Stitching scans

[Ariston]

Is there a photo stitching program that is free/cheap and easy to use? I have a V550 and need a way to scan large format (4x5) negatives.

 

[MattKing]

Microsoft I.C.E. - I've used it mostly to stitch together scans of sections of large prints.

 

[Ariston]

That looks perfect. Thank you Matt.

 

[MattKing]

Using the stitching software to stitch two scans of the same negative should tell you a lot about whether your scanner gives you undistorted results.

 

[Ariston]

Ugh, don't tell me that. I am still struggling to get scans I am happy with. And that is just for 120 and 35mm.

 

[Adrian Bacon]

Is there a photo stitching program that is free/cheap and easy to use? I have a V550 and need a way to scan large format (4x5) negatives.

In addition to Matt’s input, photoshop and Lightroom both do a pretty good job of stitching as well.

 

[Trail Images]

In addition to Matt’s input, photoshop and Lightroom both do a pretty good job of stitching as well.

+ 1

 

[awty]

I made a template to hold the neg so I could reasonably hold it correctly to more easily stitch, now I find it much more simpler to just use a light box and digital camera.

 

[shutterfinger]

EpsonScan > Professional Window > Configuration tab bottom center of the page > Color tab > contentious auto exposure OFF, NO Color Correction.
You now get a RAW scan that you can adjust in post to suit your taste. Scan to get the most detail from the negative, adjust in post to get the image to look the way you want it to. Editing in scan software yields less than optimal results.

 

[dourbalistar]

In the past, I've used Hugin to create panorama stitches. You feed the software some reference points from the images to be stitched, and it does the rest. There is a bit of learning curve, but could be a free, open source, cross-platform option:
http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

 

[Ariston]

EpsonScan > Professional Window > Configuration tab bottom center of the page > Color tab > contentious auto exposure OFF, NO Color Correction.
You now get a RAW scan that you can adjust in post to suit your taste. Scan to get the most detail from the negative, adjust in post to get the image to look the way you want it to. Editing in scan software yields less than optimal results.

Shutterfinger, thank you for that information. I have wondered if my scans were an accurate representation of the colors the films I choose offer. The color correction has always made me wonder. I am going to give this a try.

 

[Ariston]

Just to let others know, I tried Microsoft ICE, which Matt recommended. It is pretty much automatic. I can't imagine anything being easier, and it is free.

 

[shutterfinger]

A histogram of a scan shows the range of tones and areas of information. The left usually starts at 0 and ends on the right at 255. 0 is pure black, 255 is pure white.
When you do a preview in scan software open the histogram and it will show you where the white and black points are. In EpsonScan default the detail of the image will be clipped to provide a better looking picture. With contentious auto exposure set the software resets any adjustments you make. With no color correction selected the white and black points are set to the extremes of the scale. If your negatives are properly exposed and developed then the blacks will start between 0 and 25 with whites (bright highlights) ending between 200 and 255. The bottom line of a histogram is FB+F (film base +fog) and any rise above it is usable information in the negative.color or B&W.

 

[alanrockwood]

Hugin was mentioned. It uses panotools as the underlying processing engine, it is free, and it is very powerful, but it might violate your "easy to use" requirement.

By the way, it can do more than just stitching to make panoramas, It can do high dynamic range combining, and also median filtering (mainly used to reduce noise), as well as a number of other processes.

 

[Photopathe]

Everybody gets perfectly straight lines when scanning with the films borders and stitching? I seldom do even tough I tried most of the options mentionned and I do have good film flatness (even sandwich film between glass when testing).

 

[johnmuller32]

Is there a photo stitching program that is free/cheap and easy to use? I have a V550 and need a way to scan large format (4x5) negatives.

You can use these following software.

AutoStitch
GigaPan Stitch
Hugin
Microsoft Image Composite Editor
PTGui Pro
AutoPano Pro
Panorama Stitcher
iFoto Stitcher
Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
Adobe Photoshop CC