how to care for Scan Elite 5400?

[false_dmitrii]

A couple questions about scanner care for SE5400 owners.

What do you use for dust protection? The bag the scanner arrived in
still fits, but it's rather awkward and slippery to lift up the scanner
every time I slide the bag back on. Do any companies make an
open-bottom slipcase that's a good fit for the scanner?

I could see light from inside the unit even after removing the film
holder. Does the lamp remain lit as long as the power is on? Seems
like an easy way to drive up the heat and push up the date for an
expensive bulb replacement.

I'm already very happy with the output after just a few tries with the
manual focus (software control). Annoying that the film holder has to
keep sliding back and forth so much and exposes most of the film to
whatever's drifting in the air; doubly annoying that it props open the
scanner door for as long as it's inserted, inviting more dust to land
on the sensitive optics. But otherwise it seems to work fine, and I
like the small footprint. Though when I asked the scanner to prescan
an empty frame, it started to emit an unusual "burn in" aroma and
caused some very *interesting* thoughts...won't try that again for a
while.

false_dmitrii

 

[Mendel Leisk]

A couple questions about scanner care for SE5400 owners.

What do you use for dust protection? The bag the scanner arrived in
still fits, but it's rather awkward and slippery to lift up the scanner
every time I slide the bag back on. Do any companies make an
open-bottom slipcase that's a good fit for the scanner?

I could see light from inside the unit even after removing the film
holder. Does the lamp remain lit as long as the power is on? Seems
like an easy way to drive up the heat and push up the date for an
expensive bulb replacement.

I'm already very happy with the output after just a few tries with the
manual focus (software control). Annoying that the film holder has to
keep sliding back and forth so much and exposes most of the film to
whatever's drifting in the air; doubly annoying that it props open the
scanner door for as long as it's inserted, inviting more dust to land
on the sensitive optics. But otherwise it seems to work fine, and I
like the small footprint. Though when I asked the scanner to prescan
an empty frame, it started to emit an unusual "burn in" aroma and
caused some very *interesting* thoughts...won't try that again for a
while.

false_dmitrii

I made myself an open-bottomed box out of singe-wall cardboard, stapled
and taped at the corners. About half the back wall open as well, to
accomodate the power/usb/firewire plug-in area.

 

[Hecate]

A couple questions about scanner care for SE5400 owners.

What do you use for dust protection? The bag the scanner arrived in
still fits, but it's rather awkward and slippery to lift up the scanner
every time I slide the bag back on. Do any companies make an
open-bottom slipcase that's a good fit for the scanner?

At the moment, a plastic sandwich bag open at the back. Works well,
cost almost nothing. I don't mind lifting the unit to place the bag
round it given the cost

I could see light from inside the unit even after removing the film
holder. Does the lamp remain lit as long as the power is on? Seems
like an easy way to drive up the heat and push up the date for an
expensive bulb replacement.

I only ever turn the scanner on when I want to scan, and turn it off
again when I've finished. No point in leaving it on if you're not
using it.

 

[Kennedy McEwen]

A couple questions about scanner care for SE5400 owners.

What do you use for dust protection? The bag the scanner arrived in
still fits, but it's rather awkward and slippery to lift up the scanner
every time I slide the bag back on. Do any companies make an
open-bottom slipcase that's a good fit for the scanner?

I don't think anyone makes anything like that specifically for the
purpose - though, in my opinion, it should be illegal with a penalty of
28-days on the rack without food or other sustenance, followed by
hanging, drawing, and quartering for the CEO of any company that sells
film scanners without them! Since I feel particularly lenient today, we
might dispense with the hangings! Come Monday, and the start of the
working week they'll be back on the menu though, so volunteer your CEO
today!

All the peripherals in my computer room are individually dust covered.
Some, like the flatbed, had covers that were bought exactly to fit, but
the printers are odd shaped so no generic cover would fit them exactly.
In the end I used the generic nylon type of larger size, with melted
seam edges. Cutting these to shape gave a more tailored fit with more
than enough material left over to make a perfectly taught cover for the
film scanner. A standard clothes iron is enough to remake the seams
with this material - just put some paper over the material and run the
hot iron down the edge. When complete, pull the paper off and each seam
is indistinguishable from the original item. Bland printer paper - even
blank newspaper - does the job.

My film scanner has a completely sealed dust cover with the "zip-lock"
seal from a large industrial bag integrated into the base for ease of
access. When I want to scan, I just unzip around the unit, lift off the
top dust cover and scan. All film scanners should have such a cover in
the original user package, but until we start hang drawing and
quartering CEOs it will not happen! ;-)

 

[Don]

I don't think anyone makes anything like that specifically for the
purpose - though, in my opinion, it should be illegal with a penalty of
28-days on the rack without food or other sustenance, followed by
hanging, drawing, and quartering for the CEO of any company that sells
film scanners without them!

Hear! Hear!

And if that doesn't work, then we should dispense with the above
pleasantries and start torturing them for real! ;o)

Don.

 

[DavidTT]

I don't think anyone makes anything like that specifically for the
purpose - though, in my opinion, it should be illegal with a penalty of
28-days on the rack without food or other sustenance, followed by
hanging, drawing, and quartering for the CEO of any company that sells
film scanners without them! Since I feel particularly lenient today, we
might dispense with the hangings! Come Monday, and the start of the
working week they'll be back on the menu though, so volunteer your CEO
today!

Bad idea. Any CEO reading this will get his troops to design a dust
protector, and CHARGE for it. Instead, the punishment should be applied
to a CEO that allows his troops to ship a scanner that is susceptible to
dust to begin with. Come to think of it, add to the list

- a scanner with shallow dof
- a scanner shipped without it8 targets
- a scanner that requires third party sw
- etc.

I'll volunteer for the drawing and quartering duties, and will even
bring my own instruments.

 

[false_dmitrii]

I made myself an open-bottomed box out of singe-wall cardboard, stapled
and taped at the corners. About half the back wall open as well, to
accomodate the power/usb/firewire plug-in area.

Is the cardboard itself a dust producer or dust magnet to any extent?

false_dmitrii

 

[false_dmitrii]

At the moment, a plastic sandwich bag open at the back. Works well,
cost almost nothing. I don't mind lifting the unit to place the bag
round it given the cost

I agree about the bag's cost, but I feel funny lifting and tipping the
considerably more expensive and breakable scanner up and down while
gripping such a slippery surface.

I only ever turn the scanner on when I want to scan, and turn it off
again when I've finished. No point in leaving it on if you're not
using it.

I agree in theory. In practice I've been known to unintentionally
leave electronics switched on for longer than necessary. Plus, the
lamp is getting some between-scan down time as I compare various
settings and experiment with different ways of manipulating the 16-bit
output in my cheapie PS3 Elements SW (not much fun without adj. layers,
curves and color cast controls ).

false_dmitrii

 

[false_dmitrii]

(e-mail address removed) writes

I don't think anyone makes anything like that specifically for the
purpose - though, in my opinion, it should be illegal with a penalty of
28-days on the rack without food or other sustenance, followed by
hanging, drawing, and quartering for the CEO of any company that sells
film scanners without them! Since I feel particularly lenient today, we
might dispense with the hangings! Come Monday, and the start of the
working week they'll be back on the menu though, so volunteer your CEO
today!

I don't approve of the sentiments of this and following posts. They're
far too restrictive. Can you not tailor your rack-to-quarter program
to fit into the job description of *any* deserving corporate officer?


(You're not channeling The Meaning of Life here, are you? )

<snip>

I like the sound of your do-it-yourself dust covers. I'll have to try
it out. If you ever find yourself in need of another source of income,
you may place me on your preorder list.

false_dmitrii

 

[Hecate]

I agree about the bag's cost, but I feel funny lifting and tipping the
considerably more expensive and breakable scanner up and down while
gripping such a slippery surface.

LOL! I suffer from fibromyalgia and I've *never* dropped it ;-)

I understand your reluctance though. Those cheap bas*ards
manufacturing scanners should really include a cover.

I agree in theory. In practice I've been known to unintentionally
leave electronics switched on for longer than necessary. Plus, the
lamp is getting some between-scan down time as I compare various
settings and experiment with different ways of manipulating the 16-bit
output in my cheapie PS3 Elements SW (not much fun without adj. layers,
curves and color cast controls ).

<g> Yeah, I forget sometimes too.