filmscanners: PCI 5 on Polaoid SS4K- first scans

["B. Twieg" <btwieg@sonic.net>]

So far the PCI 5.x looks like a definite improvement over 4.51. Although I
like Vuescan and will still use it, I think I will use PCI more often than I
did in the past.

Some initial observations(SS4K, Win2k, Pentium III 667, 1GB ram):

1. The main improvement is the ability to scan and correct at 12 bits and
send the corrected 12 bit scan to PS6 with the Adobe RGB profile embedded.

2. With this feature, the image arriving in PS6 looks very similar to the
corrected image in PCI 5. I often have to do some tone and saturation work
to get the image looking right in PCI, but it doesn't change going into PS.

3. The preview in PCI 5 often looks dark, and has to be brightened in the
"Tone" adjustment section. The preview is also drab and often needs to have
significant saturation added in the Color tab. In Vuescan, I find that the
saturation usually looks about right.Maybe I have something wrong in my PCI
preview preference settings.

4. The Histogram is supposed to have a feature that allows black and white
point setting by clicking on some buttons and then on the x axis of the
histogram. On my system, this feature doesn't work-the buttons don't show as
pushed even when I click on them.

5. Curves adjustments are purposely disabled when embedding a color profile
other than the monitor profile(a Photocal profile in my case). I assume it
is best to embed Adobe RGB, since this is the profile I use for further
adjustment in PS6, and Monitor profiles are supposedly gamut limited.

6. So far I have tried it with slide(Provia 100F and Velvia) and APS film.
Both worked well.

7. PCI doesn't have the great "scan from memory feature" that Vuescan does,
but you can make simple color and tone corrections and see the result on
screen before you scan. You can also sharpen, but I do that later in PS.

8. On one scan, I had a problem with the crop/image shifting to the left
during the scan and delivery to PS. This causes the left part of the image
to be missing and a large black border to appear on the right. This used to
happen with Vuescan, but Ed Hamrick fixed it and it has never happened
again.

Question: Should I be using the auto lamp off feature to save the bulb??

Other experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill Twieg