I would check to see if the mirror is clean and that it has not got a build
up of dust or as you mention exhaled solvent covering.
This will cause the problem you are seeing. And there may also be other
reasons which others may be aware of.
rob
Ralf Schmode wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>
> a couple of days ago I addressed the list for advice as to replacing a
> defective Nikon LS-30. Fortunately (or, maybe not), the damage was not
> as big as I thought and the lens that caused the trouble (it had
> suffered from exhaled solvent that had emerged from a microscopical
> object in a slide frame which I had scanned before) could be replaced.
>
> I have always had a problem with getting sharp scans out of slide film -
> they always appeared as if taken through a softening filter, with
> apparent halos at the outlines, especially white-black transitions. I
> thought the lens change might be a remedy for this as well.
>
> I was mistaken. Please take a look at and
> - what makes this an issue is that the
> second image crop was taken with the scanner being almost new, just
> three months in use. This can't possibly be dirt; there must be a
> serious problem *by default* with at least some LS-30 scanners as to
> scanning transparencies.
>
> The problem does not occur with negative films, and it's not as bad with
> low contrast slides (though visible as a slight loss of crispness). I
> have now dismantled the unit completely to find out what's going on,
> checked all of the optical path - nothing. My presumption - which would
> be a really bad thing if true - is that the "structure" of slide film
> (you can "feel" the image with your fingertips, meaning the dye layers
> have "edges") causes diffraction of the light passing the slide, causing
> light to seep into areas of the CCD where it actually shouldn't.
>
> What I wrote last week - my next scanner would be a Nikon again - is not
> true any more. I have no confidence whatsoever in their products. I am
> going to order a Minolta Scan Elite II as soon as it is available in
> Germany. And I'd advise all the Nikon owners to critically check what
> they get out of their slides. I am not going to argue with Nikon on that
> matter - they have a history of non-cooperation that I just don't want
> to waste my time for adding another chapter to it.
>
> Best regards -
>
> Ralf
>
> --
> My animal photo page on the WWW:
> Find my PGP keys (RSA and DSS/DH) on PGP key servers
> (use "TrustCenter" certified keys only)
