Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/17

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Subject: Re: [Leica] vuescan vs twain
From: Daniel Ridings <daniel.ridings@muspro.uio.no>
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 10:01:50 +0100 (MET)
References: <20031117070346.14137.qmail@web10304.mail.yahoo.com>

I have the same setup for medium format (Epson 2400 and Vuescan). I agree
that Vuescan has a learning curve ... and I'm not real sure if it is
better than Epson's Twain software. I use it because I like using the same
software for different scanners (I have a film scanner too for 35mm).

I use it mostly for black and white. My Rollei paw this week is a scan
from a negative with the Epson and Vuescan:

http://www.dlridings.com/paw2003/46alt1.html

It's not the ideal shot for showing the quality you can get, but I'm
pretty happy with it (scan wise ... needs cropping as the RUG pointed
out).

I get my results by keeping in mind that the scan is one step in the
chain. Afterwards comes Photoshop.

One of the most useful things to learn for beginners to Photoshop is to
learn to use "Levels" and "Curves".

The same applies to Vuescan. By playing with the "black point" and the
"white point" you can give Photoshop a scan that is almost right where you
want it. In this week's RAW (Rollei a Week), I didn't do anything in
Photoshop except for resize and convert to JPEG.

When I can, I scan with a black border. That's not to be snobbish. In the
preview that Vuescan makes, I play with the black point and watch the
histogram. I get it to bottom out. Since I have the black borders in the
scan, I _know_ that I have some pure black in the picture. Then I play
with the white point until the histogram just nudges the right hand side
without taking off in a vertical line straigh up (blocked out highlights).

I don't usually mess with the midtones very much ... it happens, but it
usually gets adjusted appropriately when you work with one of the
extremes.

When I get the scan into Photoshop, it is usually right on the money
(which is good, because I'm not very proficient in Photoshop ... still
learning). Most of my time in Photoshop is spend spotting out dust. I'm
getting a little more daring ... there sure is a lot to learn about PS.

I will admit though that Vuescan does have a learning curve. Its defaults
will usually work pretty well, but once you get the hang of some of it, it
can take you a bit further.

I remember that Epson Twain had a histogram too, I just don't remember how
it was working with it. I used Twain software with a HP scanner a couple
of years back and there was a lot left over for Photoshop to do.

Daniel Ridings
Lindome, Sweden


On Mon, 17 Nov 2003, Rafael Alday wrote:

> I found Twain is faster and easy to use, but I don`t
> know if I am using correctly the tools of Vuescan.
> Vuescan preview is VERY SLOW.
>
> Rafael
>
>
>  --- Gerry Walden <gwpics@aol.com> escribió: > I find
> it handy to have in my 'toolbox' but the main
> > use I have put it
> > to is scanning b&w and Kodachrome where the ICE
> > software with my scanner
> > does not work. It is one of those things where
> > sometimes the Twain
> > software yields a better scan and othertimes Vuescan
> > is better - it has
> > its uses but is not perfect for evrything.
> >
> > gerry
> >
> > Rafael Alday wrote:
> >
> >  > Hi all,
> >  > This weekend I have been trying Vuescan software.
> > I got an Epson 2400
> >  > flatbed scanner and tried with several film
> > types: negative color film
> >  > (Fuji
> >  > NPH) and B&W (Ilford Pan-F).
> >  > I found Vuescan very complicated. The only
> > advantage in respect of
> >  > Twain was
> >  > in negative color films. It was easier to obtain
> > acceptable (without
> >  > color
> >  > dominance) scans.
> >  > I had read excelent thing about Vuescan but now I
> > am a little bit
> >  > disappointed.
> >  > Any experiences?
> >  >
> >  > Thank you,
> >  > Rafael
> >  >
> >  >
> >  > --
> >  > To unsubscribe, see
> > http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html
> >
> >
> > --
> > Gerry Walden LRPS
> > www.gwpics.com
> > +44 23 8046 3076
> >
> > --
> > To unsubscribe, see
> http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html
>
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Replies: Reply from "Rafael Alday" <rafaelalday@yahoo.es> (Re: [Leica] vuescan vs twain)
In reply to: Message from Rafael Alday <rafaelalday@yahoo.es> (Re: [Leica] vuescan vs twain)