william_henderson2

<p>Having gone through many articles myself when I was learning scanning basics, and then again learning more advanced techniques, I found it very difficult to wade through and absorb the information. Most reputable sources base the information they present on a common set of theories regarding viewing distance and the ability of the human eye to resolve images. Both articles here present largely the same information, and if you remove the narrative aspects of the second article (the narrative about setting up a show is very cool, however) you can see the common idea that larger prints need less ppi because they are viewed from a greater distance. The table in the the article I linked to and the table in the second article represent common and maximum requirements, respectively, and they are pretty close. </p>

<p>Chris, if you scan at lower resolutions, but still within reason (use one of the charts) your scans will take much less time and the files will be much smaller. Smaller files are good not just because of disk space, but because of memory usage when editing and transfer times when backing up over a local network or to an external drive (and you better be backing up). These sort of guidelines will cover most of your needs, and <em>if</em> you need higher res in a small number of your images, you can always rescan the few images you need to. I understand the argument about not handling your negs too often, but at most, you will handle them twice: once to cover most of your needs and a second time to scan a small number at max resolution (if you want) when and if the situation arises. To me, that sounds like a pretty fair trade-off.</p>

<p>A last note: Consider your printer, its maximum paper size, and the setting in which your prints will be viewed. You are probably not going to be printing larger than 8x10, and those prints will almost certainly be hanging in your home or in someone else's home (meaning not in a museum with killer lighting). That being the case, the ppi you need is 181, or a scanner setting of about 1600 dpi. If you go all out, using the maximums from the second article, the ppi you need is 352, or a scanner dpi setting of about 3000. This is in line with both articles, as the second article said his numbers could be halved for average viewing conditions. It is worth noting that if you decided to print an 11x14 image, the dpi setting of 3000 would still be enough to cover your needs, as you would only need a ppi of about 2200 using the conservative settings from the second article. The larger you go, the smaller the ppi (in general, but I can think of exceptions like panoramas where the diagonal is long, but people will view it much closer).</p>

<p>I found an Epson v750 on the Bay from a office liquidator company. I use it with Vuescan, and I absolutely love it. Mine came without trays, software, or the scanning targets, but I have made-do and was happy for the deal. (I mount my negs on anti-glare glass as a tray work-around)<br>

I whole-heatedly endorse the v700/v750 from Epson.</p>

<p>Jobo Duo Set 2502 will do both 120 and 135, and is designed for the 2500 series tanks.</p>

<p>I have found this site to be a great place to find answers to your kind of questions: <a href="http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/printing/resolution/1_which_resolution_print_size_viewing_distance.htm" target="_blank">http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/printing/resolution/1_which_resolution_print_size_viewing_distance.htm</a></p>

<p>I highly recommend reading the whole page, at a minimum, then poking around some of the other pages on his site.</p>

<p>Personally, I scan 35mm at 1600 dpi, which gives me a file of a reasonable size and one that I can print at 8x10 with no problems. I could do a smaller size, but I like a little buffer for cropping, etc. I output at 100% of the scan, which gives me a 2320x1576 file, which is about 3.7 megapixels. You can use this site: <a href="http://www.scantips.com/calc.html">http://www.scantips.com/calc.html</a> to figure out what scan dpi you need for the print size you want. I strongly urge you to read the first link first before jumping into the second.</p>

<p>Happy scanning!</p>

<p>I am thinking about picking up a couple of PWs from someone on Craigslist, but I want to make sure about what they can do. He says they are from the early-mid nineties, and are labeled "The Pocket Wizard" with an FCC ID of KDS PocketWiz-T and -R. I am hoping that someone has a link to an online manual for these products, or even a website that discusses their use. All my searching leads me to information for the Plus II model and other products from the current lineup. All I really want to know is if the older models function similarly to the newer, and if I can do remote triggering using PC sockets on my MF cameras (I know that I have to use PW cables) as well as from a hot shoe. <br /><br />Any help would be appreciated.</p>