Re: Sharpness in Tiff Scans

On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:11:16 -0500, Charlie Hoffpauir
<invalid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Fri, 30 May 2008 05:33:21 -0500, Mike Fox <mikefox@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

This goes to the heart of questions I had for a long time and had
hoped been solved. But I'm not sure. I am scanning/achiving family
slides with a Nikon Coolscan for my children and their children's
children. I'm not concerned how they look today but in a 100 years
with the technology of that time.

My approach (supported by the opinions of others) has been to scan at
the greatest resolution technology provides, and this has been 4000
dpi and 16 bit color. Of course, this generates 100MB image files,
but that's just the cost of this approach.

As much as possible, I avoid "over-processing" the image by not using
algorithms for sharpening and noise reduction. All I do is balance
faded colors, use dust removal, and crop the image on the philosophy
that it's better to give future generations the raw product to enhance
with their technology.

I wonder though. I too am disappointed at those high res images.
They're just not as sharp as I had hoped, and definitely not as sharp
as the 35mm slide projected on an 8 by 5 screen. Yes, I could sharpen
the image, be that introduces artifacts that could defeat the
algorithms of future genertations.

Perhaps I'm getting all the resolution there is. It's a lot of work
for something that's not a good as I would have liked.

Anyone have thoughts on the subect?

Mike

Everyone has an opinion, here's mine. (Actually, I have two.)

1. I've seen very few 35mm slides or negatives that are good enough
for a 4000 dpi scan. Certainly no "hand-held" 35mm images, as most of
mine are.
2. If your scans are really not as sharp as a projected image, then
you are really doing something wrong, or your equipment is really
screwed up. Try scanning your "best" slide on someone else's scanner,
or better yet, have someone else scan it for you, just as a
comparison.

All good suggestions which I plan on following before I proceed.

.

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