Aftermarket Scanning Holders for Slides (V700)

So, I recently recieved another batch from Dwaynes (yay!) however, i'm really starting to get annoyed with my V700. I have no problems with other formats using the original scanning trays, plasticky as they are, however, when using the one for slides... It seems that it's out of the focal plane. I have to use a very severe unsharp mask just to acheive a modicum of the sharpness of the original slide. Does the problem lie in a bad design or the holder / a thickness issue?

If anyone has any suggestion for gettign sharped slide scans from this scanner, i'm all ears.

Is it too obvious to suggest adjusting the height of the holder?

Why are you receiving your slides mounted? You have more options if you keep them unmounted, and store them in, for example, PrintFile strip holders. Mounts are only useful in my opinion if you are going to project them.

But ditto artobest - try adjusting the height (swap the legs, and if that doesn't work, use shims).

I'm not trying to gain height, I need to lose it! haha, I tried taking the feet off, didn't help. the holder itself is just too damn chunky... Gonna get them unmounted from now on though...

Are you sure? It's really unusual for a V700 to have such a low plane of focus. You could try placing the mounted slides on the glass - the mounts should elevate them enough to prevent Newton's rings. Otherwise, you could try a variable-height scanning mount from betterscanning.com - you can tape the unmounted slides to the bottom of the glass.

artobest said:

Are you sure? It's really unusual for a V700 to have such a low plane of focus. You could try placing the mounted slides on the glass - the mounts should elevate them enough to prevent Newton's rings. Otherwise, you could try a variable-height scanning mount from betterscanning.com - you can tape the unmounted slides to the bottom of the glass.

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Just placing the mounted slides seems to work ok.

I took it in to be serviced, but of course the scanner made and image and the repair guy claimed that nothing was wrong with the scanner.


Gotta say, the low plane of focus helps when scanning 8x10 on the glass, though...

There are two planes of focus - one for reflective material and LF film on the glass (let's call it the low plane) and one for film material in the holders (high plane). Have you tried scanning with the holders at the highest optical resolution (6400 ppi)? I've heard that can make a differencce.

artobest said:

There are two planes of focus - one for reflective material and LF film on the glass (let's call it the low plane) and one for film material in the holders (high plane). Have you tried scanning with the holders at the highest optical resolution (6400 ppi)? I've heard that can make a differencce.

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It does, because the assumption epson makes is that film will be scanned at higher resolutions than prints, so the dual-lens system puts the low-res focus at the platen and the higher res focus slightly up. The Betterscanning mount makes it easier to find the sweet spot.

Betterscanning.com

I'm just now trying out the new 120 film holder for my V700 that I got from Betterscanning.com It's more rigid and firm and has adjustable height. Anyone else use it?

I use it and I wouldn't be without it. What do you need to know?

Betterscanning.com

artobest said:

I use it and I wouldn't be without it. What do you need to know?

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No, I just need to play with it. Adjust the various height settings. Try with the glass and try with the frame holders. Right now my scans are disappointingly soft, but I'll work this when I get a chance and optimize the settings.

You need to invest the time to follow Doug's adjustment process. It may take you an afternoon, but as you see the sharpness increase from tweak to tweak you will realize the time and effort are well worth it. Suggest you do the adjustments with the holder configuration you intend to stick with, because you will discover that the plane of sharpest focus on the Epson is quite thin. You will lose detail with very small changes in the vertical height of the film.

This effort made it very apparent to me that film flatness is really important for best quality.

Another observation I made during the adjustment, because mine needed to be rather high compared to the OEM holder: With the mounting station from Betterscanning.com properly adjusted, the scanner top (light source) does not sit evenly atop the holder if the scanner top's metal "pins" are fully inserted into the base. I find I need to lift them out a little to ensure that the scanner top is flush. I didn't notice a difference either way, so perhaps I'm being picky. But it seems prudent to have it completely flush so the light is being directed straight down into the sensors.

Betterscanning.com

chuck94022 said:

You need to invest the time to follow Doug's adjustment process. It may take you an afternoon, but as you see the sharpness increase from tweak to tweak you will realize the time and effort are well worth it. Suggest you do the adjustments with the holder configuration you intend to stick with, because you will discover that the plane of sharpest focus on the Epson is quite thin. You will lose detail with very small changes in the vertical height of the film.

This effort made it very apparent to me that film flatness is really important for best quality.

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Very interesting. What do you think about his wet mount products. Ever tried them?

BrianEntz said:

Very interesting. What do you think about his wet mount products. Ever tried them?

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Actually I have his universal mounting station, with the wet and dry option. I'm scanning 4x5, 6x6, and 35mm. I'm currently living in China, and the advanced wet mount fluid and wet mount materials (acetate, proper tape) are hard to come by.

I've had great scans just with dry mounting (taping the film to the underside of the mounting station glass). The results are significantly better than the results from the OEM holders. In one of my slides, a 4x5 shot of the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, there was a fine detail that in the original scan (OEM holder) looked like a reflection of a light on the building glass. When I rescanned, I discovered that it was actually a video screen inside the building, and I could even see text and the face of a person on the monitor! (This was a tiny detail in the full image.)

The biggest improvement for the flatbed, I've found, is getting the film in the sharpest plane of focus, and getting it really flat. The mounting station allows you to do that.

I have tried scanning using lighter fluid as the scanning fluid (which is fundamentally what Aztek scanning fluid is, but perhaps better filtered). I can understand how the wet mounting can improve the scan - the slide is perfectly flat when wet mounted - perfect. But the process is much slower, and a bit messy. I would only do it for an ultimate scan, and I would not normally choose lighter fluid. I didn't like the residue it left, which I understand Aztek fluid does not leave.

I think the dry mounting on the glass with tape yields about 98% of the performance you can get from the scanner. I think the wet mounting with the betterscanning.com system (wet mounting under the glass) gives you that last 2%, but you work for it.

If I could make one change to my Epson based scanner, it would be to somehow remove most of the glass from the scanner base, so that there would be nothing but air between the film and the CCDs on the scanner. But that's not going to happen.