Focusing on a Minolta 5400 film scanner

[john.kennan]

I have a Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 but never seem able to get a
sharply focused slide scan image from it.
I've tried the 'DiMage Scan' software that is shipped with it and also
'VueScan' but neither seem to supply a sharp image whether focused
automatically or manually. I'm fairly certain that the slides I'm
testing with are sharp but the results are very disappointing.
Is there any special focusing technique I should be using that I don't
know about? Documentation does not appear to be a strong point with
this scanner.

Many thanks if you can help.

 

[Mendel Leisk]

I have a Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 but never seem able to get a
sharply focused slide scan image from it.
I've tried the 'DiMage Scan' software that is shipped with it and also
'VueScan' but neither seem to supply a sharp image whether focused
automatically or manually. I'm fairly certain that the slides I'm
testing with are sharp but the results are very disappointing.
Is there any special focusing technique I should be using that I don't
know about? Documentation does not appear to be a strong point with
this scanner.

Many thanks if you can help.

A few ideas:

1. Get your film as flat as possible. The depth of focus of this
scanner is very shallow. With slides, I've found remounting in Wess
AHX500K "tensioning" mounts is a big help.

2. Manually focus, frame by frame.

3. Experiment with different off-center focus points. Compare results.
Vuescan manual focus can give you feedback, through it's numbers, as to
the topography of your film.

4. With slides, if one edge is consistantly softer, try shimming. Again
Vuescan manual focus is handy for checking this. In other words, maybe
the slide is not quite perpendicular to the lens, when sitting in the
platten.

5. When manually focussing with Minolta Scan Utility, assuming your
emulsion is facing leftwards, towards the scanner's lens (per the
manual), and you are focussing with the knob on the front: Crank the
knob all the way counterclockwise (holder will move to left extreme).
Slowly crank knob clockwise (moving the holder to the right), until the
bars "peak". This point of focus is at the film *backing*, so keep
turning, *very* slowly. A little further, the bars will falter back,
and then peak a second time. *This* is at the emulsion face, and will
be sharper. Try scans at both peaks, to verify.

6. With the best efforts, you still will have dissatisfactory focus
sometimes. Note the frame number, rescan, try different point of focus,
whatever. Open both in Photoshop, zoom to 100% centered on same detail
in both, pan around, comparing.

Bottom line, this is a very finicky scanner to focus, too bad they
couldn't have designed an extra 1/2mm of focus depth, but there it is.
Plus, they're folding, looks like ;(

I have the same scanner (I think, it is the first gen one you're
talking about?

 

[Bart van der Wolf]

SNIP

I have the same scanner (I think, it is the first gen one you're
talking about?

In addition to Mendel's suggestions, allow the film to acclimatize in
the scanner. This will avoid film movement during the scanpass. Don't
focus in the center of the image, but rather try a point that's
roughly 50% between center and corner of the crop area. Also avoid
dense film areas with the Minolta software, VueScan is more accurate,
even in dark areas. Of course it also helps if the film is stored
properly and flat.

Bart

 

[Kennedy McEwen]

SNIP

In addition to Mendel's suggestions, allow the film to acclimatize in
the scanner. This will avoid film movement during the scanpass. Don't
focus in the center of the image, but rather try a point that's roughly
50% between center and corner of the crop area. Also avoid dense film
areas with the Minolta software, VueScan is more accurate, even in dark
areas. Of course it also helps if the film is stored properly and flat.

And, in addition to Mendel and Bart's suggestions, have realistic
expectations! ;-)

I say this partially tongue in cheek, but I have responded to numerous
"I can't get sharp scans from film" complaints over the years and a good
95% of them are from people viewing the results at 100% scaling. With
the KM-5400 this mistake is even easier to make than in any previous
desktop scanner because the resolution of the scanner is just so much
better than the film put into it.

I am not saying that is necessarily your problem, but the real test is
what prints from your scans look like, not what you see on the display
at 100% scaling. Counter-intuitively, the better the scanner the softer
that film will appear on screen, and the 5400-Mk1 is a *very* good
scanner.

 

[5400owner]

5. When manually focussing with Minolta Scan Utility, assuming your
emulsion is facing leftwards, towards the scanner's lens (per the
manual), and you are focussing with the knob on the front: Crank the
knob all the way counterclockwise (holder will move to left extreme).
Slowly crank knob clockwise (moving the holder to the right), until the
bars "peak". This point of focus is at the film *backing*, so keep
turning, *very* slowly. A little further, the bars will falter back,
and then peak a second time. *This* is at the emulsion face, and will
be sharper. Try scans at both peaks, to verify.

Why do you use the knob instead of sw slider to focus manually?

Bottom line, this is a very finicky scanner to focus, too bad they
couldn't have designed an extra 1/2mm of focus depth, but there it is.
Plus, they're folding, looks like ;(

Finicky is right. In addition to increasing the dof, a sturdier and
better aligned carrier would help. I don't think Minolta is (was) the
sole film scanner manufacturer having these problems.

 

[5400owner]

I say this partially tongue in cheek, but I have responded to numerous
"I can't get sharp scans from film" complaints over the years and a good
95% of them are from people viewing the results at 100% scaling. With
the KM-5400 this mistake is even easier to make than in any previous
desktop scanner because the resolution of the scanner is just so much
better than the film put into it.

OK, I'm one of those using 100% magnification in Photoshop to evaluate a
scan's focus. Viewing a 5400 scan at 100%, grain structures will show up
sharp at locations in focus and a little blurred when out of focus. This
comparison lets me decide whether the locations needing the most
sharpness are indeed focussed correctly in a scan. What mistake am I
making here?

I am not saying that is necessarily your problem, but the real test is
what prints from your scans look like, not what you see on the display
at 100% scaling.

Agreed. Between a raw scan and a file ready for printing, some amount of
sharpening has been applied. To preview a print's sharpness before
printing, I first size the image to the print size and resolution. Then
I view the monitor image at about 25% to 50%, depending on the actual
print size. I try to set the monitor image size to approximate the
actual print size.

Counter-intuitively, the better the scanner the softer
that film will appear on screen, and the 5400-Mk1 is a *very* good
scanner.

Agreed that the 5400 is very good. Can you clarify what you meant by
"the better the scanner the softer that film will appear on screen"?

 

[Kennedy McEwen]

OK, I'm one of those using 100% magnification in Photoshop to evaluate a
scan's focus. Viewing a 5400 scan at 100%, grain structures will show up
sharp at locations in focus and a little blurred when out of focus. This
comparison lets me decide whether the locations needing the most
sharpness are indeed focussed correctly in a scan. What mistake am I
making here?

None, you are getting sharp scans. ;-)
You aren't getting sharpness across the entire frame of course, but that
is probably down to the curvature of the film, which can only really be
fixed by using a glass carrier or slide mount. The scanner has only a
limited depth of field and the Minolta seems to have more than some
others.

Agreed. Between a raw scan and a file ready for printing, some amount of
sharpening has been applied. To preview a print's sharpness before
printing, I first size the image to the print size and resolution. Then
I view the monitor image at about 25% to 50%, depending on the actual
print size. I try to set the monitor image size to approximate the
actual print size.


Agreed that the 5400 is very good. Can you clarify what you meant by
"the better the scanner the softer that film will appear on screen"?

I mean that a higher resolution scanner will magnify the softness of the
image on the film more, and thus look worse, than one of lower
resolution when displayed at 100% on screen.

For example, say your screen resolution is 96ppi and your scanner is
2700ppi, then viewing at 100% will me a magnification of 28x, equivalent
to close inspection of a 26x40" image. However, with the Minolta 5400,
that would be a magnification of 56x, and close inspection of a 56x80"
image. Obviously the bigger image will show up every defect and
limitation of the film much more clearly. The best slide film has a
resolution limit that would be clearly visible on the smaller
magnification, so a larger magnification just makes it more visible.

 

[Mendel Leisk]

Why do you use the knob instead of sw slider to focus manually?

The adjustment with the knob is at least as fine as the sw slider, and
I just find it more direct/tactile. Would be nice if it's diameter was
a bit bigger, and shiny chrome was obviously not someone's brightest
idea, but still, I like it better than clicking the mouse, in this
case.