Negafix doesn't like the beach

[DaveO]

Hi,

I am trying to scan some Fuji Reala 100 ASA 35mm negatives in my Epson V750 using SilverFast Ai and am getting some very strange results.

The problem is a very strong magenta cast on the beach scenes but is also present to a lesser degree on other types of shot.

In conjunction with this the beach scenes are rendered with very high contrast and the sky is rendered extremely grainy. The sand will be deep orange, the sea a kind of blue/magenta colour and the sky has a very magenta cast. In other words the scan resulting image is nothing like that which has been recored.

The problem shows up at its most extreme with any photograph taken on a beach that includes mostly sand, sea, waves (breakers crashing on the shore causing white foam) taken on a dull overcast day and i.e. images that don't have a great range of tones. The problem also appears in other images that have a greater tone variation but not in such an extreme way. For example a beach scene on a sunny day is still "over cooked" with the sand a far too saturated a colour towards red. Or a shot with a river part of the water may end up with a magenta cast.

If I scan the negative as a positive and convert this in my photo editing software I get a much more natural image in terms of colour and contrast and no grain in the sky. Scanning the same image in Epson scan supplied with the scanner is also not giving the problem described above.

I don't know if the canned NagaFix profile for Reala is wrong or if it is something else but I can't trust NgaFix to batch scan negatives.

It looks to me as though the software is trying to set black and white points incorrectly. There is no shadow detail as such in the beach scenes and the highlight is the white foam on the waves so it is not inherently very bright anyway. In terms of contrast the result looks like I had edited an image in photoshop and moved the histogram sliders in to the centre form the left an right by a large amount. I do not know what could cause the magenta cast.

I have tried moving the tolerance slider with little effect and anything else I have tried has not been able to solve the problem. I can supply examples to illustrate the problem if you wish but have you any recommendations as to how I can fix this?

Thanks in advance.

[LSI_Morales]

Dear Dave,

Fuji produced two types of Reala, there is a normally known "Fuji Reala" and there is the "Fuji Superia Reala".

You might find both profiles on NegaFix, perhaps one of both accomodates more to the type of film you are using.

Cheers

[DaveO]

Dear Dave,

Fuji produced two types of Reala, there is a normally known "Fuji Reala" and there is the "Fuji Superia Reala".

You might find both profiles on NegaFix, perhaps one of both accomodates more to the type of film you are using.

Cheers

Thank you for your reply.

I thought there were three types of 100 ASA Reala? One sold in Japan, and then generation 1 and generation 2 types sold elsewhere. I know the film I am scanning is the Gen 2 type as it has the Reala CS-2 label on the edge of the film.

I found this out here: (Link denied)

Do you publish a similar list that helps users identify what film they are trying to scan and what settings should be configured in the NegaFix drop down menus?

if not, can you tell me what specific settings I need to use with NegaFix for this film type? I am using version 6.6.1 of Siverfast Ai and recently downloaded an update to 6.6.1r5 fir use with my Epson V750 scanner.

I was using manufacturer set to Fuji, Film type set to Superia and film speed set to 100 reala. These settings gave the bad results.

I have since tried changing the film type to <other> and this has improved things somewhat but is there s specific setting for the type of Reala film I am using?

Dave

[LSI_Morales]

Dear Dave:

I thought there were three types of 100 ASA Reala? One sold in Japan, and then generation 1 and generation 2 types sold elsewhere. I know the film I am scanning is the Gen 2 type as it has the Reala CS-2 label on the edge of the film.

I found this out here: (Link denied)

See, Fuji and the film manufacturers in general are not very specific about this topics. Most information found is through the internet and many times unreliable (e.g. the list you have provided had some inaccuracies). After an extensive research I could only find two Fuji Reala (Gen 1 and Gen 2), did not even know there was a Japanese version.

It is not easy to recognize which is which, for the creation of the NegaFix profiles we use special calibration targets which are marked only as Reala on the filmstripe border and both have a green and magenta color stripes.

The difference is that the orange mask of the Fuji Superia Reala 100 is a bit more yellow than the Fuji Reala 100 which looks more redish

In NegaFix you can find the option under Fuji/Superia/reala 100 or under Fuji/others/reala 100

Cheers

[DaveO]

In NegaFix you can find the option under Fuji/Superia/reala 100 or under Fuji/others/reala 100

So is the Fuji/Superia/reala 100 setting the one to use for the Gen 1 emulsion?

And is Fuji/others/reala 100 the one to use for the Gen 2 emulsion?

Thanks,

Dave

[LSI_Morales]

Dear Dave,

So is the Fuji/Superia/reala 100 setting the one to use for the Gen 1 emulsion?

And is Fuji/others/reala 100 the one to use for the Gen 2 emulsion?

This information I do not have, I tried to explain to you, both look similar, one is sold as Superia Reala and the other one Reala.

The PDF file I found from Fuji does not make a clear distinction of which is what, they only mentioned to have two gen.

I guess in this case you can switch and test which accommodates best to your needs. Remember that in SilverFast Ai you can always use the advanced dialogue to make corrections to existing profiles .

Cheers