On 11/3/06, Emily L. Ferguson <elf@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
My understanding is that your scanner software is the equivalent for adjusting your images of the Camera Raw software that we use on digital capture. That implies that you need the most sophisticated possible software for the scanning, and you should do as many adjustments to the scan before actually making it as possible.
If you limit yourself to 8-bit scans, this is in some ways true, since mostly the adjustments are made in 16-bit internally and reduced to 8 for output, and that's a win. But I see no reason to limit myself to 8-bit scans. If you're willing to make 16-bit scans when needed, then the only things that should be done in the scanner are things affecting the exposure at the analog level. Photoshop has much more sophisticated algorithms for all the adjustments. And, by the way, the same argument applies to raw; I try to do as little as possible in the converter, just get all the data over into Photoshop, where the tools are much more powerful.
For that reason many people who scan their film use Vuescan software rather than the package that came with their scanner. You might want to look in to it.
I haven't gotten sucked into Ed's Vuescan software yet, but it's certainly something I've considered when working with old scanners where the official software is starting to show its age seriously. -- David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd-b@xxxxxxxx>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/> RKBA: <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/> Pics: <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/> Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>
