While I still shoot digital, I love film and have been shooting it since before digital cameras were even a consideration. That said, until I recently bought an Epson V850, I have never had a scanner that was capable of professional quality scans, and if I wanted the images scanned professionally I was always forced to spend an arm and a leg on drum scans at a professional lab. My problem is this...
I have plenty of experience shooting film, and I have plenty of experience shooting digital and post processing the images, but I am a complete novice when it comes to film to digital workflow. I know how to use the scanner and I can get scans that are of fairly decent quality, but even when starting with great negatives, I get nowhere near the amazing tonal range and depth I know is present in the negatives. I know I can't be alone.
So I was wondering if anyone would care to share any tips or tricks they have for scanning and post processing film.
In pretty much the same boat. But found that using Silverfast scanner software is very helpful in getting the best scans.Check their web page.
The scanner came with the Epson software and Silverfast 8. I have used both and have not seen much noticeable difference between the two. Granted I have had a ton of other things on my plate recently. I think it will soon be time to really dig deep into some film scanning and film to digital processing workflow tutorials.
I have the Epson V600 and the software is very good. I find I have a little more control over the outcome with Silverfast.
I am like you.I had gobs of 6x7 negatives from my Pentax 6x7 days.I decided I either needed to sell it or get back into film. So I got back into film which prompted me to get the V600. I've been experimenting ever since. Good fun. Was getting a little board with digital.
The Epson Scan software works OK. The "Digital ICE" actually does a really nice job cleaning up dust spots. Beyond that I don't have enough experience to comment further.
I've found that for medium format, scanning at 3200 and ressing down seems to be the sweet spot for me. I also don't let the scan software sharpen for me as I take care of that in PS. In Silverfast the histogram is your friend. Work that rather than the sliders.