OT Scanning medium format What should I expect?

[gregarpp]

I have a Minolta Dimage scan II.
I am scanning some hassy negs shot with a 40mm

I was rather surprised by the lack of detail in the scans.

I am not sure if it is the lens, film or scanner..

Any suggestions on how to post a sample?

[anselwannab]

Got any examples or crops?

[gregarpp]

How much should I crop??
What is a decent image size to upload?

[Todd.Hanz]

to post an image here go to the bottom and hit "Post Reply", a new screen will pop up, go to the bottom and hit "manage attachments" then "Choose File", after choosing the file hit "upload" then submit reply.

5x5 inches at 100 dpi gives a pretty full screen on monitors that use 800x600 resolution. Here are some examples of the square format in that size ( see my blog for more)..


Todd

[gregarpp]

I think a crop at full res will be better to see if there is a problem
Either way, I will post some images

[gregarpp]

8x8 @72 dpi

[gregarpp]

The crop is near the middle, the dead branch in the sky...

[T_om]

Are you referring to true "lack of detail" or is the apparent softness the problem?

Scans straight out of the scanner are soft. Usually, the best workflow is to scan with all internal scanner sharpening set to zero and massage the files in post.

Bruce Fraser recommends a three step sharpening process, input sharpening artistic sharpening and output sharpening.

The digital workflow, which is what you have entered as soon as you scan, REQUIRES sharpening as part of the process. It is not a flaw or aberration.

All that said, yes... there could indeed be a problem with the mechanicals. The scanner may be off, the shot may have been soft, the camera may have moved or the subject may have moved.

have you been getting consistently good results before this episode? Is this the first time you have ever used the scanner? Do you have a known good test negative or chrome?

There are a lot of variables and you just have to pin them down one at a time.

Tom

[gregarpp]

This is my first few scans..
I also have an Epson 4870, but I never scanned negatives with it.

What do you think of my image and crop?
There was no sharpening done yet.

[gregarpp]

I am going to scan a different negative.
This was shot on my old 645 mamiya system...

[gregarpp]

The lake and tree was taken with a Hasselblad 40mm/4.0 lens.
It was shot at f5.6
I had the camera on a tripod, and used a shutter release.

[gregarpp]

This was shot with a Mamiya 645 80mm lens.
It was stopped down a bit...

[Todd.Hanz]

I misunderstood your first question.

The Lake shot may have been a tad out of focus, f5.6 is still pretty shallow even for a wide angle like the 40mm. Do you remember what you focused on? Try a crop of that area and see if you can fing more detail.

godd luck,
Todd

[gregarpp]

I thought I was trying to focus on the trees.. But maybe I was wrong.

I think I have another roll shot with the 40mm lens.. I will have to check that.

[pvdhaar]

Even if you did carefully focus on the trees, and had the camera on a tripod, you can still have subject motion from wind; especially branches and leaves. Have you checked whether there's a stone or ground in the plane of focus that sits absolutely still?

[oftheherd]

This is my first few scans..
I also have an Epson 4870, but I never scanned negatives with it.

What do you think of my image and crop?
There was no sharpening done yet.

You might want to try the Epson also. If you look at the three photos in my gallery, you will see three 6x7 negatives done on an Epson. I didn't do much sharpening as I recall.

[arthury]

gregarpp,

Did you look at your slide thru a loupe? If it is sharp, then you know that there'
s nothing wrong with the original slide.

Is your slide truly flat when mounted for scanning?