• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Scanners (the document kind)

B Ozanne

EF5
Joined
May 3, 2004
Messages
1,740
Location
Connecticut
I'm thinking about investing in a scanner (you know, to archive my storm chasing photos in film format). What is the minimum resolution I need to scan my negatives at to get acceptable results? Obviously, there are multi-thousand dollar drum scanners, but what is reasonable for the consumer market.

What should I shoot for dpi wise?

Anybody familiar with the Canoscan 8400?
 
The lowest end scanner I'd suggest would be somehting like the Nikon LS-2000. It's a few generations old, produces 2700 real DPI, and features Nikon's "DigitalICE," a dust/dirt sensing and removing system. As a 'real' film scanner, it will do better than any flatbed, even the new ones, on the market. You can find a clean used unit for ~ $200 on Ebay.

There are several 4000 DPI models from Konica/Minolta, Nikon, and Canon. Aviod the Pacific Digital, HP, and other 'off brand' options. In this market, the big three produce notably superior hardware.

The curent desktop high end unit is the Minolta 5400. 5400 DPI is approaching overkill. Unless you've used fine grain film, 2700 DPI will get most of the information that is in the film. 4000 gets most of what's left, and only the sharpest images will benefit from a 5400+ dpi scan.

The most improtant thing to look for is infared dust removal.
ICE (Nikon, Minolta) and FARE (Canon) allow the scanner to locate dust, scratches and other film imperfections. Software then fill in the damaged area. While not 100% effective, this will save lots if time hand spotting each mote of dust.

AFAIK, the high end flatbeds are good for ~2000 DPI of real resolution. They offer less dynamic range, and are not as good as a dedicated unit at digging detail out of shadowed areas. Still, a good flatbed may be sufficient for your needs. (Net publishing, small prints, etc.)

Here are a few links...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/char...lmScanners.html
http://clarkvision.com/imagedetail/
http://largeformatphotography.info/scan-comparison/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN1.HTM
http://www.filmscanner.info/ (needs translation)

-Greg
 
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