Hi,
My experience is from scanning transparencies using CCD based film scanners, mostly Velvia and Provia. The way I worked was that I shot film, developed at a pro lab. Sorted the trannies on lightable while still in protective sheets. Scanned the keepers and mounted behind GP-slide mounts. To reduce dust I bought an electrostatic air cleaner essentially supplying clean air to the work area. Keeping the slide holder clean I had little issues with dust and IR-based cleaning worked well for me.
The scanner I used was a Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro, at about 3000 USD (it's no longer made), Nikon Coolscan 9000 may be a good alternative that may still be around. I made a couple of large (70x100 cm) enlargements and they are good enough to impress professionals. The main issue is DMAX, especially with Velvia. What I have found that scanning 67 Velvia gives about the same resolution as 24.5 MP DSLR, but the DSLR gives much better image quality. It takes sharpening better, it has many time the density range and is easier to work with.
One observation I may have made is that with my DSLRs bookeh may be an issue. Simply, the lenses I have are pretty sharp but have not really good (actually awful) bokeh. From the 67 camera I have made a print which is not really sharp because of small depth of field, but the main subject has excellent sharpness and the sharpness rolls away very smoothly so that the DOF limitation is hardly noticed.
This is one of the images I printed in 70x100 cm:
http://83.177.178.241/ekr/images/ASPLux.tif (
This is a very big TIFF, download and open in Photoshop, please!). This image is probably the one I have sent to the lab, so it's sharpened for output.
The article below sums up some recent tests I have made:
http://83.177.178.241/ekr/index.php/photoa...-sony-alpha-900Best regards
Erik
Film scanning abides to the "affordable, fast, good quality: pick two" rule. These variables have particularities of their own, such as what you and I consider affordable may differ greatly. Flatbed film scanning is indeed affordable, and can lead to pretty good results for web and small printing. The Epson V700 and V750 scanners are a good bang for the buck, as they offer quality scans for around $600. I've seen great images scanned with the V700 by Portuguese landscape photographer
Nană Sousa Dias.
The main problem with film scanning is speed. Not primarily that of the scanner, but of the whole workflow. If all cleanliness aspects of the film are followed – no fingerprints, marks, dust – which is something that even the most tidy laboratory worker has problems, it can take anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours to get a decent, well processed scan good for printing. Remember that no scanner can remove dust and scratches from silver-halide black and white negatives, so spotting and retouching is inevitable. Multiply all that work by twelve exposures, and suddenly you find yourself spending more time in front of the computer than outside taking pictures.
Considering that you want to develop in-house, add up all the effort, time and expenses of chemical mixing, storage, and darkroom maintenance. If you shoot sparingly, you might want to gather a couple dozens of rolls to develop all at once, and thus use fresh chemicals rather than keeping them stored for extended periods of time. In the end, it might be actually faster to have them processed externally than doing it at home. Of course, if the personal involvement aspect is of great importance, none of this will matter.
If you have a complete darkroom, with development and enlarging equipment, I suggest sticking with contact prints and small enlargements. If a picture deserves a large print, send it out for drum-scanning. Though you pay the steep price, the quality is worth it and the hassle is minimum. If you don't have an enlarger, the Epson scanners might be a good starting point, though drum-scanning may be needed for large prints.
In the end, when you think it'll take a couple of minutes and some effort to scan film, you actually find out you've spent the last two hours trying to get it right, you've neglected your spouse or family member's cry for attention, the magic hour lights are long gone and all you do is curse Adobe. I like going through that some, but not all, times.
Pedro
