dba

Just got a scanner,and everything is fine,but

when i scan in negs,they appear as pre scans perfectly,ie as prints,rather than negs,but when i scan and save,then open them up in Photoshop,they are saved as negatives.I then use the software to change them into prints,and it effects exposure and grain,looks awful.What am i doing wrong?

also,why doesnt Photoshop LE like Tiffs,ie it wont do much with them at all apart from view them

dba

hmmmmm,its because i was scanning C41 b&w negs as "b&w negatives" when in fact they should have been scanned as colour negs,doh!!

but the Neopan C41 has a colour cast to it so i dont like it.Any recommendations for a good b&w film that scans well?

dr_ming

Which scanner/software? I scan Ilford and Kodak C41 B&W with no problems.

dba

this was my first scan from a borrowed Minolta Dual Scan II,taken at max res then obviously reduced to post

I dont like the sepia tone,its Neopan c41.If i pick b&w neg then it saves as neg,the only way to get a positive end product is to save as a clour neg


or is it ok?




[Edited by dba - 12/9/2003 6:56:03 PM]

dr_ming

Doesn't look too bad to me. Especially as I used to own the Nissan Sunny GTI on the left! Seriously though, the pic loks ok, although it is difficult to tell as I am viewing on an LCD notebook screen.

Did you install the driver software on your own PC, or are you using someone else's machine with it already installed? The reason for the question is that the 'profiles' on my Nikon software are fully editable, so could it be that someone had edited the B&W negative profile so that it does not invert the image?

There is nothing wrong with using the colour negative profile to scan B&W negs (in fact, some books recommend it). To get rid of the colour cast, simply convert to greyscale as soon as you import into Photoshop (makes the files 1/3 the size too).

WRT Photoshop LE not liking TIF files, I think that it may be that it doesn't like 16-bit TIF files. If you scan as 8-bit, it should be ok.

Hope this helps.

dba

great help as usual,ta

what is 16bit *linear*? I have that option,and ive set it assuming that its the best one! And will 8 bit degrade the quality?

the software is now in my laptop,from srcatch

another edit,thanks for the grayscale tip



[Edited by dba - 12/9/2003 7:16:01 PM]

[Edited by dba - 12/9/2003 7:24:28 PM]

dr_ming

dba, 8-bit will reduce the quality slightly, but to be honest, unless you are trying to pull detail out of a very badly under/over exposed negative, or trying to get highlight and shadow detail from a very contrasty negative, I doubt that you will really notice the difference.

I assume that if 16-bit linear is on offer, then there must be some other kind of 16-bit option also? I would guess that there is a weighted (non-linear) encoding on offer to try to maximise the detail captured from the negative. In reallity, I doubt that it makes any significant difference. The CCDs in consumer/pro-sumer scanners are not capable of this level of dynamic range anyway.

When I scan my own negs, I generally scan 'people' pics (i.e. snaps) as 8-bit, and landscapes etc. (my 'proper' pics) as 16 bit.

Regards, Ming.

P.S. I am still intruiged as to why you have a picture of my old car!

dba

Barry is the current owner,i know him,and this was taken at a Brands Hatch track day recently

yep,i can use a normal 16bit option,thanks again

dr_ming

Did he take the Sunny on the track?

dba

nope, he is still in mourning after selling his Honda,he needs time for emotional healing