Scanning BW negs on an Epson 3170

[jim_fenton1]

Good Morning....

 

I haven't done black and white since I lived in a darkroom way back

in the high school days but I've decided that I miss it.

 

Can I scan my negatives on an epson 3170 and print using Photoshop?

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

[silent1]

I'm not directly familiar with the 3170, but in general, if it'll scan color, it'll scan black and white -- if all else fails, scan as a positive (slide) and invert in software.

 

The biggest limitation is that a black and white negative that would print well, especially on a diffusion enlarger, will have too much contrast for most scanners and you'll wind up having to tweak the settings for every frame trying to get an image that doesn't have lost shadows or blocked highlights -- but if you shorten development to accommodate scanning, you'll produce thin negatives that will be difficult to print when you set up a darkroom. A condenser enlarger will help some, and the 3170 is supposed to handle more density than older scanners, so it may be less of a problem than with my old Agfa Arcus 1200.

[hughes]

I have no problem scanning BW negs on my Epson 3200 but as Donald say's you will have better results with flatter and thinner negs . good luck Steve

[macgregor_anderson]

I've got a 3200, and I'm struggling with medium format negatives. I've only been trying for a few months, but I've read all I could on the subject, and my results so far have been not great. My attempts on 35mm negs have been pretty disappointing. I know some folks out there are getting pretty good results, but I will say it's not easy. A dedicated film scanner (if you haven't already got the 3170) would make more sense I think for 35mm. I'd get one, but the medium format ones cost a lot more. I don't mean to be discouraging, and you might find a couple people out there who have had great results, but trust me, it is not going to be a walk in the park by any means.

 

I will say that photoshop gives terrific control IF you've got a good scan. I love the results I get on those rare occaisions when I send it to my 2200 printer. However, it does lack that "organic" feel that dodging and burning by hand, etc. gives you.

 

I have a darkroom in my laundry room now, and enjoy using it instead. If you've got space, you might consider that route. The gear isn't all that expensive, and it sure is fun! Brings back those high school days (mine were the same) in a way that a computer just won't. Before I moved into this house, I was living in Portland, OR and decided to take a night class at the local community college. That got me back in the darkroom. It was very inexpensive, the teacher was great, and it gave me the confidence to get set up with a home darkroom. Depending where you live, you might find access to a darkroom through this route.

[ddv]

I have a 3170 too, and I use it too make scans of black&white 35mm negatives. You can check out some examples in my folder, the most recent pictures are scanned from B&W negatives. But I use my darkroom to make prints, the scanner I use as a kind of digital contact print. It's nice to try out the dodging and burning I plan to do in the darkroom and for putting pictures online. From what I've read, it's pretty hard and expensive (I'm on a limited budget, so that might be relative) to get decent B&W prints. Besides, I like working in a darkroom. As a sidenote, I just started out with photography too. I got my first SLR about a year ago and bought the darkroom equipment pretty cheap a few months ago. I love to work with film, which is as big a part of the fun I get from photography as is making the actual shot.

 

David

[lex_jenkins]

<i>Moderator's note: This thread was moved from the B&W Photo - Printing & Finishing Forum to this one, which has a section specifically for issues regarding scanning of negatives and associated processes.<p>

 

However questioners are encouraged to post to the Digital Darkroom Forum for more in-depth questions specifically related to issues beyond the basics of scanning b&w negatives, such as: using Photoshop or other image editing software; output from any form of printer attached to a computer; etc.</i>

[john_shriver]

If you are using Epson Scan, it is VERY hard to set the correct white and black levels due to the tiny and poorly rendered preview window, and the lack of a histogram. The auto-levels drop 10% at each end, which is exactly what you don't want. You have to be very conservative, and check the grey scale in your photo editor to see that you didn't clip it.

 

Try SilverFast or VueScan, they make it much easier to optimally use the entire dynamic range of the scanner. The only problem with SilverFast is that the version that does 16-bit depth is really pricey. So when I have a really dense negative, where you need 16-bit depth for the grey scale manipulations necessary, I have to fall back to Epson Scan. (I normally use the free SilverFast LE that came with the Epson 2450.)

 

The picture below (which I didn't take!) is brutally overexposed. Two or three stops. You can't see a 40 watt light bulb through the sky. Even the deepest shadows have more than base density. Yet I was able to scan it with an Epson 2450 and Epson Scan in 16-bit mode. Yes, there is some noise in the sky, but it's not objectionable. But there is still gradation in the sky.<div></div>

[mskovacs]

There's a good photo.net thread <a href=http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007hwK>HERE</a> including a link to an excellent article on the topic. I've been scanning MF on an Epson 3200 and 35mm on a Nikon LS-30 and have been having a difficult time. I'm finally getting some hope that I can scan B&W well and consistently.

[john_perkinson]

<p>I have very good luck with my medium format scans and my 3170. I think it's a great scanner for the money. It takes a little bit of practice, but the Epson scan software seems pretty good to me...</p>

 

<p>Here is a scan from last night...</p>

 

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<img src="http://www.orbit1.com/images/photos/daily/{8966fd94-01c6-4048-b153-0c37287042bf}.jpg">

[etienne_roses]

Hello there!

I've just turned to scanning negs as well, but I have a couple of technical glitches.

1 I'm using HP's 3670 TMA at 2400 dpi, which doesn't appear to be compatible with Vuescan. all scans look slightly out of focus. Is it a general design flaw with all TMAs?

2 Scanners are not specifically desinged to work in B&W. So far I've found that the best scans are with the follwing settings: 24 or 48 bit colour (not B&W), Colour negative. Of course, the driver will try to remove the usual orange mask, so the blue layer will contain nothing but noise. I remove it uder PS, adjust curves and levels, desaturate and end up with a 16-bit b&w picture, which is significantly of better tonal range than a B&W scan or a scan with slide settings. Why is that? Any better procedure?