Scanning Agfa 35mm slides

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exmpa

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I have just acquired a Plustek 7200i film scanner and made a start on scanning my slide collection going back some 40 years. The results when scanning Kodachrome slides are satisfactory but the Agfa slides come out rather grainy and the colour reproduction leaves something to be desired. I am using Vuescan software rather than the Silverfast package supplied with the scanner and the "Generic" option for type when scanning Agfa slides.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to improve the output of the Agfa scans?

Thanks

exmpa
 
Don't let Viewscan apply any unsharp mask, that might quieten down the grain a little, if sharpening is required, do it in pp where you have more control.
Generally, I use the curves tool to adjust exposure in the pre-scan thumb, I don't find external pp to do any better a job than viewscan.
Same with colour, you'll probably have to make adjustments to the pre-scan thumb, and then do the full scan.
I only do a few at a time, I've never had to do 11tybillion slides one after the other, so individual adjustments might be a ball ache, not sure if there's a batch feature......even if there is, will the same adjustments be correct for every single slide....:shrug:.....unlikely.
I think the generic setting rather than transparency is the best for Kodachrome. Silverfast is meant to be the dogs cajones, Viewscan is good too, often the key to good scans is software, those two are pretty much the best I think.

If its any consolation, I hear Kodachrome slides are a complete pain to scan, like nothing else.
 
Joxby,

Thanks for that advice, I shall give it a try. The reason I am using Vuescan is that Silverfast appears to have an number of recurrent problems when used with the Plustek machines. I read a number of user reviews that alluded to this and the seller of my machine confirmed that he had experienced similar problems. Vuescan however has worked perfectly.

Thanks,
exmpa
 
i have a Nkon IV scanner and scanning Agfa flms is always tricky. I find them contrasty and full of grain even on the ISO 100 ones.

I usually scan at 2900dpi but if doing Agfa I drop it to 1500dpi and save as a TIFF file. Then do as much fiddling or correction in PS as I can, sometimes will run Noise Ninja to try and reduce the grain.

A mate of mine used to work as a Ciba Chrome printer and they used to give him a headache.
 
Thanks for the advice in the above posts. I have scanned some of my earlier attempts again, with better results. As suggested the rest is down to fiddling and experimentation in PS.

Thanks
exmpa
 
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