Basic Scanning
Left Image:
35mm SLR, Tokina 80-200mm f-2.8
ATX, Kenko extension tube, Fuji Velvia, Bogen tripod and ball head. Aperture priority at
f-5.8, shutter speed approx. 1/30, multi-segment metering. Manual focus.
Scanner is the most important piece of equipment
in your digital darkroom if you shoot film. There are three types of scanners available: flatbed, drum
scanners, and film scanners. Flatbed scanners are fine for prints, but not negatives and
slides. Drum scans produce the highest quality, but are very expensive and available
mainly at professional labs. For professional results at home or office, use film quality
film scanners. Scanners are digital cameras, except they take pictures of negatives,
slides, or prints. No matter which type of scanner you use, choose the best images as your
scanner can only capture the quality of the original and any mistakes will show up in the
final result.
The best results depend on the type of film you use. Select the right film depending on
the subject, lighting condition, and your own personal taste. Use sharp, fine grain films
to achieve best scans. Negatives are excellent for scanning as they have greater exposure
latitude than slides. Both type of films however, will produce excellent images if the
original is of high quality. Select the image you want to scan. It should be correctly
exposed and sharp. You can adjust exposure to some degree using your image editor, but not
much can be done with an unsharp original. It is best to use the scanner software to
adjust exposure, contrast, and color before scanning the image. This will produce a much
better file which can save you a lot of time trying to fix problems in your image editor.
Use a camel hair brush to remove any dust from the original that may show up in the scan.
Carefully place the negative or slide inside the holder. Turn on the scanner before
turning on the computer. Wait 5-10 minutes for the scanner to warm up for best performance
and calibrate the scanner before you start scanning your images. Open the scanner software
and click on the preview button. You can select one or more frames to preview. Adjust
exposure, contrast, and any other tools your scanner software has to offer. Depending on
the type of scanner you own, you may be able to adjust a number of other different
settings. Select the area you want to scan. Don't be afraid to play around with all the
tools your scanner has to offer.
35mm SLR, 300mm f-2.8
APO, , Fuji Velvia, Bogen tripod and ball head. Aperture priority at
f-2.8 and 1/60, spot metering. Manual focus.
Once you have the perfect setting, select the resolution. Resolution is very confusing to
some. It is really very simple. Resolution is the measurement of the number of pixels
(tiny squares that make up an image) a scanner can capture. An average flatbed scanner for
example, has a resolution of 300 or 300 dots per inch (dpi). This is called optical
resolution and is measured by how many pixel the scanner can actually see. A 300 dpi
scanner can capture 300 dots per inch. Scanner head moves in one direction capturing 300
dots per inch. To scan in the other direction, head is moved along the area to scan 300
dpi in other direction stopping 300 times per inch. The optical resolution of this
scanner is therefore 300 X 300. You may see some scanners with resolution of 300 X 600 or
higher second number. This only means the scanner stops 600 times per inch in the other
direction. Frankly, only the small number counts as it makes no difference in detail by
scanning more in one direction only. Some scanners use interpolated resolution which is an
"educated guess" made by the scanner to turn a scan into a higher resolution
scan. A 300 X 300 scan can be interpolated into a 600 X 600 dpi. Pixels are inserted into
the image by sampling each original pixel. Avoid interpolated resolution as it can lower
the quality of the scan.
So, how much resolution do you need? It depends on what you want to do with the image. For
viewing on your monitor or web pages, 75 dpi is enough. For printing, 300 dpi is enough as
most printers usually have 300 dpi resolution. Film scanners have 2400 or higher
resolution. This is because of the smaller film area that needs more resolution to scan.
To produce a scan with enough information to make a 4 X 6 print, a resolution of
1200 dpi is required for film, but only 300 dpi to scan an original 4 X6 print.
Mastering Digital Scanning with Slides, Film, and Transparencies
If you want to work with your traditional film
images electronically, this is the guide that will finally show you how you
can do it. "Mastering Digital Scanning" takes a photographer's viewpoint to
the topic of digitizing, managing, and enhancing film-based images. You'll
learn how to use your scanner's options to your best advantage and how to
perfect your image once it becomes digital. You don't have to give up the
advantages of conventional photography to enjoy the ease of digital
manipulation!