help! No workable Minolta Scan Dual IV options?

[t c]

Sorry if this has been addressed multiple times before...if so, i'd
appreciate pointers to any answers out there:

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings, and also has that streaky
line bug with multisampling turned on. The only way I can get
anything is to scan as a color slide positive, and invert - this seems
to be a tad too bright and low contrasty.

Also with vuescan, I'm getting the bug where the preview just gives
back garbage and emits a loud, scary beeping noise... (scan works,
apparently)


Does anyone have settings/scanning solution that work for this scanner
and TriX 400? I seem to see some ppl who have had some luck with the
scan dual III...

How does one work with RAW files instead of the processed files? Will
this help at all?

Will Vuescan with multisampling turned off give adequate results?

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

T.
(new to film scanners...obviously)

 

[CSM1]

Sorry if this has been addressed multiple times before...if so, i'd
appreciate pointers to any answers out there:

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings, and also has that streaky
line bug with multisampling turned on. The only way I can get
anything is to scan as a color slide positive, and invert - this seems
to be a tad too bright and low contrasty.

Also with vuescan, I'm getting the bug where the preview just gives
back garbage and emits a loud, scary beeping noise... (scan works,
apparently)


Does anyone have settings/scanning solution that work for this scanner
and TriX 400? I seem to see some ppl who have had some luck with the
scan dual III...

How does one work with RAW files instead of the processed files? Will
this help at all?

Will Vuescan with multisampling turned off give adequate results?

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

T.
(new to film scanners...obviously)

I have a Scan Dual IV scanner. Here is what I found. I am using the Scan
Dual4 Twain interface to Irfanview. (It is an easy to use quick method)

The first index scan after selecting B&W Negatives was Dark and contrasty as
you found.

What I found is in Preferences, tick Auto in Exposure control for negatives.
Select 35mm, B&W Negatives. I am using the Default Job selection in Index.
Make all the correct selections then close the twain interface. Restart
interface.

I had to reset the scanner several times with Shift+Ctrl+I in the TWAIN
interface to get it scanning the BW negative correctly. (See manual page 94
troubleshooting)

One time I shut down the scanner and pulled the power plug at the rear and
then went through the reset again and again.

What seems to happen, is the scanner does not "see" the change from color
scanning (I was doing slides) to BW scanning without a reset. Maybe several
resets.

 

[Mendel Leisk]

Sorry if this has been addressed multiple times before...if so, i'd
appreciate pointers to any answers out there:

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings, and also has that streaky
line bug with multisampling turned on. The only way I can get
anything is to scan as a color slide positive, and invert - this seems
to be a tad too bright and low contrasty.

Also with vuescan, I'm getting the bug where the preview just gives
back garbage and emits a loud, scary beeping noise... (scan works,
apparently)


Does anyone have settings/scanning solution that work for this scanner
and TriX 400? I seem to see some ppl who have had some luck with the
scan dual III...

How does one work with RAW files instead of the processed files? Will
this help at all?

Will Vuescan with multisampling turned off give adequate results?

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

T.
(new to film scanners...obviously)

You say with Vuescan you're using all defaults, and Tmax400 profile. Try:

Stick with TMax400

Up the contrast index from D76ci:.40 to D76ci:.55 (this will reduce contrast)

Reduce white point, say to .02

Reduce brightness, say to .7

 

[t c]

I have a Scan Dual IV scanner. Here is what I found. I am using the Scan
Dual4 Twain interface to Irfanview. (It is an easy to use quick method)

The first index scan after selecting B&W Negatives was Dark and contrasty as
you found.

What I found is in Preferences, tick Auto in Exposure control for negatives.
Select 35mm, B&W Negatives. I am using the Default Job selection in Index.
Make all the correct selections then close the twain interface. Restart
interface.

I had to reset the scanner several times with Shift+Ctrl+I in the TWAIN
interface to get it scanning the BW negative correctly. (See manual page 94
troubleshooting)

One time I shut down the scanner and pulled the power plug at the rear and
then went through the reset again and again.

What seems to happen, is the scanner does not "see" the change from color
scanning (I was doing slides) to BW scanning without a reset. Maybe several
resets.

hmm...ok, I tried that and it looked a little better. i will play
around with it a little more ...

the other question is - is it worth turning on autofocus? I currently
have it off, the main reason being some of the film i've shot is
deliberately slightly out of focus - will this interfere with the
autofocus mechanisms? or does it do things differently, and i'm
really missing out on something by not turning on autofocus?

Thanks,

Tyler

 

[CSM1]

"CSM1" <[email protected]> wrote in message




hmm...ok, I tried that and it looked a little better. i will play
around with it a little more ...

the other question is - is it worth turning on autofocus? I currently
have it off, the main reason being some of the film i've shot is
deliberately slightly out of focus - will this interfere with the
autofocus mechanisms? or does it do things differently, and i'm
really missing out on something by not turning on autofocus?

Thanks,

Tyler

The best way to learn what a function does, is just try it.

You can try auto focus, but except in rare cases, it just slows down the
scan.
It will do a focus on every frame.

Scan Dual4 does a focus before it does the final scan. Sometimes you can
hear the motor of the focus run. It is short and quick.

In the preview there is a choice of auto or manual focus at a point that you
select with the mouse. If the preview does not look to be in focus, you can
try auto or manual focus.

 

[Hecate]

Sorry if this has been addressed multiple times before...if so, i'd
appreciate pointers to any answers out there:

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings, and also has that streaky
line bug with multisampling turned on. The only way I can get
anything is to scan as a color slide positive, and invert - this seems
to be a tad too bright and low contrasty.

Also with vuescan, I'm getting the bug where the preview just gives
back garbage and emits a loud, scary beeping noise... (scan works,
apparently)


Does anyone have settings/scanning solution that work for this scanner
and TriX 400? I seem to see some ppl who have had some luck with the
scan dual III...

How does one work with RAW files instead of the processed files? Will
this help at all?

Will Vuescan with multisampling turned off give adequate results?

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

T.
(new to film scanners...obviously)

No comment on Vuescan, but try scanning the B&W as a colour image. In
other words, lie to the scanner.

 

[richardsfault]

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings,

May not have anything to do with it, but Tri-X and TMax are very
different films.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, but I think it's all...

Richard's fault!

Visit the Sounds of the cul-de-sac at www.richardsfault.com

 

[Alex Stols]

Sorry if this has been addressed multiple times before...if so, i'd
appreciate pointers to any answers out there:

Just received a new minolta scan dual IV...having trouble scanning
TriX 400 B&W negatives - with the minolta B&W negative settings
things
are way too contrasty and the dark/shadow/dense areas seem to be too
much so and i lose detail. Vuescan 8.0.10 similarly has this
problem with the default TMax 400 settings, and also has that streaky
line bug with multisampling turned on. The only way I can get
anything is to scan as a color slide positive, and invert - this
seems
to be a tad too bright and low contrasty.

Also with vuescan, I'm getting the bug where the preview just gives
back garbage and emits a loud, scary beeping noise... (scan works,
apparently)


Does anyone have settings/scanning solution that work for this
scanner
and TriX 400? I seem to see some ppl who have had some luck with
the
scan dual III...

How does one work with RAW files instead of the processed files?
Will
this help at all?

Will Vuescan with multisampling turned off give adequate results?

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

T.
(new to film scanners...obviously)

Hello T,
I'm quite a new SD IV user also, and/but I have no info on TriX 400.
But some of my experiences may interest you.

What I am trying to find out now is what the best settings are to
produce a RAW in Vuescan. A RAW should contain (nearly) all density
levels in its data and later on you should be able to extract the
image in any way you want.

Vuescan easily makes RAWs, the only thing I have to find out is how
to ensure the RAW is optimal.
Vuescan also easily reads RAWs and converts them to TIF or JPG -
something you can do over and over again if you wish, without ever
having to scan the negative again.

As regards the prescan bug: I got it several times, and it went away
by removing the ini file and starting to set up Vuescan again from
scratch (which you'll do faster and faster with time!).

The multi-sampling problem is still present: I too hope that Ed will
address this issue soon. To my mind even in single sample scans there
is a color problem: it is very slight though. And conversely it is
there in B&W too, only I cannot really see it, so I don't bother.

My B&W scans are fine so far - I have done about 900 negatives, some
of them in terrible shape, some of them very clean. All of them in
RAW and archived...

(aside) Funny that you get several responses to your Minolta SD IV
problems immediately, while I got none on my post of July 20th:
"Minolta Scan Dual IV and Vuescan - who uses this combination? "
(end aside)

 

[t c]

thanks for all the replies - i've tried the setting the D76 ci, light
and brightness settings on vuescan but for whatever reason, it's still
not doing to well on the negative i'm using for testing. the
autoexpose with ctrl shift i seems to work a little better.

So far, the best results are when I've been using the minolta batch
scanning program with color positives and inverting in photoshop; the
only issue is that for brighter images, it gets really light and the i
have to really stretch the levels histogram. i may experiment with
B&W negatives with autoexpose.

keeping the autofocus clicked on for now...i seem to be able to avoid
having to run the image through unsharp mask when I do so, although it
makes things slightly grainier...but hey - that's Tri X...

Probably holding off of vuescan for now, at least until i find
something out about why it's making that loud noise during previews
(which come out as just noise), and until the multisampling bug is
fixed once and for all....

Tyler

 

[t c]

as an fyi, so far, I've found that scanning in the negatives as 16 bit
B&W positive or as 8 bit color positives with the Minolta software
gives roughly equivalent eyeballing results, so far I've been sticking
with the former as supposedly, the 16 bit gives more leeway in terms
of editing levels and curves. plus, it's a smaller file too...

Haven't done much with Vuescan - the multisampling doesn't seem to
work. (Just out of curiousity -does multisampling make much of a
difference in negatives?) Single pass seems to work fine; the D76CI
of 0.55, white of 0.02, etc seems to make things a tad bit too dim
when scanning as B&W negative - may try futzing around with it more in
the future. I do notice - noise (or maybe film grain?) seems much
less prominent in the Vuescan scans...

Tyler