Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Epson V100 scanner sharpness
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Techniques
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:42 am    Post subject: Epson V100 scanner sharpness Reply with quote
I've become increasingly disappointed with the sharpness of scanned negs recently with an Epson V100 scanner. I noticed how bad it was when I had some prints back recently that were pin-sharp, but my scans of the negs were too soft, even at the maximum sharpness setting.

I can't believe this is an Epson issue generally or there would be more info on the web about it.

I tried scanning a print and that lacked critical sharpness too.

Does anyone use a V100 and have the same issues?

Cheers,
Graham


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My Epson 4490 flatbed scanner has good sharpness, and I ma happy with it. So is Bill (Katastrofo) I think.
What makes me unhappy is the loading film procedure, which is awkward and the film holder flimsy. That is why I would love to have a dedicated film scanner at least for 35mm. I dream of a scanner that I can feed with all the strips and it would advance them automatically, but I don't think that such scanner exists with a human price. Sad


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I dream of a scanner that I can feed with all the strips and it would advance them automatically, but I don't think that such scanner exists with a human price. Sad
Microtek F1/M1 could be closest choice to your needs: it has strong carriers, uses no glass between the negative and the scanning strip, has autofocus and can accommodate 8x10 negatives too. The price can vary but i think you can find a refurbished one at a decent cost.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have a V350 and it's not very sharp either. In low-end scanners the claimed DPI are always bullshit, you'll get between 1 and 5mp equivalent at most - i don't even bother scanning at the highest dpi, there's really no increase in "effective" resolution. So, I guess the V100 supposedly being even worse is really bad in terms of resolution Sad


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
naplam wrote:
I have a V350 and it's not very sharp either. In low-end scanners the claimed DPI are always bullshit, you'll get between 1 and 5mp equivalent at most - i don't even bother scanning at the highest dpi, there's really no increase in "effective" resolution. So, I guess the V100 supposedly being even worse is really bad in terms of resolution Sad


Yes, I guess you could be right. However, it's not the resolution that's the issue really, this is claimed to have maximum 3200 optical. It's the sharpness. It's almost like it is a tiny bit out of focus, even with max sharpening. It's the same scanning prints. I can see all the detail in the scans, but compared to a print it is a bit soft. Right now I don't have budget for a better scanner. Well I do, but it's a choice between dSLR or scanner Confused


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
piticu wrote:
Orio wrote:
I dream of a scanner that I can feed with all the strips and it would advance them automatically, but I don't think that such scanner exists with a human price. Sad
Microtek F1/M1 could be closest choice to your needs: it has strong carriers, uses no glass between the negative and the scanning strip, has autofocus and can accommodate 8x10 negatives too. The price can vary but i think you can find a refurbished one at a decent cost.


I looked at this also. It seemed a lot of scanner for the money. But all the reviews I have found so far say it's pretty crappy quality Sad


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Have you tried to use a different soft-ware? I think I have tried them all and to me Vuescan is the best.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
GrahamNR17 wrote:
It seemed a lot of scanner for the money. But all the reviews I have found so far say it's pretty crappy quality Sad
I think there is a little contradiction here Smile
If you want top quality go for a Imacon but i warn you: you have to sell your cars or your half of your house to get a new one Smile
Im joking. I believe that Microtek offers a very good price/quality ratio. The guys at luminous landscape have nice review about this scanner too.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Maybe is it due to variations in the height of the film holder.

Betterscanning.com makes custom film holders with variable height, but not for low-end scanners (for Epson, they begin with the V500).

You could try raising the holder with shims. If the result is worse, then make a thinner holder with carboard.

I have a V200 but haven't yet made enough neg scans to say that my scanner is sharp or not ... now, I'm wondering Smile


PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm thinking of doing just that, finding the sweet spot raising the film from the glass bit by bit... when I have some time to do it with patience.

from http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00Rwwg about the v500:
Quote:
The optics of this scanner is designed with so much DOF that film height really doesn't matter. Try it yourself. Shim the holder with some yellow sticky pads. On my unit, the zone of equal and maximum sharpness is constant across almost 2mm. Practically, this means that whatever curl the film holder allows won't matter.

The downside of what amounts to pinhole optics is that the real scanner resolution is fairly low. The mechanics may be able to step at 6400dpi, but the real system resolution is closer to 2000dpi. This means excellent 4x6 prints from 135, and excellent 8x10 prints from 6x7 film.


betterscanning comparison:
http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/vb_advantage.html


PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have the same problem with my flatbed, Canon 8400

I have improved results quite a bit, a few days ago, by using my own film holder - I put the film flat on the glass, with a 2mm piece of acrylic on top to hold it down very flat.

This works well for b&w film, the trick is to put it emulsion-side (not shiny) on the glass. This avoides the moire-effect of direct contact with the glass. This does not work with color print film, it is shiny on both surfaces and I often (but not always) get the moire.
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Techniques
Page 1 of 1