print to scan

denada

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i need a scanner. the few i'm finding around my life are not cutting it. not creating a copy true to the print to the extent i demand. this is for polaroids and soon to be black and white 8.5 by 11s enlarged from 35mm. is this the way to go ...

Epson v8000

do i want this fluid mount as well?

or does anyone have a better recommendation?

thanks in advance!
 
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No. If you have 35mm film scan the film not prints made from the film. Photograph the Polaroids.

Joe
 
could you explain a little further? why scan the negatives instead of create and then scan the print? if scanning the negative does result in a better copy, are one of these scanners what i need for the job?

also, photographing polaroids is not anywhere near the quality i want.

is the v600 something i can get away with? or should i just splurge for the v8500? i mean i spend about this much in film every couple weeks anyway.
 
Fluid mount Polaroids? Absolutely NOT And probably not needed for the film.

I also agree with scanning the film and not the prints from the film.
 
fluid mount of benefit for scanning negatives? and do you think i'll have a problem with newton rings when dry scanning the polaroids?
 
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could you explain a little further? why scan the negatives instead of create and then scan the print? if scanning the negative does result in a better copy, are one of these scanners what i need for the job?

also, photographing polaroids is not anywhere near the quality i want.

Your original is a polaroid print. Don't want to offend you but "quality" and polaroid don't really associate very well. Copy the polariods with a high-res digital camera.

is the v600 something i can get away with? or should i just splurge for the v8500? i mean i spend about this much in film every couple weeks anyway.

A print from a film negative is a 2nd generation. In all analog transfers considerable loss occurs one generation to the next. A scan from a print from a negative is a 3rd generation. There's no way you'll maintain equivalent image quality scanning a print versus scanning the original film.

The Epson V series scanners do a good job with 70mm film on up and do an OK job with 35mm but are not as good with 35mm as a dedicated 35mm scanner. If you don't have larger film to scan you might consider a dedicated 35mm film scanner. The V600 will give you the same scan as the V850. The extra cost for the 850 is for the full-size light in the lid that permits scanning sheet size film.

Here's an example: 35mm color slide scanned with Epson V750 (prior model to v850):

school_house.jpg


Now here's a comparisons at full-res of the above scan with an identical resolution scan from a dedicated 35mm film scanner:

scanners.jpg


If you scanned a print you can expect a poorer result than the above Epson scan.

Joe
 
thanks for the thorough reply, Joe.

then i'd have to do any post in photoshop, instead of burning/dodging on the enlarger?

and i get what your saying about polaroids, but they give off little rays of light and i want my digital copies to give off near identical rays of light. i've been using a few different scanners, and none of the are up to snuff. gritty film has an aesthetic, and i like it.

maybe i need a v600 for polaroids and ls4000 for negatives? but that's about the same price as the v850 and it's likely i'll be expanding beyond just 35mm. maybe i buy another dedicated negative scanner when i expand beyond 35mm.
 
do you think i'll have a problem with newton rings when dry scanning the polaroids?

You wouldn't, it's just a print face down on a scanner.
 
thanks for the thorough reply, Joe.

then i'd have to do any post in photoshop, instead of burning/dodging on the enlarger?

Yes -- easier to do in Photoshop and superior results.

and i get what your saying about polaroids, but they give off little rays of light and i want my digital copies to give off near identical rays of light. i've been using a few different scanners, and none of the are up to snuff. gritty film has an aesthetic, and i like it.

maybe i need a v600 for polaroids and ls4000 for negatives? but that's about the same price as the v850 and it's likely i'll be expanding beyond just 35mm. maybe i buy another dedicated negative scanner when i expand beyond 35mm.

If you want to scan the Polaroids you can get a much less expensive flat-bed print scanner that should serve. Don't know what you've tried -- look at Canon.

I used the Nikon scanner as an example since I had that example available. There are other dedicated 35mm film scanners that should out perform the Epson V series. I like the Epson V series scanners and I have a couple of them at work. They're good scanners but they're "jack of all trades" scanners and that usually comes at the expensive of doing just one thing really well. Plustek makes some dedicated 35mm film scanners that should be easier to find and use than an old out of production Nikon.

Joe
 
so i bought the perfection v600. $200 wasn't something i had to spend all week thinking about. i figure i'll buy a dedicated 35mm once i'm a bit more knowledgable.

and oh my gosh i'm going crazy trying to get the digital copy to look exactly like the original. photoshop is something i use for work with a rudimentary understanding; i mess with levels and some dodge/burn until i get a bright, happy photo people will share/like on social media. i'm not interested in digitally manipulation in (my) art. i want to be able to share the photos i take while having them look just like the original. it's impossible.
 
i'm not interested in digitally manipulation in (my) art. i want to be able to share the photos i take while having them look just like the original. it's impossible.

There's usually a 'home' (quick, auto) mode with scanner software that gives a basic result without needing to get deep into it settings. You could just flatbed scan polaroids.
 
^yep, this has that option. problem is that result is not even close to the original image. i was about to post the two examples to show my point, but as you can't see the original i guess there's no point. well, i just spent an hour photoshopping it to get it close, i wanna post anyway.

'shopped until i got it as close as i could ...

tumblr_o3t45frId01v9quoao1_1280.jpg



scanned on "home" ...

tumblr_o3t5pgKxGK1v9quoao1_1280.jpg

i also realize it doesn't look the same from display to display. drives me crazy.
 
It's very subjective - hard to know what it lacks, how you want it look. The auto scan is less saturated; using Levels a midpoint RGB adjustment would make it look darker/denser and alter the look to be more like your 'shopped one. What does it lack that you are unhappy about?
 
A basic digital camera with 'macro' lens function, on a tripod (or even handheld in good light), custom white balance and using the 10 second self timer would give you a digital file of your polaroid. That should be quite accurate color and easier to crop and prep for use on the web.
 
so i bought the perfection v600. $200 wasn't something i had to spend all week thinking about. i figure i'll buy a dedicated 35mm once i'm a bit more knowledgable.

and oh my gosh i'm going crazy trying to get the digital copy to look exactly like the original. photoshop is something i use for work with a rudimentary understanding; i mess with levels and some dodge/burn until i get a bright, happy photo people will share/like on social media. i'm not interested in digitally manipulation in (my) art. i want to be able to share the photos i take while having them look just like the original. it's impossible.

It is impossible. There's a reason for that. Your original is a reflected light print and your scan is a transmitted light screen image.

You're not going to get the scanner to deliver a finished result that doesn't require some further adjustment. How much further adjustment and how difficult that will be depends on your working methods. First question, how is your monitor calibrated and how did you calibrate the scanner?

Joe
 

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