. Scanning is not something I thoroughly enjoy, but I can get other things done while doing a scan, and the end results make it all worthwhile.</p>

[denniswms]

<p>I tape single 67 frames into my carrier and then use a (dry) spotting brush to remove any wayward specks on each side just as I do after loading into a negative carrier for printing in the 4x5. I do not use ICE or any equivalents which I feel just mush the image. There usually remains a bit of spotting to do but far easier on a computer screen than with brush and custom mixed liquid ink on a gelatin silver enlargement.</p>

[radfordneal]

<p><em>I do not use ICE or any equivalents which I feel just mush the image.</em><br>

This doesn't match my experience with the Coolscan 9000, <strong>except</strong> when the film hasn't been processed properly, specifically when not all the silver has been bleached out. ICE doesn't work if there is silver left on the film (hence it doesn't work with traditional B&W).</p>

 

[q.g._de_bakker]

I <i>does</i> match my experience, with film that was processed perfectly fine.<br>The filter is good, but removes more than just dust.

[stp]

<p>I agree that more than just dust is removed. I don't mind using ICE if I know the transparency (with lots of blue sky) is going to have a lot of dust and if the destination is just internet use. If I want to print something large, I'll take whatever time is required to do the spotting by hand.</p>

[jens_g.r._benthien]

<p>Bob, the labs usually cut the films every two frames. The glass holder comes with masks - if you don't have them, you might ask Nikon for another set. However, you can scan without the masks, but might end up with Newton rings.<br>

Try to humidify the room of your scanner with a water-sprayer (like the ones for flowers) with an adjustable nozzle approximately 30 minutes before you start scanning. Cover your scanner and computer with a towel.<br>

Clean your film with a Kinetronics brush or StaticVac ( http://kinetronics.com/store/kinestat_prod.html or http://www.kinetronics.com/store/staticvac1.html ). These brushes make the cleaning simple.<br>

For a longer session I'd repeat the humidification of the room after an hour. This keeps dust at the ground.<br>

BTW, I never use any gloves, I just wash my hands and grab the film strip at the side.<br>

Can't help you with NikonScan, I use VueScan where I can specify the mask individually after the pre scan.<br>

Other than that, the LS 9000 is a fantastic machine.</p>