and my negs aren't very sharp.
I think you need to specify more clearly at what stage your negatives are "not sharp".
- Have you looked at your negatives using a loop to verify that they are actually "sharp". If not, that might be caused by focus errors, lack of depth of field, or not using a tripod. You will especially be surprised to see how much difference using a good
professional tripod can make (not the cheap $30 plastic bullshit).
- If the negs are OK, it's likely the scanning. Well, since you mentioned Epson, that means flatbed, and that in turn means you will never have a top quality scan. Even the best flatbeds just don't have the focusing abilities of dedicated film scanners, and that means a less "sharp" scan result (for a shocking example see my page
here with a comparison of a Canon 9950F and Imacon. Scroll down on that page to see it). For a really "sharp", or better said "in-focus" scan result, you will need at least a Nikon coolscan. Anyway, some improvement can be had by using something like the "Betterscanning" height adjustable film holders, instead of the standard ones.
- Considering you already do a two phase sharpening, with reasonable values, I guess it is related to one of the factors mentioned above...
Marco