[filmscanners] Re: Some findings/thoughts on the Sprintscan120(comments verywelcome please)

["Dave King" <kingphoto@mindspring.com>]

I said previously:
>A CCD scanner will not read the deepest shadows of transparency film

Well, I may have to eat my words here.  I've spent the evening testing the
LS-8000 using some of the chromes that have given me fits in the past.  One
slide in particular that I had to use the "two scans and combine in
Photoshop" trick, the LS-8000 sailed through with flying colors.  I made
three scans, all with ICE and the same curves correction: 1x multi sample, 8
bit, 3 CCD, 4x multi sample, 8 bit, 1 CCD, and 4x multi sample, 1 CCD, 14
bit.  The correction was pretty extreme, to lighten and then add
compensating shadow contrast using both curves and LCH editor (lightness
channel).  The first scan had major banding (it was a big band), so Nikon's
statements that banding increases with increasing contrast edits is
definitely true.  The second had no banding, and was good enough really, so
I wasn't expecting any improvement in the third hi-bit scan.  After all,
Nikonscan processes the correction in hi bit before saving to disk, right?
I was surprised to see that the hi bit scan was considerably better in the
shadows than the 8 bit scan, as shadow transitions were much smoother and
there was more detail.  In fact, on the 14 bit scan there was shadow detail
I can't see on the #$%@ light table!  This is a first in my experience.
Perhaps I could see it if I masked the chrome off (on the light table), but
I didn't bother, I was convinced already.  Scan times go way up with all the
goodies dialed in, so they'll only get use as necessary, but it's still a
hell of a lot less time than I spent hunched over in front of the monitor
scanning this image before, and this time I was on the sofa catching the
news while the scanner whirred away.  All of the scans I did need very
little or no post processing in Photoshop.  Somebody pinch me, I think I'm
dreaming.

Dave


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