Jim
I have not done a count, but I'm sure that I also find from 200- 1000 spots
on every scan, no matter how careful I am, and I live in a humid climate,
but work under much less clean conditions. I've been preoccupied with the
dust problem for some time. Some people don't seem to consider it a big
problem, but that must be because they do not spot scans from slides using
the Acutal Pixels view while making 13x19 prints. I'd hoped that a new
SS4000 purchased at Ecost would do a good enough job and save me lots of
bucks. But, the comparison between using ICE on a Nikon LS 4000 and not ICE
on the Sprintscan is too dramatic to ignore, especially since I have not
been able to see any significant difference in quality.
> From: jimhayes <jimhayes@jymis.com>
> Reply-To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
> Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 08:48:04 -0600
> To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
> Subject: Re: filmscanners: Dust in Sprintscan 4000?
>
>
>
>
>
>> On Sat, 15 Sep 2001 08:41:04 -0400 Barbara & Martin Greene
>> (martbarb@earthlink.net) wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> I'd
>>> appreciate if users of the Sprintscan would tell me just how much stuff
>>> shows up in their slide scans.
>
> In my SS 4000 35 mm frames, which are mainly Tmax 100, I did a rough count
> once. I chose moderately (one stop) underexposed negs or night shots, so white
> dust specks/hairs would show up. I scanned with Vuescan at 16 bit straight
> through to photoshop and enlarged to 100% and went around the frame and
> counted
> dust specks. I live in a semi-arid area and humidity ranges from 20-50%RH. I
> store the negs in mylar sleeves, thumb cut from the side from "Light
> Impressions" (and stored in their folder/ box system) to avoid insertion
> scratches. I shoot each neg with an anti-static gun, and compressed air from a
> rather healthy air compressor (not damaging neg, however), and I wear high
> quality cotton gloves. Then I examine negative at an angle under good
> lighting-
> and I almost never see any dust remaining on neg (keep reading tho). I keep an
> air cleaner (HEPA) in the room 24/7, overated for the size of room, and I keep
> the door closed with a seal on the bottom, and all windows closed, except a
> permanently window mounted air conditioner. Yada, yada...
>
> The count varies from 200-1000 spots per frame. I think a lot is due to dry
> climate and the increased resolution of scanner, or maybe I should circulate
> the air more than I do. The highest numbers come from a processing lab in Utah
> (dip and dunk). The lowest numbers come from rolls I have processed myself (I
> used a 2 micron water filter at one point) or even better, a little outfit in
> New Mexico which actually still does roll tank processing, with fresh
> solutions, etc, specializing in B&W only. Since I am VERY low volume, I don't
> mind spotting away for two hours or more, as long as I can get up every half
> hour to take a quick screaming break.
>
> Hopes that helps.
>
> --
> Jim Hayes
>
> Digital Surrealism
> Images at
>
>
