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Author Topic: Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED  (Read 9216 times)

maderic

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« on: July 19, 2006, 04:25:51 pm »

Before I start to scan in my 1000 or so slides I was looking for a few tips from people who possibly have a coolscan. Main one I was thinking about was whether you should use any sharpening at the scanner stage to compensate for normal digital ice use. I've read a few things that suggest the only thing to use with the scanner software is digital ice and leave the rest to photoshop. Not much mentioned about scanner sharpening though. Hope you acn help

Thanks
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Nigelfrommanchester

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2006, 06:50:31 am »

I'm going to try to help you out. My web site has a premanent request for help on the same topic and I've yet to get anything!

I've taken the view that I only want to scan a piece of film once. I therefore want the best scan I can get. I now do the following:
1) Make SURE the scanner is set for Adobe RGB (it was only when I bought CS2 I realised it wasn't doing what I thought).
2) Use dust removal but none of the other ICE tools - its better to do all that reversibly in PS.
3) Scan full frame and full res.

I have been adjusting the white and black points on the scanner histogram but I'm beginning to think that's unneccesary either.

This doesn't mean that the other tools are not good, but they are best for producing one-off prints rather than archiving for subsequent (as yet undefined) use.

Always willing to learn if anyine else wants to chip in!

Nigel
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Gregory

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2006, 09:54:19 am »

Quote
Before I start to scan in my 1000 or so slides I was looking for a few tips from people who possibly have a coolscan.
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if you plan on retouching the photos in Photoshop, sharpening should be left until the very end.

if you don't plan on retouching the photos in Photoshop, get a trial of SilverFast Ai. nothing beats it and it includes many powerful functions including sharpening.

I used SilverFast Ai with a Super Coolscan 4000ED for two years. unfortunately, the scanner developed FireWire problems (randomly losing the communication link with the computer) and it's been at the Nikon centre for the last 5 months. they still haven't been able to define or correct the source of the problem and my collection of film images remains in stasis.

Gregory
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Paulo Bizarro

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2006, 03:27:18 am »

Jaycatt

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2006, 06:32:00 pm »

I have a related question to the Nikon Coolscan V ED.  I've noticed that when I scan in a 35mm negative into Nikon Scan, it looks just perfect in the software.  So, I save it and pull it up in Windows Picture & Fax viewer, and it just looks all grainy.  I know it must be scanning correctly, because it looks so perfect on screen.  There must be something wrong with the way I'm saving it..?  I have tried TIFF and JPG and the others, and still get the grainyness.

Any thoughts?
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dalex

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Using a Nikon Coolscan V ED
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2006, 11:54:37 am »

Whether and when you sharpen depends on your specific needs. You should experiment with the sharpening functionality in the scanning software you're using (try it on several different slides), and if you like the results it could be a big time saver to sharpen in the scan stage. This way you don't have to do the extra step of sharpening in Photoshop. (The same is pretty much true for any of the controls in the scanning software.)

On the other hand, there are more options for sharpening in software like Photoshop, and that gives you more control. I prefer to sharpen in Photoshop instead of the scan stage because I use a nice plug-in that is easier and more powerful than trying to fiddle with the controls in the Unsharp Mask filter.

One school of thought for when to sharpen says that you should sharpen after scanning and before other software adjustments to adjust for a loss of sharpness in the scanning process (there's always some loss of sharpness in the scan when compared to the original slide), and then sharpen again after you've made all your corrections in Photoshop. The second sharpen stage is usually targeted to your final output size and media (e.g., inkjet vs. offset press vs. web site, etc.). Different media types will require different amounts of sharpening.

For other optimizations you could consider when scanning with the Coolscan:

1) Scan at the highest resolution (4000ppi) and 48-bit and archive the scanned files. This way if you ever decide to make a large print you've already got the best quality scan. The drawback is the files will be much larger, and the scan time per slide is longer.
2) Use the standard ICE setting for dust and scratches, unless you're scanning Kodachrome. On my Coolscan V ICE does not work with Kodachrome and the scans end up with ugly artifacts (this is a known problem with Kodachrome and ICE).
3) Calibrate your scanner with an IT8 target. The NikonScan software doesn't give you much control over color management, so if you notice that the colors in your scans are off you will probably have to calibrate. You'll need to get some software that will create ICC profiles for your scanner, like Vuescan or Silverfast, and use the profile when scanning. Vuescan and Silverfast are also both excellent scanning packages as well, though in my experience Silverfast's ICE does a better job than Vuescan.

The important thing is to experiment with the process before you embark on scanning all 1000 slides. You don't want to get halfway through and realize you've been using some setting in a way you really didn't want to. It's important to understand *every* adjustment feature and piece of functionality in the scanning software so you feel confident you're setting everything how you want.
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