Can I get more control over my scanning software?

[ljkuzel]

I used to use a Leaf Volare and a Sinar Camera setup I made to "scan" my film images. I started just doing chromes, but after a while I figured out a way to shoot negatives this way. Since the camera had no way to know I was shooting film with an orange cast, my workaround for this was to get a "grey" exposure on an unexposed section of the film, either between frames or from the beginning or end of the film. I would then use the cameras "make neutral" tool to make and save the setting, readjust my exposure and shoot all the film from the same roll or rolls. I would then invert the image in Photoshop, make any minor adjustments and move to the next image. This provided me with a consistent output time and time again with only minimal adjustments required between shots.

I guess my suggestion or question is that can you possibly make it so I can use the area between the frames to make a setting I can then use for that particular roll or rolls of film as a starting point and make color correction from a standard setting? Possibly save the setting somehow. Or is there a way I can do this now? As it stands, since the area is black the software is not sure what I'm trying to accomplish and always wants to adjust the image.

I don't know if this is even possible, but it has always been an option I wish scanning software had. It would provide me with the ability to make a setting for a particular film processed by a particular lab on any given day and allow me to make one starting point for that particular roll or rolls of film. I often have a roll or rolls of film shot at the same exposure and would love to be able to have a more stable starting point that does not have any variables to it.

Thanks,
Larry

[LSI_Morales]

Dear Larry,

As a matter of fact SilverFast has a tool called NegaFix which already solves the "orange mask" problem. With SilverFast Ai and SilverFast Ai Studio you can even modify existing profiles to create other profiles that fit to your film strips and you can also select the neutral points yourself.

You can find more information on this topics here:

Videos
http://www.silverfast.com/showmovie/en.html?movien=69&mode=inline&hide=desc
http://www.silverfast.com/showmovie/en.html?movien=172&mode=inline&hide=desc
http://www.silverfast.com/showmovie/en.html?movien=301&mode=inline&hide=desc

Dokumentation in PDF
http://www.silverfast.com/download/docs ... Fix-en.pdf

Cheers

[ljkuzel]

OK, so I'm still using a the demo version of Silverfast Ai Studio and trying to figure out if I should get a new scanner. I am currently using an old Epson 1640su and am considering an Epson v700 or 750 (they both come with Silverfast Ai, from what I've been able to discern). I worked as a color printer in photolabs in the 80's and have extensive experience and fully understand just about any aspect of films and printing. I have also been working with digital photography since the mid 90's. That said...

When I'm in Negafix the first frame I try to scan takes into account colors in the frame and makes adjustments accordingly. If I were to leave it on auto and move from frame to frame, the software makes adjustments according to what colors are in the frame giving me different results.

I recently tested a roll of film that was taken under the same lighting and exposure, the only change is the subject matter and varying amounts of different colors as I took pictures of people moving about. I adjusted the first frame and saved a curve. I set Negafix to expert mode and turned off the auto mode, but when I move from frame to frame I can still see the histograms in the expansion window change as the subject changes and I do see differences in the files in Photoshop. Its not a great difference, but it does change. What I would like to see is once I have a good color balance for my first frame, I get no change whatsoever in the subsequent frames.

Am I missing something? Is there something more I can be doing to stop these slight variations in my scans from film that should produce more consistent results? Or is this the best I can hope for in any scanning software?

Thanks,
Larry Kuzel

[LSI_Luebker]

Dear Larry,

is is possible that you have not disabled the NegaFix "auto" and "ccr" options in all of the scan frames ?