|
Advantages of Using a Dedicated Film Scanner for your Negatives
|
By Kimberly Rentler
[Hits: 26932]
|
|
Publishing this article is permited electronically or in print,free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesycopy of your publication would be appreciated.
Film Scanning has become a necessary piece of equipment for thedigital darkroom that enables the photographer to continue toshoot pictures the traditional way with film and slides. Thescanner allows you to convert the film to digital files and takeadvantage of the use of software editing, enhnancing andpublishing. There are some clear advantages to using a dedicatedfilm Scanner over a flatbed scanner when scanning film or slidenegative transparencies. Both a film scanner and flatbed scanneroperate using a light source and sensors that scan through thetransparency. A dedicated film scanner utilizes a transmissivelight source while a flatbed scanner uses a reflective lightsource. A transmissive light source is a direct linear lightsource that reflects through the transparency. A reflectivelight also shines through the transparency, however it iscontained or diffused under the glass bed of the scanner andrelected off another surface. This is the lid or top surface ofthe flatbed scanner. The result is greater density and clarityscanned from the transmissive light from a dedicated filmscanner. Current higher quality flatbed scanners offertransparency and negative holders and often include anadditional light source on the lid to mimic the transmissivelight. However, the ultimate operation of a flatbed scanner isstill very similar to that of a copy machine. Although some maysee an advantage in the flatbed scanner to scan batch negativesor slides quickly, the disadvantge becomes the ability tocustomize each individual slide or negative that may havedifferent densities or exposure. With a dedicated film scanner,you have the ability to expose or scan each frame at varyingdegrees of resolutions and corrections. Most dedicated filmscanners also offer the batch feature as well. Two maincomponents are essential for a quality scan: resolution anddynamic range. Resolution is the mesurement of pixels thescanner can capture within the scan. Dynamic range is the degreeof tonality that is captured within the scan. Most dedicatedfilm scanners offer dynamic ranges greater than 3.6 with 0, thepurest white and 4.0, the deepest black. While flatbed scannershave improved greatly in the past few years with higherresolutions, you must be careful on those claiming very highresolutions. This is often interpolated resolution or in simpleterms, the scanner guesses on the number of pixels rather thancontain the true optical pickup of pixels in the film scanningprocess. Author: Kimberly Renter Copyright, 2005 Owner of aFilm, Photo and Slde Scanning Service at http://filmnfile.comThis site also offers more scanning information and a forum todiscuss photography. email at inquiries@filmnfile.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
