Negative or transparency film?

[sportback]

While this is a general question, it relates to scanners - however, if it's in the wrong place, my apologies in advance.

I'm a relative 'newbie' when it comes to scanning, and I seem to remember hearing that better results are possible scanning transparency films than colour negatives. I'm fairly happy with the results from scanning Fuji Pro and Kodak Portra but I feel I could get better results.

What are your experiences scanning colour transparency film please?

 

[jotloob]

Ian

I had a calendar project with images from a junk yard .
I don't want to warm up an old story , but as my CFV failed at that time , I repeated the shooting a week later , using KOAK E100VS film .
I had the slides , I was interested in , scanned by a pro lab , using an IMACON 848 scanner .
Just great . Some say , it is better to scan COLOR negative film . I have no experience here .
But see a result here .

View attachment 1447

Jürgen

 

[TJV]

For the life of me I can't get negative film (usually 400ISO) to scan as well as Provia 400X and other equivalent slide films. It depends on many things, I know, but in general I find negative film scans display way more grain and are softer in fine detail. On the flip side, they offer more latitude to shape tonal values, especially in the shadows and more extreme highlights. I've had Imacon 848 scans done of neg film (disclaimer: I didn't do them myself and to my eyes the could have been sharpened at input stage by the operator,) and the results were only marginally better in terms of grain and sharpness compared to ones I've done myself using a Nikon 9000ED with glass carrier. Tomorrow I will send the same negs I had scanned on the 848 off to get drum scanned to see if the fluid mounting and different technology make shooting neg film better for me. I'd absolutely love to shoot neg film for the latitude as I'm all over the place with my exposures these days!

Can anyone out there post any comparisons between drum and Imacon scans off the same NEGATIVE?

That would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sportback]

This is interesting as these are exactly the problems I'm having. I don't want to sacrifice the latitude of colour neg film (Because my exposures are all over the shop too!!) but I can't seem to get the quality I see in other peoples work.

I've spent ages scanning with different parameters but not really getting anywhere...

Thanks for your reply - I process and scan all my own stuff, and the 50€ to buy an E-6 kit and some film will be worth the effort to test this out.

 

[TJV]

What scanner do you use?
As I said, I've only experience scanning myself with the Nikon 9000ED and glass carrier and the Imacon 848 scans were at the mercy of another operator - as the drum scan will be.
I've seen hundreds of beautifully scanned and printed images in galleries so I know it's possible, I just don't know how to do it myself or get it done at a reasonable price.

This is interesting as these are exactly the problems I'm having. I don't want to sacrifice the latitude of colour neg film (Because my exposures are all over the shop too!!) but I can't seem to get the quality I see in other peoples work.

I've spent ages scanning with different parameters but not really getting anywhere...

Thanks for your reply - I process and scan all my own stuff, and the 50€ to buy an E-6 kit and some film will be worth the effort to test this out.

 

[sportback]

I have an Epson V700 flatbed scanner - for sure, this is not the best, but it seems to provide 'pretty good' results (After tinkering with the parameters) for the price. I simply don't have the funds to get a professional scanner.

Five rolls of Provia and an E-6 kit have been ordered - I'll test and report back as soon as I have some results.

(I live in the depths of the country, and finding a decent lab capable of processing and scanning any kind of film has proven quite difficult. This is why I process and scan my own images. That and the fact that I'm too impatient to wait... )

Ian

 

[TJV]

I also have a V700 and actually find the results ok compared to the Nikon, except I can't keep the film as flat. Same problem with grain and smooth tone though. I send everything out of town to get processed these days too, and it is a pain, but the results are worth it for me in terms of consistency. If the drum scan I get done is significantly better in terms of grain etc compared to what I've done myself, I'll just proof scan everything on the V700 and send all final work of for proper scanning. Expensive, but probably worth it because I'd rather be out shooting and then editing than scanning and colour proofing!

Can you please post a 100% crop from a 3200dpi scan from 400ISO neg film so I can compare to my own? I'll try post Nikon, Imacon and drum scans when I've got my scan back for you to compare.

I have an Epson V700 flatbed scanner - for sure, this is not the best, but it seems to provide 'pretty good' results (After tinkering with the parameters) for the price. I simply don't have the funds to get a professional scanner.

Five rolls of Provia and an E-6 kit have been ordered - I'll test and report back as soon as I have some results.

(I live in the depths of the country, and finding a decent lab capable of processing and scanning any kind of film has proven quite difficult. This is why I process and scan my own images. That and the fact that I'm too impatient to wait... )

Ian

 

[sportback]

I don't have any 400ISO film.

The following scans are 100% 3200 dpi TIFF of FUJI Pro 160C

First image - no USM

Second image - USM 250 - Photoshop

 

[sportback]

Sorry, forgot to include the original! (Now, where's that ear of grass gone???)

 

[TJV]

Looks pretty similar to what I get in terms of softness, but the 400ISO film seems to suffer from major grain aliasing, which people on the net seem to talk about quite often.

I'll post mine when I've seen the results.

Thanks