Scanning negative film

[psomerson]

I bought an Epson 4490 scanner in order to scan some old (5 to 20
years) 35mm negatives. I am scanning at 24 bits/2800 dpi. The problem
is that the scans are usually grainy and not as sharp as the original
prints. Is it because the quality of film deteriorates over time? Keep
in mind that the photos were taken with a pocket camera and were
developed at normal photo kiosks.

Also: I am using the software that came in the box with the scanner,
and I have to adjust the settings for each photo to get realistic
results. Is Vuescan or Silverfast any better in calculating the
correct contrast, color etc? And, if I install any of them, will they
mess with the installation of my existing scanner software?

Is 2800 dpi enough, given the quality of my negatives?

thanks

 

[Harry Stottle]

I bought an Epson 4490 scanner in order to scan some old (5 to 20
years) 35mm negatives. I am scanning at 24 bits/2800 dpi. The problem
is that the scans are usually grainy and not as sharp as the original
prints. Is it because the quality of film deteriorates over time? Keep
in mind that the photos were taken with a pocket camera and were
developed at normal photo kiosks.

Also: I am using the software that came in the box with the scanner,
and I have to adjust the settings for each photo to get realistic
results. Is Vuescan or Silverfast any better in calculating the
correct contrast, color etc? And, if I install any of them, will they
mess with the installation of my existing scanner software?

Is 2800 dpi enough, given the quality of my negatives?

Have a look at the following link
http://www.photoscan.150m.com/

 

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

I bought an Epson 4490 scanner in order to scan some old (5 to 20
years) 35mm negatives. I am scanning at 24 bits/2800 dpi. The problem
is that the scans are usually grainy and not as sharp as the original
prints. Is it because the quality of film deteriorates over time? Keep
in mind that the photos were taken with a pocket camera and were
developed at normal photo kiosks.

Also: I am using the software that came in the box with the scanner,
and I have to adjust the settings for each photo to get realistic
results. Is Vuescan or Silverfast any better in calculating the
correct contrast, color etc? And, if I install any of them, will they
mess with the installation of my existing scanner software?

Is 2800 dpi enough, given the quality of my negatives?

thanks

My guess is that the problem is with the scanner. Scanning old 35mm
negatives at 2800 ppi should give an image that is MUCH sharper than
the prints you had made at a kiosk. I have 40 year old color slides
and negatives and my old Nikon IV gives great results... but trying
the same film in an Epson 3170 gives very poor results, yet the Epson
does a great job on scanning prints. It just doesn't handle 35mm film
well.
Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

 

[Rob]

I bought an Epson 4490 scanner in order to scan some old (5 to 20
years) 35mm negatives. I am scanning at 24 bits/2800 dpi. The problem
is that the scans are usually grainy and not as sharp as the original
prints. Is it because the quality of film deteriorates over time? Keep
in mind that the photos were taken with a pocket camera and were
developed at normal photo kiosks.

Also: I am using the software that came in the box with the scanner,
and I have to adjust the settings for each photo to get realistic
results. Is Vuescan or Silverfast any better in calculating the
correct contrast, color etc? And, if I install any of them, will they
mess with the installation of my existing scanner software?

Is 2800 dpi enough, given the quality of my negatives?

thanks

Thats the nature of negs - grain - this is compensated for, through a
diffusion enlarger, when printed.

 

[Maris V. Lidaka Sr.]

I would scan at the highest resolution the Epson 4490 supports - you can
deal with the grain in your photo adjusting software. As Charlie indicated,
the age of the film doesn't really matter.

You may find Vuescan or Silverfast better or not - both have free trials, so
try them out!

Maris

 

[jeremy]

I would scan at the highest resolution the Epson 4490 supports - you can
deal with the grain in your photo adjusting software. As Charlie
indicated, the age of the film doesn't really matter.

You may find Vuescan or Silverfast better or not - both have free trials,
so try them out!

Maris

This is one example where the Digital ICE3, Digital ROC and Digital GEM
features on modern film scanners offer an advantage.

Even on film that has just been processed, I always have scratches. Perhaps
they come from the Noritsu film processor at my local pharmacy.

I would have abandoned film long ago, had it not been for the
scratch/grain/color restoration features on my film scanner. I never have
graininess, because GEM analyses the grain pattern and softens it without
adversely affecting the image.

The price differential over a flatbed scanner is, in my view, well
compensated for by the visibly-superior scanned images.

 

[Marc Heusser]

I bought an Epson 4490 scanner in order to scan some old (5 to 20
years) 35mm negatives. I am scanning at 24 bits/2800 dpi. The problem
is that the scans are usually grainy and not as sharp as the original
prints.

You will get better results when scanning at higher resolution (up to
9600 dpi, even though 4800 dpi could be enough).
Also the scanner has a plane of maximum sharpness that lies above the
glass - experiment (eg by scanning a scale that is supported by a few mm
on one side.
My scanner has its maximum sharpness at 1.2 to 1.6 mm above the glass.
You may need to experiment with the holders.
If you find the best position, you should get quite good results.

HTH

Marc

 

[Maris V. Lidaka Sr.]

Digital ICE (all versions) and Vuescan need the fourth IR channel, of
course, to work. Absent Digital GEM, Vuescan has grain reduction built-in,
and there is shareware NEAT Image and Noise Ninja. Silverfast may have
grain reduction as well - I just don't know.

The local Wolf Camera a block away visibly scratched my film as well, so I
switched to Helix about 6 blocks away - no more scratches (but still dust,
of course, when scanning). They've now sold to Holiday Camera - I haven't
finished a roll to be able to try them yet.

I mailed to Adorama for developing and printing once - they did a very fine
job.

Maris

 

[HvdV]

Digital ICE (all versions) and Vuescan need the fourth IR channel, of
course, to work. Absent Digital GEM, Vuescan has grain reduction built-in,
and there is shareware NEAT Image and Noise Ninja. Silverfast may have
grain reduction as well - I just don't know.

Silverfast indeed has grain reduction though IMO not as good as Noise Ninja.
On top of that, NN allows you to locally undo the filtering. Useful in places
where the grain reduction destroyed fine textures.

-- Hans