How to scan 5x4 negs?

[moggi1964]

I use Vuescan on both my Coolscan 5000 and Epson 3200. I find it a very versatile software and worth the price to buy. Updates are frequent too.

 

[Alan Klein]

One other thing that can exaggerate grain in scanning B+W negatives is the dust and scratch removal function. The scanner sees grain as dust and attempts to remove it, sometimes with very odd results. There may be settings that circumvent this. I believe the general advice on scanning is to let the scanner's software do as little as possible and reserve all corrections for later.

That's what I do with the exception of setting the black and white points (levels) on the histogram. Everything else is off. Settings I use are 2400dpi resolution and 16 bit grayscale or 48 bit color.

 

[lharby]

I have an Epson 2450 which came with a tray that can scan 35mm, 120 and a single 4x5 sheet (or maybe there are two trays)

Looking around it seems like you can get one or something similar:

21.88US $ |1pc * 4 X 5 Inch Film Holder Negative Photo Scanner Film Strip Holder Slide Holder For Epson Perfection V700 V750 V800 V850 - Printer Parts - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

This one shows 3 different holders in the background.

epson transparency unit - Google Shopping

www.google.com

 

[super_claret]

You have the option to dry mount the negs on the Epson fluid mount, you just need a piece of anti newton glass to sit on top of the negative, works extremely well for 4x5 negs, keeps them dead flat and the height seems to give optimum sharpness, I only wet mount if there badly scratched or full of dust particles that cant be mechanically removed, wet mounting helps in that scenario

where did you purchase your AN glass from Martin. Any UK suppliers you could recommend?

 

[martin henson]

Mine was from the better scanning kit which I was not keen on, I think any glass company should be able to supply the glass, such as anti reflective glass should work, I think

 

[Alan Klein]

Epsonscan is for Windows operating systems. EpsonScan 2 is for Apple. Check Epson's site to download the correct program.

 

[David M]

On Martin’s recommendation, I re-purposed the Better Scanning glass by hingeing it to the Epson wet-scanning holder with tape. I made a mask from thin black card for positioning as the neg can skate around in the draught as the glass is closed. It seems to work very well without fluid. I wasn’t enthusiastic about using flammable liquids in a small room with a boiler on the wall.
Like others, I found that adjusting all those screws on a B-S holder seemed to give no improvement. Perhaps I was just too impatient.
The B-S cover glass for 120 film works well on my Nikon 8000 scanner to keep the curly film flat.

 

[Ian-Barber]

About 2 years ago I introduced martin to the system I use which to me gives the best results.
Lay the negative on the bed, glass on top and experiment with either the high or low resolution lens if using an Epson V series

here is a link to a Free PDF on my website

Free Guide To Scanning 5x4 B&W Negatives V800

Download a free PDF guide to scanning 5x4 black and white negatives with the Epson V800. Learn settings, workflow tips, and techniques for better film scans.

www.digitalblackandwhite.co.uk

 

[martin henson]

I have tried that way with high and low res lens but the results were worse than the wet holder, I am finding the best result's with the 4x5 holder supplied with the scanner set at its lowest setting for me seems to give me better 4x5 scans, this can vary from scanner to scanner so you have to experiment

 

[Ian-Barber]

I have tried that way with high and low res lens but the results were worse than the wet holder

You may be placing the film in the wrong place as the DOF is quite limited when using the HR lens. if you scan a metal ruler at an angle, you will see where the DOF starts and ends. It doesn't cover 10x8 and probably not 5x7 but it will cover 5x4.