EPSON scanning software

[Kev M]

I never really get the best out of my scan. Perhaps the negatives aren't very good to start with but there's a part of the scanning software I don't really understand.

In the image below you'll see the familiar levels histogram but below that there's an input/ouput slider. When you do a preview scan it automatically applies the auto-levels to the image but I always go back and manually change them as I find it tends to clip the blacks and the whites.



The first thing I don't get is the output slider. My understanding is that levels slider goes from 0-255 representing the 256 shades from black to white. So why does it automatically change the black point to 18 which I assume means that the other 18 shades from black to grey below it are automatically rendered complete black and the white point goes to 209 which means that all tones from210 to 255 are rendered to complete white.

the other thing I don't get is the input slider. In a normal levels slider, if you move the white slider towards the centre of the histogram then everything to the right of it becomes white. Not so with this thing so what is it about this software that I'm not getting?

I'm sure if I got the scanning stage right then I'd find PP a bit easier but as it stands, once the images are in lightroom it's like trying to polish a turd into a diamond.

 

[Knikki]

TBH Kev I have no idea, what I tend to do is not mess with any of the sliders for contrast/curves etc on the scanning software as I find them a bit crude.

Even Silverfast Ai which I use with the Microtek takes a lot of getting used to.

Nearly all the time I do any alteration in CS2, using a mix of Levels and Curves which you can use simulate Paper Contrast and by using the Marque Tools select areas of the image and simulate dodge and burn techniques. I used to scan RGB but now if doing Black & White I scan greyscale seems to suite the process better.

Look for a chap called Paul Gallagher, he shoots 5x4 scans and does all manipulation in Photoshop, might give some ideas on post processing

 

[TheBigYin]

...what I tend to do is not mess with any of the sliders for contrast/curves etc on the scanning software as I find them a bit crude.

That's pretty much what I do, using Silverfast SE that came bundled with the Canoscan 8800F - just aim for a scan that's not clipped and losing information either end and work on the results in CS4 - it's got better tools for getting the end result.