click
Established
Hi,
I've just purchased a Nikon Coolscan IV ED and am learning to use it. I was hoping to get some advice on how you are using it to get excellent quality scans. Also I have some questions; Does the Ice feature not work with black and white negatives? Why are there white borders above and below my scanned negatives?
Thank you,
-J
I've just purchased a Nikon Coolscan IV ED and am learning to use it. I was hoping to get some advice on how you are using it to get excellent quality scans. Also I have some questions; Does the Ice feature not work with black and white negatives? Why are there white borders above and below my scanned negatives?
Thank you,
-J
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Digital ICE only works on color film or the C-41 process black and white films, not on traditional BW films.
The borders are cause the scanner sees a slightly larger area than the neg
To scan BW negs, I scan as a transparency and invert in photoshop. This gives a little wider tonal range if the neg is a contrasty one. Scan as greyscale. Contrary to some claims there is NO advantage to scanning BW film as a color RGB image. It just makes the file 3 times as big. Scan EVERYTHING as 16 bit, the difference between 16 bit and 8 bit is dramatic if you have to adjust contrast much, as you usually do with BW negs; they scan very flat and need a lot of contrast added in photoshop.
Scan everything at 4000 DPI. Nothing sucks more than scanning a neg at a low resolution then later deciding you want a big print and having to not only rescan but redo all the dodging and burning and other work you did on the scan.
The borders are cause the scanner sees a slightly larger area than the neg
To scan BW negs, I scan as a transparency and invert in photoshop. This gives a little wider tonal range if the neg is a contrasty one. Scan as greyscale. Contrary to some claims there is NO advantage to scanning BW film as a color RGB image. It just makes the file 3 times as big. Scan EVERYTHING as 16 bit, the difference between 16 bit and 8 bit is dramatic if you have to adjust contrast much, as you usually do with BW negs; they scan very flat and need a lot of contrast added in photoshop.
Scan everything at 4000 DPI. Nothing sucks more than scanning a neg at a low resolution then later deciding you want a big print and having to not only rescan but redo all the dodging and burning and other work you did on the scan.
not_in_good_order
Well-known
A couple of quick points:
Though many people criticize Nikon Scan and advocate using Vuescan, I've gotten excellent results using Nikon's software. I like to scan at 4000 dpi and output to tiff files. I typically do all of my post processing in Lightroom, though the analog gain feature in Nikon Scan is useful at times with slightly underexposed slides. Ice works very well for e-6 and c-41, but it destroys fine edge detail with Kodachrome.
Though many people criticize Nikon Scan and advocate using Vuescan, I've gotten excellent results using Nikon's software. I like to scan at 4000 dpi and output to tiff files. I typically do all of my post processing in Lightroom, though the analog gain feature in Nikon Scan is useful at times with slightly underexposed slides. Ice works very well for e-6 and c-41, but it destroys fine edge detail with Kodachrome.
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chris000
Landscaper
I suspect you might get a few different answers to this one - but I go with Chris Crawford except that I don't scan as a transparency but as a B+W neg - I don't seem to have any problems with tonal range.
semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
I scan in VueScan and save files as DNG, with most post in Lightroom and sometimes a bit of work (e.g., spotting) in Photoshop.
wgerrard
Mentor
Use you software's cropping tool to define the area you want to scan. That eliminates the border.
Ronald M
Mentor
Chris has some very good monochrome on his site or here, can`t remember so I would follow him.
I scan B&W mode, 16 bit, full rez, and get the curve to not clip. The rest is all photoshop
If the contrast range is too large, I psuedo HDR it. Make a highlight scan and shadow scan and combine in photoshop with a luminosity mask or hand dodge a mask.
I scan B&W mode, 16 bit, full rez, and get the curve to not clip. The rest is all photoshop
If the contrast range is too large, I psuedo HDR it. Make a highlight scan and shadow scan and combine in photoshop with a luminosity mask or hand dodge a mask.
click
Established
Is there a way to set it so I don't have to crop each time. Setting up everything each time is a pain. My scanner didn't come with a manual so I just have to guess at everything.
P
Peter S
Guest
Welcome to the club. I actually use Vuescan on my Coolscan V ED. ICE does not work with B+W (unless C41) film. The white edges are a result of not cropping correctly in the scanning software. I would definitely give Vuescan (www.hamrick.com) a try, it even allows me to continue using my scanner under Windows 7 64 bit for which there are no Nikon drivers available.
The trick with scanning is to maybe change your developing process (assuming you do your own) to slightly less contrasty negs and then scanning to make sure that you get as much information out of the negative as possible (highest not interpolated resolution and adjusting exposure to minimize clipping). The scans will look grey and dull, but that is fine as you will be able to finetune contrast in the post processing software of your choice.
Below link gives some information on how to use Vuescan. You may or may not need to scan as a positive as Chris suggests, there are many ways that lead to Rome. The scanning part is easy to learn and you will get the hang of it after some experimenting. The hard part is the post processing.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15304&highlight=vuescan
The trick with scanning is to maybe change your developing process (assuming you do your own) to slightly less contrasty negs and then scanning to make sure that you get as much information out of the negative as possible (highest not interpolated resolution and adjusting exposure to minimize clipping). The scans will look grey and dull, but that is fine as you will be able to finetune contrast in the post processing software of your choice.
Below link gives some information on how to use Vuescan. You may or may not need to scan as a positive as Chris suggests, there are many ways that lead to Rome. The scanning part is easy to learn and you will get the hang of it after some experimenting. The hard part is the post processing.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15304&highlight=vuescan
click
Established
So far, I have been disappointed with the scans because I thought I'd get more shadow detail and highlight for that matter, but maybe I just need to develop my negs to a little less contrast.
P
Peter S
Guest
Sorry to hear that you are not happy. Don't know which scanning/post processign software you use, but you can also try to do 2 scans. One scan exposed for shadows and one for the highlights and then combine the two in post processing to extend the tonal range.
Don't give up too soon. You will get there.
Don't give up too soon. You will get there.
Mike Richards
Well-known
Get the Downloads
Get the Downloads
You can download the manual here: http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/scanners/LS4000_40_en.pdf
You can also find the latest version of Nikon Scan on the nikonusa website.
You don't have to crop each time; you can save scanning settings. See the manual.
Get the Downloads
You can download the manual here: http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/scanners/LS4000_40_en.pdf
You can also find the latest version of Nikon Scan on the nikonusa website.
You don't have to crop each time; you can save scanning settings. See the manual.
click
Established
Do you adjust your curves before the scan or after? My gut says leave the scan alone and adjust in post but I could be wrong?
Ronald M
Mentor
Negs that are developed to print on #2 paper with a condenser enlarger are as high a contrast as you want to use. Less is even better.
Tri X is a good scanning film, so is Delta 100, T Max 100 and 400. Expose at half speed and cut development 20% from above contrast recomendation for even better results.
Keep the film clean and you will not need digi ICE or any other tricks. If you reuse fix and do not have filtered water and air, then pay the price. Find the clone stamp.
A clean darkroom gives clean negs and prints.
Tri X is a good scanning film, so is Delta 100, T Max 100 and 400. Expose at half speed and cut development 20% from above contrast recomendation for even better results.
Keep the film clean and you will not need digi ICE or any other tricks. If you reuse fix and do not have filtered water and air, then pay the price. Find the clone stamp.
A clean darkroom gives clean negs and prints.
notraces
Bob Smith
I use both the 5000 and 9000 -- wonderful scanners. I also use Nikon's scanning software and am completely happy with it and the results.
Scan your black and white negs using the mono setting - and either in gray scale or RGB. I scan using RGB for a lot of reasons (I use to sell million dollar scanners - I had some of the world's best teach me how to scan) -- either way works fine.
Learn to use the black point tool to set your black point. Adjusting curves to adjust tonality is fine with the software, but when you save as a 16bit TIFF, you can easy adjust in post processing. The key is to make sure your scan captures all the tonal range possible - so adjusting the curve is pretty important. I'd say the more you scan, the more you'll become aware of when to use the curve settings.
If I'm using images for the web only - I tend to scan at 1200dpi (I will usually use those same scans to print out 4x6's for fun in our house). If I know I'm going to print something on a nice digital printer I'll scan at highest resolution - 4000dpi. There's a school of thought that says to scan at highest rez all the time, but those files are huge - and for my purposes pretty unnecessary - especially for web work.
There are several great resources on the web. Several schools use Nikon scanners - or used them in the past - and they have instructions online - with tips. Google Nikon Coolscan - and you should come up with plenty of resources.
Scan your black and white negs using the mono setting - and either in gray scale or RGB. I scan using RGB for a lot of reasons (I use to sell million dollar scanners - I had some of the world's best teach me how to scan) -- either way works fine.
Learn to use the black point tool to set your black point. Adjusting curves to adjust tonality is fine with the software, but when you save as a 16bit TIFF, you can easy adjust in post processing. The key is to make sure your scan captures all the tonal range possible - so adjusting the curve is pretty important. I'd say the more you scan, the more you'll become aware of when to use the curve settings.
If I'm using images for the web only - I tend to scan at 1200dpi (I will usually use those same scans to print out 4x6's for fun in our house). If I know I'm going to print something on a nice digital printer I'll scan at highest resolution - 4000dpi. There's a school of thought that says to scan at highest rez all the time, but those files are huge - and for my purposes pretty unnecessary - especially for web work.
There are several great resources on the web. Several schools use Nikon scanners - or used them in the past - and they have instructions online - with tips. Google Nikon Coolscan - and you should come up with plenty of resources.
P
Peter S
Guest
Dear click,
Depending on the possibilities of your post processing software I would always do curves after scanning. Best practice for printing is highest resolution/bit depth and just getting as much information out of the negative as possible. Making the image look like you visualized you do as much as possible in post. It simply gives you more options for tonal seperation, interpreting tones, doing some very light HDR etc etc. In case you have scanned with curves and you change your mind about how you want the picture to look you will have to scan all over again. With a good clean neutral master scan you just use that file for a different interpretation in post processing software, much easier. 9 out of 10 times when scanning with curves you still end up in Photoshop or whatever if you really want your prints to look nice. It is a myth that the digital darkroom takes less time or effort than the old wet darkroom.
Depending on the possibilities of your post processing software I would always do curves after scanning. Best practice for printing is highest resolution/bit depth and just getting as much information out of the negative as possible. Making the image look like you visualized you do as much as possible in post. It simply gives you more options for tonal seperation, interpreting tones, doing some very light HDR etc etc. In case you have scanned with curves and you change your mind about how you want the picture to look you will have to scan all over again. With a good clean neutral master scan you just use that file for a different interpretation in post processing software, much easier. 9 out of 10 times when scanning with curves you still end up in Photoshop or whatever if you really want your prints to look nice. It is a myth that the digital darkroom takes less time or effort than the old wet darkroom.
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Bob Michaels
nobody special
My thoughts about key issues for great scans:
1) critically edit negs first on a light table with a good loupe. You are ultimately going to use only 1-2 negs per roll. So decide which ones they are before you scan. That saves you so much scan time that you never have to worry. BTW, it is easy to edit negs. You just have to realize you can do it.
2) realize that a good scan is one that captures all the data in the neg. No more, no less. Don't worry if the scan look flat and crappy. It is just a step along the way to the final result. In fact, a good looking scan will typically not result in the optimum print.
3) take time to understand what your scanner functionally does in hardware (very little) and how much it does in software (typically a lot). Then strive to eliminate as much of the software driver image manipulation as possible. Do all of those functions later with your image editor where they are much more controllable.
4) Remember your scanner is not some mysterious black box that you can make do wonders by knowing some secret codes. So don't over complicate the process. There are only a few key points to getting great scans. Yet, there are many involved complicated things you can do that will take time but won't improve your scans one bit.
1) critically edit negs first on a light table with a good loupe. You are ultimately going to use only 1-2 negs per roll. So decide which ones they are before you scan. That saves you so much scan time that you never have to worry. BTW, it is easy to edit negs. You just have to realize you can do it.
2) realize that a good scan is one that captures all the data in the neg. No more, no less. Don't worry if the scan look flat and crappy. It is just a step along the way to the final result. In fact, a good looking scan will typically not result in the optimum print.
3) take time to understand what your scanner functionally does in hardware (very little) and how much it does in software (typically a lot). Then strive to eliminate as much of the software driver image manipulation as possible. Do all of those functions later with your image editor where they are much more controllable.
4) Remember your scanner is not some mysterious black box that you can make do wonders by knowing some secret codes. So don't over complicate the process. There are only a few key points to getting great scans. Yet, there are many involved complicated things you can do that will take time but won't improve your scans one bit.
not_in_good_order
Well-known
I don't bother trying to eliminate the border when performing the scan. I simply fo that when I post process in lightroom. I do very little within the scanning software other than trying to capture as much data as possible in the tiff
click
Established
Thank you for all the kind advice. I've listen to the audio blog on scanning, read up and experimented. can anyone point me in the direction of more information on two part scanning where I scan for the highlights and scan for the shadows. I want to try this and am not sure how to do it. My scans look so flat and I know from darkroom experience how they're supposed to look. Even the old scans I had done at Walgreens look better than this and I'm using a much better scanner at a much higher resolution.
Bob Michaels
nobody special
If you scans look flat they are probably very good. What you want to do with the scan is capture all the data. No more, no less.
Now you can take that flat looking scan and adjust the levels and contrast in an image editor (like Photoshop) to make a great looking print or JPG.
A scan that looks good right out of the scanner already had the levels set. Maybe where you want them, maybe not. If the histogram is clipped, you have lost data that you can never retrieve. Also, that good looking scan already has the contrast adjusted. Maybe it is where you want it, maybe not.
Remember what comes from the scanner is only an interim step, not the final product.
Edit: I just realized that I said all of this a week ago.