Scanning with V700 + AN glass

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I have been having issues when I use my Epson V700 scanner to use the flimsy (to say the least) negative holders.
My good friend Andrew Moxom, whom I think most of you know from APUG, came up with the grand idea of taking a piece of AN glass or similar, and use the film area guide and scan the film emulsion side down directly on the flat bed, with the negative strip being held down with a piece of AN glass.
His scans are superb, they really are. I tried to go a cheaper route and went to Michaels and bought a glass etching kit, thinking the diffusion introduced would work just fine, and it did. The quality of the scans is very high, mostly because the film lies completely flat.

Two problems prevail, and one of the problems can be addressed.

1. Tmax 100 still gives Newton rings with the emulsion against the flat bed. This is hardly surprising as I had seen accounts of this in the past, but still disappointing. It's one of the two films I like to use, the other being Tmax 400.

2. This is the real question: The etching of the 8x10 piece of glass I did is not uniform. I even etched the glass twice, and still there are patterns visible through the negative in the final image.
Is there a better way of creating this 'home made' ground glass? Sand blasting perhaps? Or does anybody know of a source of AN glass that doesn't rob the bank?

Any ideas about glass would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

- Thomas

 

[pellicle]

Hi

...came up with the grand idea of taking a piece of AN glass or similar, and use the film area guide and scan the film emulsion side down directly on the flat bed, with the negative strip being held down with a piece of AN glass.

well I found that I got newton rings with even emulsion side down directly on the glass. I've just bought the betterscanning holder (its not really that dear) so I'll report on that later ... however I think that using this holder and removing the glass is the best idea.

that'll require another mod ... and more time

 

[PVia]

Thomas...have you tried a piece of anti-reflection glass from Aaron Bros or similar framing shop. Wouldn't hurt to stop by and take a look to see what they have...or any local glass shop should be able to give you a small fragment to test. I've been meaning to do this myself...

 

[rnwhalley]

I have the Better Scanning film holder which uses ANR glass and allows an adjustment to the height. You actually tape the neg to the underside of the glass with magic tape (works very well). This has the advantage of using the higher res lens in the V700 which isn't possible when the film is flat on the scanner glass.

Anyway, check out the better scanning web site as he sells ANR Glass in various sizes including for use in the V700 film holders.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Interesting ideas.

pellicle - I've talked to the guy at better scanning. And I'm at a point where I can't afford buying one of his holders. I was also a bit objected to scanning with the emulsion side down, but after seeing the results with the etched glass I'm convinced it's much more important that the film is absolutely flat. It makes a lot of difference in corner to corner sharpness.

PVia - There is a frame shop in my neighborhood. I should pay them a visit. Thank you!

- Thomas

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Here is a scan that illustrates what the non-uniformly etched glass looks like in the scan.
This is a pinhole image, so don't just it by its sharpness...

Interesting ideas.

pellicle - I've talked to the guy at better scanning. And I'm at a point where I can't afford buying one of his holders. I was also a bit objected to scanning with the emulsion side down, but after seeing the results with the etched glass I'm convinced it's much more important that the film is absolutely flat. It makes a lot of difference in corner to corner sharpness.

PVia - There is a frame shop in my neighborhood. I should pay them a visit. Thank you!

- Thomas

 

[pellicle]

Hi

pellicle - I've talked to the guy at better scanning. And I'm at a point where I can't afford buying one of his holders. I was also a bit objected to scanning with the emulsion side down

well, I've always put the emulsion side down ... that is of course where the sensor is ... put your slide on a microscope, and focus on it with emulsion up and down ... if you can see a difference the sensor can too

I bought his holders because:

• I don't have a holder to take 6x12
• I felt inclined to try it

I have some reservations, but I'll let you know how it goes ... blog article on the way

 

[nsouto]

Yeah, with my 4990, scanning with the emulsion side down always made a difference for the better.
I have a faint memory that it is recommended somewhere in one of the sites talking about flatbed scanning or in one of the tests/reviews.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Just an update on this. I gave up on this technique as I couldn't find a good source for the glass I needed.
So on a whim I started scanning the film in the original OEM holders emulsion side down, and there's a bit more dust but I've gotten rid of all the problems that steered me to try something different to begin with. So I'm happy.

For sheet film I'll eventually get a piece of glass and explore this further in the future.

Thanks,

- Thomas

 

[nocrop]

I have the MF holders and ANR glass from betterscanning.com and have been using them for a couple of years now. I just use the glass on top of my negatives, emulsion side down. I tested at various heights, and found that putting the negatives directly on the scanner glass was at least as good as anything elevated. YMWillV.

I use a can of air to blow off the dust like most others, I assume. And I spray and clean all glass surfaces with drastically diluted Windex once a session, perhaps 1:10 with distilled water.