Railfan Technology > slide scanning question

Dark scans.  Am I doing something wrong if basically most of my scans are somewhat dark.  There have been a few I was unable to get ligth enough to be of value.

Ideas?

Rob

SilvertonRR100 Wrote:
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> Dark scans.  Am I doing something wrong if
> basically most of my scans are somewhat dark.
>  There have been a few I was unable to get ligth
> enough to be of value.
>
> Ideas?
>
> Very Little info to go on but if slide appears dark, you scan it into a TIFF or jpg and will be able open in your RAW converter and coax some detail out of it.
If slide appears well exposed you need to check you scanner instructions or the operatio of the scanner.
Even dark slides like dark negatives often contain detail that can be retrieved to some extent.

Bob
 

What scanner? What software? Need more info.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> What scanner? What software? Need more info.

Could be anything from scanner malfunction (I had one that was sometimes overexposing) to incorrect scan options set in the program.  First, make sure the program selection of which scanner it is accurate.  Then select the fully automatic function in the program and let it decide for itself how to scan the slide(s).  Scan the same slides several times each on full auto.  If there's variations, it's likely the scanner, in my opinion.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> What scanner? What software? Need more info.

Sorry, meant to edit that in some time ago.  Got too busy.

Plustek OpticFilm 7600I

Silverfast 6.6 2r 3

Rob

My first inclination would be to dump Silverfast and try something else, like VueScan. That will at least help you determine if the issue is software or hardware. Personally, I never got very good results from Silverfast from any of my scanners and avoid it at all costs. You can download VueScan for a free trail that watermarks your images. But it will give you an opportunity to play with the interface and see if you can get better scans from it before you buy.

http://www.hamrick.com/

My experiences with SilverFast and VueScan have been similar.  Brian Solomon and Ken Rockwell have both posted observations on scanning on their respective sites.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/15 09:32 by desertjack.