Please help a relative newbie in need

[Eising]

Hi there,

I've been shooting medium format in a very small scale (and only b/w) for around a year, and been scanning it on my Canoscan 8800f, and since I do not shoot very much, I have only have mild headaches with this. Now I have returned from holiday and have some 14 rolls of film that needs to be scanned, and they're in different formats, E6, C-41 and BW. I've been using the Silverfast software that was bundled with the scanner, and my results have been random, to put it mild.
Sometimes it would not scan it, sometimes it would mess up the colours of the C-41, and the tones are not consistent from scan to scan either. The scan software is unstable as well...

I've tried VueScan as well, with worse results. I cannot make my pictures look "right" without a lot of fiddling for each and every picture. This has been quite tiring for me, and therefore I turn to you, and I hope you can point me in the right direction for how to do this properly.

- Is it because I have a lousy scanner? I realize the 8800f is not as good as, say, the Epsons

- Is it because I shouldn't use SilverFast at all?

- Is it because I rely on SilverFast's "NegaFix" profiles?

- Is it because I should scan "raw"?

- Is it because I'm an annoying newbie who should just read the fine manual?

Please help me out here

 

[TareqPhoto]

I use Epson Scan even i have SilverFast and VueScan, i can't tell that Epson Scan is the best choice or doing better, but since i tested three programs i decided i will use Epson Scan only [and keep the others for another time].

I know that color scanning is give and take, but with more practice and calibration and profiles you may get better results, just read more about scanning stuff on different websites, and here you will see many threads about it, just keep experimenting with it, i have V750 and first tie i used it i hate it and i didn't like most of the results that i should get, but now i am so impressed with it and i know i can do more if i want, sometimes i know that i want something better like a drum scanner or at least Nikon scanner, but for now this scanner doing a good job for me in B&W and color.

 

[Eising]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I updated my SilverFast yesterday, and played around some more with it and it seems that I must have been struck by both bad luck and a number of bugs.

Some observations I made that I am sure will benefit other newbies like me:

• SilverFast applies an even curve to whatever area you have selected. This means if you select too much black around the actual frame, it will interpret it as a photo with many dark areas and boost the hilights.
• If you accidentally select a completely black area, such as an area outside the frames, you might not see the exposed film area on the preview at all.
• The film profiles in NegaFix can give completely odd results if you select one that's not made for the film you're scanning.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I updated my SilverFast yesterday, and played around some more with it and it seems that I must have been struck by both bad luck and a number of bugs.

Some observations I made that I am sure will benefit other newbies like me:

• SilverFast applies an even curve to whatever area you have selected. This means if you select too much black around the actual frame, it will interpret it as a photo with many dark areas and boost the hilights.
• If you accidentally select a completely black area, such as an area outside the frames, you might not see the exposed film area on the preview at all.
• The film profiles in NegaFix can give completely odd results if you select one that's not made for the film you're scanning.

And that is why i prefer to use Epson Scan, very easy and friendly to use, still i am so confused about all the settings in VueScan and SilverFast, and the worst which i don't like to mention is that Epson Scan is free and SilverFast is not, I bought VueScan Pro which gives me lifetime updates, great for bucks, I really don't know what i can have with SilverFast more than Epson Scan or VueScan or something else to go with it, for now i am so happy with Epson Scan in "Professional" mode and nothing easier i could get with it on the other 2.

Good luck and enjoy it!

 

[Eising]

I got SilverFast together with the scanner, so it hasn't cost me anything, and I doubt that Epson Scan works with Canon scanners.

 

[TareqPhoto]

I got SilverFast together with the scanner, so it hasn't cost me anything, and I doubt that Epson Scan works with Canon scanners.

I got SilverFast with the scanner as well, but it needs updating, and i think Canon scanner coming with another software for Canon maybe?
In all cases, i heard that SilverFast is a great software, but honestly saying i spent long time to figure it out with no success and still not so good enough result i got with it.
I think all those softwares can do the job if you know how to use the controls and the settings and adjusting for proper scan, but i don't try to spend long time on one software if i can't understand it very well, SilverFast has some features over the others that i may use for colors mostly, for meanwhile i love Epson Scan for B&W [and even color] even if it is not the best choice for others.

 

[jeffreyg]

I use SilverFast Ai 6.? Studio mainly with B&W but at times with color negatives and transparencies on an Epson 4870. They recommend using it as a stand alone but I generally use it through PhotoShop. The film profiles are guides and you can try different ones other than the film you are scanning. Also there are many other adjustments in that software. As I recall there are some tutorials on their website and maybe some links to others. I get as close as I can in SF and then tweek in PS. It works well for me and I am more analog than digital.

 

[IloveTLRs]

Sorry, but what's wrong with the original scanner software? I had the Canoscan 8600F, used the software that came with it and never noticed any problems ...

 

[Eising]

It never actually occurred to me to use the original scanner software. I always just assumed that SilverFast (or VueScan) was the only way to go when scanning negatives.
Anyway, after scanning 14-15 rolls of film over a weekend, I think I got the hang of SilverFast, and it actually works for me now. Thank you guys for your input.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

It never actually occurred to me to use the original scanner software. I always just assumed that SilverFast (or VueScan) was the only way to go when scanning negatives.

there are people who wish to push the frontiers of what the scanner software does and these people often like vuescan. I personally feel that the software is hard to use and very cumbersome. It may be true that it offers more consistent repeatability but I have not found that to be true (that the repeatability is more consistent.

I like the scanner software supplied and more to the point I like to understand what its doing (in order to control it and the scanner better).

I have not used the Canon software for anything other than documents, but have used extensively Epson and Nikon offerings over some 10 years (and multiple versions).

I believe that if you if your negatives are "ball park" then the "factory settings" will work well. If you're trying to obtain the best from each neg then you should take a different route.

I recommend you carefully read my pages on this starting here. The first page is on getting the most from your black and white, but at the bottom there is a link to other articles on colour neg and other scanners than epson.

My advice is scan all on the standard software as the maker advises first for your previews (say, 600dpi ~ 1200 scans) and then use my methods for more exacting scans.