Site Supporter

Picked it up for telecommuting, but man it's pretty sharp with scanning negatives.
Any tips on maximizing quality with its archaic software package?

Pentaxian

Sounds like you've been lucky and gotten a sharp one. My V500 produces very soft results.
As for software advice - scan to uncompressed files so that you have maximum leeway when post-processing after. I haven't used it for a while but I always did as much as possible in Paintshop Pro (including sharpening) and just got the colour balance as close as possible in the Epson software.

Site Supporter

Bonjour,
I have a V600 that I like. I only scan 135 &120 B&W negatives using only at the medium (default) setting for the sharpening and for dust features. I scan @ (usually) 3200 ppp with 16 bit. Sometimes I use the backlit compensation as well. I scan once some color 120 negatives for a friend, and they came out nice. I do B&W only with home development, but I may get a C-41 kit soon for the fun of it.
Curling of negatives can be troublesome, 120 being the worst. I find that some brands are more rigid than others. Here are two items which I have been eyeing : DigitaLIZA
- Outils de numérisation · Lomography Shop
For post, I was in Lightroom 4.4, but now I have migrated to Darkroom 3. Here's some recent P-Z-1 + K 50/1.2 images scanned with the V600 and via Darkroom 3. The film is Kentmere 100 developed in Caffenol Standard recipe.
If anyone has other experiences or methods, please let me know ... always open to new ideas & suggestions.

Pentaxian

For 120 I use the betterscanning holder and anr glass.
For 135 I have two anr glasses, from Poland, for the epson holder.

Pentaxian

I scan @ 3200 ppi for 35mm, 2400 ppi for 6x6cm (anything more nets no advantage, just slower scanning & bigger files), 48-bit color, 16-bit b+w.
First thing I do is scrub down the scan glass with a ~50/50 mix of windex and 99% isopropanol on a paper towel. Try not to leave any lint, it's a bugger to touch up in PP.
If you have super-curvy negs that will touch the glass, be sure and let this dry completely, the isopropanol (a powerful solvent) can mar the plastic film base, I learned recently.
Inspect the negatives after loading them in the carrier for dust, blow/brush off any you can see. Don't worry, there's a ton you can't, until after the scan.
For each scan I open the curves adjustment window (can't remember the actual name), set the outputs to '5' and '250', and drag the highlight and shadow sliders out to each side of the histogram (the default clips off a lot of picture info). Usually this does it, but sometimes you might want to adjust brightness with the middle (gamma) slider.
The curves window itself is too tiny to mess with, and the presets best left alone IME.
The fastidious Colton Allen does this for each color (RGB) and has written a very detailed and excellent guide -- I just do the whole enchilada at once, because ATM I'm only scaling them down for web and regard them as the digital equivalent of 'work prints'.
Saved as zip-compressed (lossless) tiffs.

New Member

I have a V600 and at one time it came with Silverfast scanner software. Silverfast is a very nice software. You can download a free copy at their website. Silverfast.com.
You just need to provide the epson serial number and register. If you like it you can upgrade to the full software. I find the free copy meets my needs.

Site Supporter

Another vote for scanning with Silverfast. It’s now offered free for current epson v600 owners. For color negative film, the negafix feature does a good job at giving you good looking film profile colors.
I also find that I get better sharpness results when I use the unsharp mask in silverfast, as opposed to no sharpness when scanning and doing it in Lightroom.
If the negative strip is too curly, insert it emulsion side down.

Pentaxian

The V600 is a good film scanner and and will give good results up to 8'x12' prints.
The software that comes with it (Epson Scan) is actually quite good and very capable.
I wrote this tutorial on Epson Scan a few years ago. For color negative film, I have found this method gives me the best and most consistent results.
Getting the most from color negative film with your Epson flatbed. – Photography by Colton Allen

Site Supporter

Thanks. That is an interesting article. I have an Epson V800 scanner and I use SilverFast software. I have found the ScanDig site to be useful. Here is a link to their page on the V600:
Detailed test report flat bed scanner Epson Perfection V600 Photo with integrated transparency unit for the scanning of slides, negatives and medium formats

New Member

The V600 gives surprisingly good results, but a degree of manual adjustments need to be made.
1 I scan in professional mode with everything unticked and do not use the sharpening software that comes with it (the free sharpening tool often makes it a lot worse to my eyes).
2 I adjust the sliders on the histogram window so it's not clipping highlights or shadows (it often does if left alone). Optionally you can also set the black or white points at that stage if you like.
3 I scan to TIFF and make any sharpness adjustments I need in photoshop, but any free sharpening software on windows or mac will do fine too. Then convert to JPEG.
Usually scan my 35mm negatives at 3200 dpi.
You'll get excellent results with a similar workflow, but at these settings it can be a bit slower. My advice is to play around when you have some spare time and see what works for you.
It's a wonderful scanner, but there's a learning curve to start with. When I first got mine I was not impressed, and I think that's the reason there's some anti-V600 feelings online. But after reading up, learning, and getting the hang of it, it can really scan some wonderful images.
Spend some time playing with it and see what works for you and suits your workflow. Everyone's workflows on here will give you a rough idea where to start.

Pentaxian

One more word with the EpsonScan software.
In the histogram window I've seen that the output values are always reset to 10 and 200, which clips highlights, so I change it everytime to 240...
I don't know if it is possible to change that by default...

New Member

I'll chime in here: I scanned a motza of my grand parents slides on my V300, and they turned out pretty good: Grand parents were so happy, they can sit in front of their pc, rather than get the projector, screen, wait until it's dark ....
Now I'm coming back into photography and I'm looking at all my 35mm negatives and started youtubing... seems the in thing now is to take a picture with a DSLR then edit that... I'm not sure which way I'm going to go.
Although, I lent the V300 to the sister in law, and it hasn't come back........

New Member

I also agree with fs999's comment. I can never seem to get the values to stay like that and need to change the output values back every time.

New Member

You had me intrigued, so I went through my slide scans.
And here's the kicker: My grandma had several of the slides turned into prints, so I can compare 'professional prints' to my home grown scans...
What do you think the result is??
My scans have much nicer colour........ and.... far better detail/sharpness.
I kid you not: There's one pic of me as a toddler: The print is 'grey', the sky is dull, my red top is dull, the pedal car is dull. But the big difference is the tree in the back ground: In the print I can barely make out the branches, in the scan, there's far more detail.
So there you go, a 10 year old V300 does a great job.
Now I'm going (this will be over the next few months I guess, maybe a good xmas break job) to 'scan' some stuff via the 'best' camera in our house (Olympus EM5 Mk.II), and compare that: It also has a crazy pixel shift mode for stupid clarity, so I might play with that too.
PS: There is a warning/recall on the power pack for my V300, not sure if it effects other models, might pay to visit epson.com to see if your models are effected.