bjorn_solberg1

Thank you orsetto! Yes, replacement masks, holders and indeed any spare parts for the Minolta MultiPro seem non existent. I will have to treat my newly acquired MultiPro with the outmost care. It is a wonderful scanner! Your suggestion about making masks from unexposed 120 film seems like a brilliant idea. I will try that.

I have just purchased a Minolta Multi Pro scanner in very good condition. The scanner came with all the holders that were supplied when new, including the glass holder for 120 film. Unfortunately the seller could not find the masks that need to be fitted into the medium format glass holder. Does anybody here on this forum have experience with how to make DIY masks for the Multi Pro glass holder? I am grateful for any advice on this matter!

I regularly read about people who scan film with the Pentax K-1 and pixel shift, and they claim that pixel shift gives a better resulting scan than a non pixel shifted scan. I have been following a thread over at "largeformat photography", where one member uses the Panasonic S1R and pixel shift to scan film professionally in his lab. There are differences in the pixel shift technology between Pentax, Olympus, Phase One, Sony and Panasonic, but based on what I have seen on many photography forums I am convinced that pixel shift is beneficial when scanning film. Being able to bypass the Bayer filter and scan in full RGB is in my mind an obvious asset when scanning film. Then there is the notion of more resolution, less grain aliasing and a cleaner image resulting from a pixel shift scan. I guess I will know for sure the day I purchase the Pentax K-1 mark II

Once more slightly off topic: Here is a comparison between Pentax K-1 with pixel shift vs no pixel shift, but in a landscape context: Pentax Pixel Shift and Motion

Did you download the 97mb jpeg of the scanned image? It gives a rather good impression of a Pentax K-1 pixel shift stiched scan. Yes, this was a comparison between the Epson 4990 flatbed scanner and the Pentax K-1 pixel shifted. I have unfortunately not encountered any comparions between with pixel shift vs without pixel shift.

This may be slightly off topic, but here is a very good example of a pixel shift scan done with a Pentax K-1. The Pentax K-1 has a 36mp Sony sensor, and some people (Lloyd Chambers: diglloyd blog: Pentax K1: Impressive Innovation Unmatched by CaNikon) claim that with pixel shift this camera can produce more than 50mp files. Scroll down the page to member "Andrea K" and and take a look at his post. He scans Pentax 645 medium format film by taking four pixel shift shots and stich in Photoshop. How do you scan your film? - Page 3 - PentaxForums.com

Thank you for the service manual and the link to lcd-chip.com! I am still not any wiser about the exact specifications of the MDSE 5400 and consequently how to order a replacement bulb... I guess I will have to study the service manual more thoroughly and see if I can find the bulb specifications.

Thank you! I cannot however find any scanner bulbs at Projector Lamps LLC. Does anyone have the specifications of the original MDSE 5400 bulb?

Does anybody know where to find a replacement bulb for the Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 scanner? I am grateful for any advice on this matter!

Orsetto: Thank you very much for your "thesis" on film scanners! Very interesting and helpful. Do you have any experience with the build quality of the Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro? Is it as robust as the Nikon Coolscan 8000/9000? Are there any workshops that still repair Minolta scanners?

Sure, I know about the more modern FireWire driven Imacons. I would love to own an Imacon Flextight 343 for instance, but this scanner is much more expensive than its older sibling, the SCSI driven Imacon Flextight Photo.

Thank you digitaldog! I have investigated the Imacon Flextight SCSI scanner query a bit more. It seems that spare parts availability and repair possibilities make the SCSI Flextights a too risky investment for me. I have decided to look for other scanner options.

My current way of scanning medium format film is to use my Epson V750 for web sharing and smaller prints. I find that the V750 is good enough for prints up to at least A4 format (21 x 29,7 cm), probably also larger prints all depending. Further my plan is to send my very best medium format shots for drum scanning. Recently though I have started looking at the older Imacon Flextight SCSI scanners, like the Imacon Flextight Precision and Imacon Flextight Photo, these can be found for much less money then the Coolscan 8000/9000. What is the opinion about the older Imacon Flextight SCSI scanners. Are they worth purchasing, or are they simply outdated (SCSI and maintenance/repair problematics)? *I am also looking into camera scanning, but currently with my 16mp Pentax K-5 it involves multiple shots and stitching with 120 film to achieve results that better the V750. The results so far are promising, but it is very time consuming.

The PhotoKit plugins appear in the file menu, but CS2 is unable to load the plugins (OSX 10.5.8 and OSX 10.6.8). Instead the "spinning ball" shows up, or the application crashes. Is this comprehensible?

Then I need to investigate this further. Probably I will start by reinstalling Photoshop CS2. Thank you again for your help digitaldog!

I tried trashing the photoshop preferences, but CS2 still does not load the PhotoKit plugins. I also tried to make Photoshop CS2 accept the PhotoKit plugins on my ancient Mac Powerbook G4 running OSX Leopard 10.5.8., with no luck. CS2 behaves very similarly on the Intel Mac Mini OSX 10.6.8. and on the Powerbook G4 OSX 10.5.8., it does not load the plugins. When going to the file menu "About Plugins" on both computers, CS2 crashes when wanting "About" the PhotoKit plugins. PixelGenius write on their homepage: "The products should work with versions of Photoshop going back to Photoshop CS2 and up to Photoshop CC 2018 on Mac and Windows." I suspect that the (free downloadable) last versions of the PhotoKit plugins only work with Intel Macs, and thus need Photoshop CS3 or newer Photoshop versions. (I hope I am mistaken, because I only have CS2, and only need Photoshop to run PhotoKit Sharpener 2).

Thank you for your reply! Good to know that it should run fine in Photoshop CS2. I wonder what I am doing wrong? The PhotoKit 'PG Toolbox Plug-in Module' folder has been installed in the correct folder (plugins/Adobe Photoshop Only/Automate) in CS2, and the PhotoKit plugins show up in the "Automate" meny. But when trying to activate the PhotoKit plugins on a 16 bit RGB tiff scan from the Epson 750 I end up with the infamous "spinning wheel" or application crash.

I have Photoshop CS2 installed on a Mac Mini with an Intel processor and Snow Leopard OSX 10.6.8. (with Rosetta since CS2 is a PPC application). The PsCS2 software functions perfectly. Recently I became aware that the PhotoKit plugins have stopped being updated, and are available as a free download. Having read countless articles about the virtues of the PhotoKit sharpener, I have for a long time wanted to test the PhotoKit sharpener on medium format scans from the Epson V750. Unfortunately I seem unable to make the free PhotoKit plugins to function in CS2. Had anybody here experience with Photoshop CS2 + the latest versions of the PhotoKit plugins on a Mac?

Thank you for answering my query John! Your explanation makes sense.

I have for quite some time been unable to read more than the first page of threads on this forum. Here is an example: Nikon FM vs. FM2(n) for use in extremely cold weather When going to this thread I am only able to read comments on page 1. On page 2 and 3 there is no content. This is the case when browsing photo.net on an iPad, iPhone or a PC. Is there a way to solve this problem?

Many years ago I purchased a second hand Gitzo Rationale No. 4b head from Adorama, planning to use it with my Pentax 67ii system. However, already owning a Manfrotto 808RC4 head, I ended up using the Manfrotto for the Pentax 67ii. Recently I have purchased a heavy 400mm telephoto for the Pentax 67ii, and would like to start using the Gitzo No. 4b. I have som questions about how to do maintenance to the old Gitzo, hopefully someone here has some experience with this: 1. What kind of lubricant may be used on the threads on the handles? 2. What kind of material is best to use on the top plate - cork? 3. I have looked at replacement handles for this head at gitzospares, to see if it is possible to find some shorter handles for the main pan/tilt handles. So far I have not found any short handles that could fit. 4. What is the max load for the Gitzo g472 Rationale No. 4b head? 5. Is this a good head for heavy medium format equipment? I am grateful for any advice on my query!