I just received a Plustek Opticfilm 7200 film scanner. It's having trouble scanning negatives. I have a recent roll of underdeveloped pan f plus, that it renders as an almost pure black. Other prints from the roll printed just fine at grade 3 and half and grade 4. Is there any way to get more shadow detail by turning down the brightness of the light source or the gain on the sensor? If not then I plan on returning this scanner.
First attachment is the new scanners scan. Second attachment is a scan on a Canon LiDE 500 for comparison. Third attachment is better developed negative to show the loss of shadow detail. And older scan on the canon is here.
I seem to be getting a better dynamic range using quickscan. The problem now is dust. This is a 100% crop from a 2400dpi scan. I'm spraying my negatives with canned air before scanning, which seems to take care of most of the dust, but there are those little specs of dust sticking to the negative.
Don't know about the specific scanner or the software it comes with, you might want to see if Vuescan supports it, some swear by it, some swear at it. I like it but it did take awhile to learn how to get the results I wanted, but that was a vast improvement over the software for my scanner.
Dust is a given with scanning, no matter how well you blow everything off you'll have dust. Personally, I prefer to scan the negative as a positive (depends on your software if you can do that) because I find dealing with black dust spots easier to see than white, then I just invert the image to get a proper positive image.
Reub2000, those almost look like particulate from the processing, more specifically precipitates from the fixer which stick to the emulsion. I have had small specks like that when using fixer that has had a roll or two run through it and then sat for a couple of days prior to use. I switched to using my fixer for one day only (usually two or three rolls) so that precipitates don't really have time to form. That and using distilled water for rinsing has virtually eliminated those type of specks.
Dust, however will always be a problem, I use canned air and sometimes I charge a piece of plastic film sleeve by rubbing it against my shirt. It acts as a little dust magnet and will pull the dust paricles off the negative.
I mixed my current fixer a little over a month ago. It's one gallon of kodak rapid fixer with the hardner. I've fixed about a half dozen rolls in it. Is that the problem?
I mixed my current fixer a little over a month ago. It's one gallon of kodak rapid fixer with the hardner. I've fixed about a half dozen rolls in it. Is that the problem?
I find the spots of precipitate if my fixer has sat around for a week or so after doing two to three rolls. Try fresh fixer for your next roll with a DI final rinse, and see if you still see the spots.
I find the spots of precipitate if my fixer has sat around for a week or so after doing two to three rolls. Try fresh fixer for your next roll with a DI final rinse, and see if you still see the spots.
What do you suggest for a low volume darkroom? I can't possibly exhaust a gallon of fixer in a couple of days.
I'll usually process two or three rolls in one day. That's usually a weekend's worth of shooting. Then I just mix up fresh fixer for each darkroom session. I use Kodak's Rapid Fixer, which I mix from liquid concentrate. I only make up what I need for that session, use it and dispose of it after the session. I used to not believe people who said to use fixer as one shot (I still get 2-3 rolls out of it), but it made a huge difference in time spent in post-processing. Well worth the little bit (and it really is a little bit) of extra money I spend.
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Originally Posted by reub2000 
