MorseBlog

The other day I watched a video about scanning black and white negatives with Vuescan software. This is the same SW I use but the video had a very different workflow form mine. While I think it probably works for the author I felt that there was a simpler more flexible workflow that I have evolved over time. I thought perhaps I should document my approach and the rationale behind it. These techniques also apply to color negative and positive film as well.  The basis for the workflow I show here is that the objective is to avoid the scanner doing any manipulations on the scan at all. I just want pixels. I have used Vuescan for years and have played with all kinds of the settings trying to get the right contrast, black points, white points, and colors. It has always been frustrating and the results not always satisfactory or consistent.  Vuescan and most other scanning SW aim by default to make it easier to scan large numbers of slides or negativ...

Since the purchase of ColorPerfect/ColorNeg I have had to revise (and improve) my scanning work flow. I have also purchased and read Alex Burke' book Film in a Digital Age . It is a good book and at 180 pages worth the $20.00 if you practice a hybrid film digital work flow. Lots of practical tips. Alex's photos I think speak for themselves. Interestingly the two scanning flows are somewhat different and I wanted to compare them. I normally use Vuescan which can be unclear sometimes but has lots of controls. For instance I have scanned for 48-bit color for a very long time. It was only after using ColorNeg that I discovered all my scans were saved as 24-bit files. This is because there are separate scanning and saving options. The tutorials with ColorNeg straightened all this out. These experiments relate to color negative flow. Alex on the other hand uses EpsonScan and then Photoshop. Reading his scanning flow I decided to see what differences there might be. The recommende...