Epson V700 and noisy

[ethant]

Ok, I am a complete newbie at both film and scanning. I can put up some samples later but are there basic tips for getting good scans of negatives with the V700? I'm mostly using TriX 400 pushed to 800 and developed accordingly by me. My photography teacher says I have good density in my negs and my b&w prints look pretty good.

Basically, on some portraits I've done I can't get any detail out of a black suit I'm wearing and my skin looks extremely blotchy.

Other times, for landscapes and such, the scans look great.

I'm using OS X, Panther, and the latest SilverFast (well, I downloaded an update 2 weeks ago, maybe there is something newer now).

Thanks,
Greg

[jheinzl]

Hello,

firstly when scanning B&W negatives do not use ICE. It simply does not work with traditional B&W film as the silver in the film which is still there blocks the IR used for ICE.

Secondly, and here it depends on which version you've got, you may give MultiExposure a./o. multisampling a try.

Thirdly you may want to adjust the height of the film holder by exchanging those little plastic "feet" that came with the scanner (won't help to remove blotches but may increase sharpness, actually.)

Well and last but not least keep the glass surface clean, I use to use distilled water for hot irons and a clean linen handkerchief, and of course the negatives, too (no "Water & Mop" recommended here, though.)

Oh and one last tip -- scan B&W negatives as colour postives (slides) and convert them latter. The positive mode helps to squeeze out the most of the film and colour mode means you can squeeze out even more by making adjustments for each colour channel and only as your last step convert them to grayscale.

Should there still be problems you may need to ask someone who's got a scanner, flatbed or film, too to see whether there is a problem with the negative(s) or with your scanner / SW combo.

Basically while the V700, or the V750 I've got which is pretty much the same plus some enhancements, cannot compete with my big & fat Nikon it's a good flatbed and, some hiccups with past releases aside, should work quite fine in combination with SF.

[ethant]

I have a question and a couple of comments about your suggestions:

2) I have plain SE and multisampling sounds like a great reason to upgrade.

3) I haven't found any info on the feet, they're at home on my desk right now. Sharpness is currently good but I'll try them out to see what the difference is. Is there only one set of extra feet, or is there more in that little bag?

That's a great tip about scanning as color positives, I'm definitely going to run through that.

Thanks!

[jheinzl]

2) MultiSampling helps to reduce the CCD noise and increases the quality of the resulting scans in my experience. The downside is that it also means the scanner needs to do multiple passes, say more wear and it takes longer, true.

3) You can adjust the gap between the film holder and the glass between 2.5mm (no height adjustment thingies) and 3.5mm (the arrow facing the plus) with 3.0mm (the arrow facing the circle) as the default.

Since the V700/750 does not come with lenses that'd allow to change the focus you so can at least change the height of the holder if the sharpness isn't as good as expected.