The Schnozz emerges from his hole...
The flare problem with the Nikon scanners is certainly present, but I
find it to be a non-issue for most slides. It rarely presents itself
unless I've got a Velvia slide with bright stuff against a black
background. There have been a few slides that have given me an
opportunity for growth, but for the most part it's OK. But, I would
say that the optical path of the Nikon has to be, by design, one of
the most flare-prone scanners ever made.
The dynamic-range of the V-ED that I have is stunning. Granted, that
also contributes to the flare problem because you'll see flare in the
shadows that normal scanners probably wouldn't have even picked up.
Every scanner seems to have strengths and weaknesses. While the narrow
DoF and flare of the Nikon can be problematic, at times, the other
positive virtues of the scanner have kept me convinced that I made
about the right choice when I bought it. I should have gotten the
5000, though, because of the roll-feed and increased speed.
Through the years, I've learned a few little tricks along the way. One
trick with the Nikon V-ED and Vuescan is to set Grain Reduction to
Light on the Filter tab. Then apply 50% reduction in file size. End
result is a file that is remarkably similar to that of a DSLR. What I
learned is that if you want the file to look like a DSLR image, you
have to process it in a similar way to the DSLR image. It's still
"raw" until you get the file into your editable state. You may need to
shrink, clean, FM and who knows what else to the scan before you ever
want to actually do anything with it.
Moose's comment about 4000 dpi being able to capture everything on the
film is somewhat correct. Overscanning or having greater dpi resoluton
totally helps with grain aliasing. But the big issue is the types of
films themselves. Most of the Fujichromes are actually not the
greatest because of the lateral halation. Light hits the emulsion and
spreads sideways through it. Some of the print films, such as the new
Portra 160NC will certainly give 4000 dpi a run for the money.
Back to the hole.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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