It has been quite awhile since I have posted to this list but with a recent
change to Vuescan I would like to get the opinion of others. Actually, I
posted this message more than 2 days ago but it never showed up on the list
so I will post it again.
I have been using Vuescan for close to 4 years and in the last year or so I
have settled on the methodology of scanning with my Minolta Scan Elite using
multi-scanning to create a high-quality scan and archiving the
high-resolution raw scan files to CD. I probably have a thousand or so raw
scan files archived now. I like to archive the raw scan files so that any
time I want to use the photo I can use Vuescan to scan from the raw file at
any resolution and using any setting (infrared cleaning, grain reduction,
color parameters, etc.) I want. Using the raw file I can scan one time
using no grain reduction, another time using grain reduction at various
levels, with infrared cleaning, without infrared cleaning, etc. Another
advantage of archiving the raw scan file is that Ed from time to time
improves the infrared cleaning and/or grain reduction algorithm and by
rescanning the archived raw scan file with the latest, greatest version of
Vuescan I can take advantage of that improvement.
This brings me to the point of this message. Starting with version 7.4 Ed
has changed Vuescan from creating a raw scan file to a creating partially
processed raw scan file. The raw file now has infrared cleaning already
done and, in a message a couple of days ago, Henk de Jong says that grain
reduction processing has already been done to the raw scan file also. I'm
sure Ed has
some very good reasons for making this change but, I for one, much prefer
the previous method of saving a raw file with none of that processing. In
recent months Ed has made some tremendous improvements to Vuescan
(histograms, etc.) that I have been wanting for years and I heartily thank
him for those. Certainly I trust Ed's good judgement because he usually
gets things right, but this time I can see no advantage from a user's point
of view, but there is a serious disadvantage.
With the way Vuescan 7.4+ operates I must do one of two things:
1. Scan the slide/negative 8 times and archive 8 raw scan files:
a. no infrared cleaning, no grain reduction
b. no infrared cleaning, light grain reduction
c. no infrared cleaning, medium grain reduction
d. no infrared cleaning, heavy grain reduction
e. infrared cleaning, no grain reduction
f. infrared cleaning, light grain reduction
g. infrared cleaning, medium grain reduction
h. infrared cleaning, heavy grain reduction
2. Scan the slide/negative using the infrared cleaning setting and grain
reduction setting that I *think* I will usually want for this image and when
I want a different setting I will have to go back and rescan the original
image again -- sort of defeats the purpose of archiving in the first place
though.
I hope Ed will reconsider and return Vuescan to creating raw scan files that
don't have the infrared cleaning and grain reduction already performed.
Maybe there is some advantage to the new method that I can't think of and if
there is maybe someone can enlighten me. In my opinion, it would have to be
a really huge advantage to offset the very serious disdvantage though.
What do others think?
Henry Richardson
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