I love Velvia 50 chromes. For me, it's easier to scan than Ektar 100 negative.. Plus you know immediately whether the picture was exposed correctly.There are a ton of threads about this. But I'm not sure of your actual question. Are you asking which is easier to scan, negative or slide? If so, slide film doesn't require as much color correction, but can be very difficult to get the full range of darks to lights in a scan. A lot depends on which scanner you're using and what software settings you're using. A scanner with a high DMax and multipass will make getting the most out of your shadows without blowing out your highlights easier. Color negative film is usually much easier to scan, but much more difficult to color correct. Again, this depends on what scanner and software you are using, as some will do some color correction automatically. But to get the best color correction, you're going to need to do it by hand. No automatic software does a great job, though many do a good enough job (for most people).
In any case, learning to scan film well will take some time and patience. I honestly don't have a preference when it comes to scanning. They both are about equally difficult to work with. Black and white film is usually a lot easier to scan and process. How well either will scan will have a lot to do with the scanning equipment you use (I prefer a DSLR for small format), your technique (with both the scanner and software), and how well the image was exposed and developed to begin with. Plus certain films, like Velvia 50, are notoriously difficult to scan (though definitely not impossible).
Each time I ask a question I find out how much I do not know. I was hoping there was a discussion(s) out there that talked about the merits of each and what works best. Clearly I have a lot to learn. I thought maybe I could start with the film side, because that is what I understand, and work my way toward the computer side of it.
How would best adjustment for sample image work for other images that are exposed differently?Learning your scanning software matters more than the film type.
Take a known good image on film, scan it in software Auto for a reference scan.
Switch to manual (professional) mode and turn off all auto exposure and sharpening.
Make a base scan then adjust one adjustment at a time in small increments (5% of available) until noticeable artifacts occur.
Make smaller adjustments in pairs then 3 or more making a scan after each change.
Scan for maximum detail from the film, adjust in post for the best image.
Negatives within 1 stop of correct will be easy to scan as will correctly exposed positives.
When learning you scan the same negative or positive throughout the exercise comparing the results of the adjustment to the base scan to see what each adjustment does.How would best adjustment for sample image work for other images that are exposed differently?
Thanks folks. I’m reading. Not understanding much but this is helping.
I love Velvia 50 chromes. For me, it's easier to scan than Ektar 100 negative.
I believe Kodak Portra film is also supposed to be a good film for scanning. Some of the older negative color films have a less than stellar reputation for scanning, showing excessive apparent grain, i.e. noisy pixelization. I think some of the older 200 and 400 iso color negative films have had that reputation.
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