Drumscanner fun

[Lars]

Got my Howtek set up again after two years in storage/intercontinental relocation. Here is a sample from an 8x10" tranny, scanned at 2000 dpi. The crop is the bolt thread in the center, at full resolution. A bit oversharpened in the excitement - the pepper grain is a consequence of the fine aperture of the drum scanner rather than film grain. Capture was on E100VS using a Cooke XVa (rear element) 473 mm wide open at f/11. Two tripods of course. Come to think of it, this is almost 1:1. Maybe 1:1.5. Great macro lens hehe.

I'm relieved to see that the scanner survived the shipping - the only service shop worldwide is Aztek in LA.

 

[nei1]

Almost surreal Lars,I dont think you could see as much detail with your eye.
On a lower level Ive just bought a "mint"dimage 5400 on e-bay,once received and up and running I"ll post some thing here,your criticsm and advice would be invaluable if time permits, all the best,Neil.
p.s.Your scan reminds me of the scene in "Bladerunner"where he delves into the photo,the future is here already,its just specialized.

 

[Jack]

Lars, is that per chance from the tractor we were shooting in the desert a few years back?

 

[Lars]

Jack,
Yep it is good eye.

Neil,
I think the device in Blade Runner is a few steps beyond what we can do today - Decker was actually able to peek behind an object in the image. Probably the director's vision of what hologram cameras of the future would be like.
If Digital ICE works as well on the Dimage as on the Nikon scanner then you'll be very happy with the results. I have never used that scanner but I understand it has a good reputation.
Just make sure you clean the light path of dust - slide scanners tend to accumulate a lot of lint from paper slide frames. And be careful not to touch any mirror - it's likely surface-coated and scratches as easily as an SLR mirror.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

That's great Lars. Large format really is pretty amazing. On the following picture, there is a white dot next to a black dot. They are two people. On the 2040dpi scan (max on the imacon), you can clearly see the two people -- they are not crystal clear, but it is obvious that they are a man and a woman. Sorry, I don't have a crop available.

P.S. the lens was the 110 super symmar....the blur is from a tilt...I was experimenting.

 

[Lars]

Stuart: Definitely dust specks on your scan .
Tricky scene to focus even with the 110XL I think the foreground should perhaps be cropped away to 16:9 proportions. That's 4x5? (the 100X does cover 8x10 with no movements but it doesn' quite look that wide).

 

[Stuart Richardson]

I think you might be right. I intentionally made the blur in the foreground and background -- I could have made it all sharp, but I was just experimenting with camera movements. In this scene, the angle of view is like that of a 35mm lens, though I am quite far away. The glacier needs to be seen in person to appreciate the scale -- it is beyond massive (and that is just a tiny tongue compared to the size of the full glacier -- that is 8100 square kilometers)

 

[Lars]

Large glacier... I don't think I've been there - Alaska?

 

[Stuart Richardson]

It's Solheimajokull in Iceland. I thought it was part of Vatnajokull, which is the largest in Europe (8100), but it is part of Myrdalsjokull, which is "only" 595 km squared.

 

[Don Hutton]

Drum scanned 8x10 is ridiculous... This is about the same sort of deal - scanned at 2000SPI on my Howtek 4500 (I believe the same model you have Lars). Fuji Pro160S color neg.

 

[Jack]

Oh crap... Now you guys are making me miss my 8x10 camera!

 

[Don Hutton]

Don't worry - you can't see all that detail in a print... - unless it's really big!!

 

[Lars]

Hi Don,

Nice to see you here. Yep Howtek 4500.
I scan at 2000dpi (320 Mpix, 16 bit, 1800 MB) for "just in case" reasons, it's hard to envision needing more than half that resolution, but since wetmounting requires significant work as well as office space I scan big files. My work files are scaled down to 1000 dpi (80 Mpix, 450 MB). At that resolution, files are relatively clean WRT noise and grain.

 

[nei1]

Lars ,thanks for the rundown on the bladerunner film,I did say "reminds",its one of my favourite films and I know it reasonably well.Id be interested to know if the scan or the section of the scan is preferred as an image,blowing something up to reveal a detail that at normal sizes wouldnt be seen does have a certain mystique.

 

[Lars]

Neil,
Part of the beauty of 8x10 you can crop and still get great detail (though parhaps not as tight a crop as the bolt end above). I keep finding interesting crops in my images - quite often with the help of another photographer's suggestions. I find it very educational to sit down together and discuss crops for alternative compositions.

 

[nei1]

Lars,in the lighting forum Ive mentioned that Im trying to decide how to put together a daylight studio,a large format camera is very much part of those plans .By the way,what a terrific web site youve put together,very stylish,informative and beautiful images,regards,Neil.