|
Hi all !
When I decided to get a Film Scanner for AstroPhotos and started
reviewing all available models, I never imagined it was going to be such a
difficult task...
I intend to use the Film Scanner only for 35mm slides and
negatives. Maximum size prints will be 20 x 30 cm (roughly 8 x 12 inches), so a
resolution of 2800 ppp should be fine for an ink-jet printer.
After "re-reading" all the digital dark room chapters in my
Astrophotography books, I started a massive search in the internet to
learn some "film scanning in depth" and to find "product reviews". I
found a lot of information but, unfortunately, the AstroPhoto sources were
a bit obsolete not covering the latest equipment.
Some relevant points that I found :
- It is more important a "low noise" scanner than a huge A/D. The A/D
limits the Dmax but it is not true that Dmax = 3 x A/D bit.
- For dark slides scanning can be very tricky. Noise and streaks can build
up. Noise can be treated by multi-scanning techniques and "analog-gain"
adjustments, some scanners have this facility. I have not found solutions for
streaks.
- The software side of the scanner deserves always a close look. There are
good third-party products like "Silverfast" and "VueScan".
- LED light sources (Nikon) donīt fade over time and produce very
sharp scans but also tend to emphasize dust and film defects. Cold cathod
fluorescent sources (all other scanners) tend to fade (do they?), produce less
razor-sharp scans and donīt bring up scratches and dust as much as LEDs
do.
Other points such as adjustable focus, lens quality, center to edge
sharpness, color management, film handling, PC-interface, ICE ROC GEM, scan -
time , etc where thoroughly covered in my research.
With a $max target of ~$1,700 I started looking at product reviews, forums,
etc
Here is a summary of all the reviews: (all scanners here have adjustable
focus and ICE ROC GEM)
- Nikon CoolScan IV ED: 2900 dpi (enough for me), 12 bit (but very
low noise scanner) , software interface powerful but difficult to use (you can
always use SilverFast or ScanVue), no multiscanning but "analog gain adjustment"
(I think that multiscanning can be implemented with SilverFast). LED light
sources: will this be a problem?. Very well priced.
- Nikon CoolScan 4000: 4000 dpi, 14 bit and also very low noise
electronics, multi scanning up to 16X, analog gain adjustment, improved software
interface, but again we find the scary LED light sources. Price is very
near the limit.
- Canon FS-4000:4000 dpi, 14 bit. Very much like the CoolScan 4000, but
noisier, no multi scanning, very slow. Cheaper, though.
- Minolta Dimage Scan Elite II: 2820 dpi, 16 bit, reasonably low noise
scanner( of course it is not a DMax 4.8), powerful and easy to use software
interface (no SilverFast version, though), multi scanning up to 16X, very
good price. The problem with this scanner is that it tends to produce
streaks if scanning dark slides. I have read this in different forums and
unfortunately it doesnīt seem to be a driver (software) problem.
- Microtek ArtixScan 4000TF ~= Polaroid Sprint Scan 4000 Plus: 4000
dpi, 14 bit. MultiScanning?, Adjustable Focus? ICE ROC GEM? I really havenīt
been able to find a full in-depth analysys of these Film Scanners. My feeling is
that they are fine Scanners but that they may lack some of the full
functionality of the Nikons.
What I havenīt found is real feed-back from real film scan users of
AstroPhotos for the aboved mentioned scanners.
SO If you have been patient enough to read this long post I would
appreciate very much your personal experience using any of the outlined FS
for scanning AstroPhotos.
Any other tip or suggestion will be very much appreciated
Jose I. Alarcon
|