Oh my God, the old scan a slide as a negative trick! I used to have to do that with my old Nikon LS-20 scanner! I check my readings in the scanning software to make sure the blacks and whites aren't clipped and then use the curves settings to make general corrections before the scan.
Apparently the 300 and the 2100xl use the same film carriers (do the carriers for yours have a heavy rubber mat on the top?) but others might get confused, all the older Powerlook scanners we've had (I, II, 1100) all had simple plastic carriers for film.
I took a quick lookat the settings for the 2100xl but didn't see a "Multiple Scan Mode". I'll dig out the instructions and see if it has one, could be interesting!
I've never used the 2100xl in "42 bit" mode, the Polaroid UltraScan
does have true 42bit which I started using very seriously but found out
that I had to remember to convert the files back down to 24 because QuarkXpress
won't read a file unles it's 24bit.
Craig,Here's what I discovered. I would think these notes should help anyone scanning 35mm film with a PL3000...
1. When scanning 35mm negatives, I set the film type to positive (slide), and then invert each image. That prevents the software from trying to "correct" (i.e. clip) the histogram. I provide my own parameters to adjust the histogram.
2. The metal side of the 35mm strip carrier has to be face down to the glass. I wish the instructions had said that. Then I need to tape the carrier to the glass to prevent it from shifting during scanning.
3. I use multiple scan mode, which refocuses for each frame.
4. I suspect the PL3000 is not really giving 14-bits per channels, because when I adjust the levels in Photoshop, I see "teeth" in the histogram.
Matt
At 07:47 PM 11/20/2002 -0500, Craig Utter wrote:
>Hi Matt:
>I haven't used the powerlook 3000 but we've just upgraded to the Powerlook 2100xl which has been doing a fantastic job on transparencies of medium and large format but I can't get a good 35mm scan off of it either. I use our Polaroid UltraScan for 35mm. I'm not sure you can get a reproduction quality scan of
>35mm from any flatbead scanner.--
Matt BenDaniel
matt@starmatt.com
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