Just purchased Epson V750. Help needed

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pioneer31

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After the friendly advice on here, I decided to buy an Epson V750 for scanning my slides, negatives, photos etc.

However, as a complete novice to scanning, I'm bewildered by the amount of software and settings! I accept that it will take time to master this area but could someone point me in the right direction.

To get started, I need to know the following.


i) Do I need to use all the software? (ie, SilverFast, PhotoShop, EZ Colour)

ii) Which dpi setting and file format will give me the best quality for 35mm colour slides, without the file size becoming ridiculous. I'm assuming that the law of diminishing returns applies? (I've just scanned a 35mm slide at 133MB!! TIFF)

Should I use home or professional mode? (does home mode employ a one-size-fits-all philosophy?)

That should help get me up and running!
 
For archiving you should try and scan at the highest optical resolution the scanner can manage, unfortunately this can mean huge files. In practice scan at a reasonably low res and if you come across a keeper then rescan it at the highest res.
 
I have more questions.......

If I scan at max resolution, will I be able to 'shrink' the image small enough for say a web application? JPEG can only compress so far?

I actually want to crack on and get scanning, however I'm rather bewildered by the array of tweaks and settings. Can they be done afterwards in Photoshop, providing the basic scan is bright enough and high res enough?
 
Use the Epson scan software if you are a bit crosseyed with it all.

Half an hour and you'll be knocking some decent scans out, its not the best, but its not the worst, especially to use.
Go straight to the pro format, the sooner you get a handle on it the better, if you go to home use it will make it difficult for you to change later, if you can scan with home, any minor setback in pro will make you give up and go back to home.
It's important you can get around pro, it'll help you if/when you use silverfast.

From memory, (and I thought it was pretty easy) its all drop down boxes for the film format, the type of film, the scan resolution and output size.
After that its pretty much basic editing software, tweaks in the histogram and colour correction, you can do all that in the preview scan before you scan it full res proper.
You can shrink whatever size it scanned at down to whatever size you want in photoshop, my advice would be to get the scan as close as you can to how you like it in the epson scan software editor, you can pixel peep is PS afterwards.
 
joxby said:
Use the Epson scan software if you are a bit crosseyed with it all.

Half an hour and you'll be knocking some decent scans out, its not the best, but its not the worst, especially to use.
Go straight to the pro format, the sooner you get a handle on it the better, if you go to home use it will make it difficult for you to change later, if you can scan with home, any minor setback in pro will make you give up and go back to home.
It's important you can get around pro, it'll help you if/when you use silverfast.

From memory, (and I thought it was pretty easy) its all drop down boxes for the film format, the type of film, the scan resolution and output size.
After that its pretty much basic editing software, tweaks in the histogram and colour correction, you can do all that in the preview scan before you scan it full res proper.
You can shrink whatever size it scanned at down to whatever size you want in photoshop, my advice would be to get the scan as close as you can to how you like it in the epson scan software editor, you can pixel peep is PS afterwards.
Click to expand...

Hi Joxby

I suppose that I will get the hang of Silverfast although I find the instruction booklet rather useless. I also don't have an IT8 calibration chart, does it come with the software or can I download it from somewhere?

I have already found that Epson Scan is cropping my images slightly, even though I unticked 'Trimming' in the setup. Side by side with the same settings, Silverfast is producing images which are 'duller' or 'greyer'. the colours aren't bright or vibrant.

I don't intend to spend too long tweaking images as I have 2000 slides to scan :eek:
 
pioneer31 said:
Hi Joxby

Silverfast is producing images which are 'duller' or 'greyer'. the colours aren't bright or vibrant.

I don't intend to spend too long tweaking images as I have 2000 slides to scan :eek:
Click to expand...

You must have some measure of "auto" exposure in one or the other, or both, its you're choice how dull or bright they are.
The Epson software has a template you can implement, that picks the same size/res of every scan you do, you just have to set it up and give it a name, its not batch or anything but its a short cut if you have a lot of scanning to do.
I had a 4490, but I never scanned 35mm, always medium format...2 at a time:puke:
 
I use Epson scan with all settings set to off and tweak in PS. Scan in professional mode, with filmholder (this selects the high resolution optics & CCD) with thumbnails turned off and use the marquee tool to catch every last bit of negative/slide. I would be interested in seeing how you get on with the fluid mount and whetehr it's worth all the extra hassle.

At the end of the day, the negative/slide is the real archive so scanning at full resolution is not strictly always necessary unless it needs a lot of PP work.
 
sprog said:
I use Epson scan with all settings set to off and tweak in PS. Scan in professional mode, with filmholder (this selects the high resolution optics & CCD) with thumbnails turned off and use the marquee tool to catch every last bit of negative/slide. I would be interested in seeing how you get on with the fluid mount and whetehr it's worth all the extra hassle.

At the end of the day, the negative/slide is the real archive so scanning at full resolution is not strictly always necessary unless it needs a lot of PP work.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sprog, I'm going to make my own batch template with the marquee tool as Epson Scan is cropping.

There is a silverfast tutorial where the guy advcoates 3200dpi (I've been testing with 4800dpi but it's generating massive files) I'm wondering whether there is any visible difference between these 2 settings. My 17" monitor isn't showing any

I think I'm a long way off fluid mounting ;)
 
Are you happy with the machine?

The rest of my kit purchases have been preventing me from buying a decent scanner so far...

As one scanning novice to another I would like to hear more of your impressions and opinions on the 750
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one having hassle with scanning. I've got the Epson 4490 and I've not even looked at half the software that it loaded up. I scanned some medium format slides the other week (2 at a time is very very tedious) and at max dpi and outputting at 3000px by 3000px the jpegs were about 160k. Open them up in photoshop and they're about 25MB. Open them up in Lightroom and my poor old PC grinds to a halt.

What we need is a kindly TP member to write a guide to scanning that us lay-men can understand. Hint hint.
 
I have already found that Epson Scan is cropping my images slightly, even though I unticked 'Trimming' in the setup.
Click to expand...

Hi :wave:

I have a 700, and find it excellent for scanning slides / negs
however mine also cropped the images, it wouldnt accept a 24 x 36 mm image to scan.
next to the preview button on the scan window, there is a drop down menu.
the two options are thumbnail and normal.
set to normal, you will however have to tell it how big the image needs to be.. (y)

hope this helps.

Dave
epson_scan.jpg
 
Kev M said:
What we need is a kindly TP member to write a guide to scanning that us lay-men can understand. Hint hint.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree...

This is a job for Him-who-gobs-in-Nikons methinks;)
 
well seeing the weather is so poor over here, nobody is going to be leaving the house this weekend so they might as well stay in and do something useful like write a scanning tutorial don't you think.
 
Kev M said:
well seeing the weather is so poor over here, nobody is going to be leaving the house this weekend so they might as well stay in and do something useful like write a scanning tutorial don't you think.
Click to expand...

Motion seconded without reserve Guv'nor!:D
 
antonroland said:
Are you happy with the machine?

The rest of my kit purchases have been preventing me from buying a decent scanner so far...

As one scanning novice to another I would like to hear more of your impressions and opinions on the 750
Click to expand...

I'm happy with the 750 so far - quality wise.

It's not something that you can just switch on and start using though (like most pieces of equipment that I've bought). You need to do test scans, explore the settings etc There's also a whole bundle of software with it - EpsonScan, Photoshop, Silverfast and EZ colour. Silverfast seems to be much revered although I think I'd rather use EpsonScan for the time being.

Digital cameras have made life very easy for everyone!
 
Dave Scanlon said:
Hi :wave:

I have a 700, and find it excellent for scanning slides / negs
however mine also cropped the images, it wouldnt accept a 24 x 36 mm image to scan.
next to the preview button on the scan window, there is a drop down menu.
the two options are thumbnail and normal.
set to normal, you will however have to tell it how big the image needs to be.. (y)

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I don't have that software any more, and even if I did, I don't have the scanner and it won't run without it.
You definitely can choose 35mm as a format in pro mode, I'm sure it's at the bottom of that window you posted, it opens another applet with nothing in it but a drop down menu from which you can choose 35mm, 6x6, 6x7 and 6x9.
Or it might be in preferences, the template you name with sizes and res.
If it was in front of me now, I'd do it without even thinking...:bonk:
 
I'm having trouble getting my slides to scan bright enough in EpsonScan. Despite putting the brightness upto 100%, it still produces 'darker' images than the original.

I tried 'backlight correction' and it works to some extent but makes everyones face orangey!
 
I've also been through scanner woes recently with a crappy Epson V100 scanner, having to scan all my medium format slides twice and stitch them in PS... However, I bought a Canon 8800F yesterday and it's about a million times better - one scan and I've got four 6x4.5 or three 6x6's.

This scanner also came with Silverfast and found it incredibly difficult to work with - I just couldn't work out the colour settings and my scans kept coming out in horribly off colours. I've tried out the standard Canon software for the scanner and it's much easier and the scans' colours are brilliant - only the smallest tweaking in PS to get rid of colour cast and get the levels right.
 
ekimeno said:
This scanner also came with Silverfast and found it incredibly difficult to work with - I just couldn't work out the colour settings and my scans kept coming out in horribly off colours. I've tried out the standard Canon software for the scanner and it's much easier and the scans' colours are brilliant - only the smallest tweaking in PS to get rid of colour cast and get the levels right.
Click to expand...

Similar experience to me.....Silverfast scans are grey and washed out, so I'm using the Epson software. I understand that IT8 calibration may be needed. There is no silverfast chart in my box?! but I do have a Monaco EZ color IT8 chart. However, it won't work with Silverfast Calibration! despite having downloaded the correct reference files from monaco site.

My Epson scans are fine, colourwise, except for being a shade dark, perhaps that's the best I can hope for.
 
Do any of you 750 owners find that you have to apply USM to your 35mm slides scans? Without it, my slides just don't look as sharp as the original (projected)

Call me insane but I'm now wondering whether I should get the CoolScan, although reading reviews and opinions, I've never seen so much controversy over 2 units. Half the people say they're as close as make no difference, the other half say that the Nikon is noticebaly better

?
:thinking:
 
Whatever scanner you use short of 50 grand drum scanners, you'll always need to apply USM.
Scanning film is not as simple as peeps think, its not just slap it in and press the button like you would with reflective material, its more challenging than that.
I've seen some great scans from flatbeds, but you need to experiment with software/settings to get the best results.
I still think dedicated film scanners are better than flatbeds.
There are other choices besides Coolscans, especially for 35mm.
 
I'm thinking about getting a V500, still worth getting??
Also if anyone has a V_00 scanner can they do a screen shot of the drop down box where it says document type and film type, just want to see what the choices are

Thanks
 
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