28. January 2002
Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro - Scanning negatives
Scanning negatives requires software, that knows how to deal with the orange mask that a negative has.
How to scan negatives using the Multi Pro is a question that pops up in discussion forums about this scanner. The software seems hard to manage on this point, very contrary to scanning slides.
It has been said that the Minolta software isn't capable of making a good negative scan at all and that the very good and cheap VueScan (www.hamrick.com) is needed.
This article is a brief story of my venture into this subject.
Introduction
So, how can we actually judge when we have a correct scan or not?
One thing to look at is what the histogram looks like, we want a nice and well distributed histogram.
However this isn't really enough and in my opinion the easiest way is to have a normal enlargement of the negative. This way you have a good guide for what the colors should look like. Then you can always work further on from there.
I would actually hope, that someone can tell me a better approach, but I'm not sure that there is one, unless your scanning software is really excellent.
The first attempt
My very first attempt to scan a negative looked like this:
Nyhavn, Copenhagen. Leica M3, Summilux on Fuji Reala.
A bit dull perhaps, but this image is not altered in any way.
I do not have an enlargement of this, but I think the colors looked pretty nice, not way out at least.
Moving on
Then I went on to my holiday snapshots.
When I scanned a Kodak Gold 100-6 frame however it looked like this:
Monaco, Nikon F90x, 35-105mm on Kodak Gold 100 gen.6
These are not exactly the colors I have on my enlargement.
Enter VueScan
Instead of trying to change any settings I downloaded the VueScan software from www.hamrick.com.
This is a "no nonsense" software that works with a huge number of scanners. You can download a trial version, that gives you a "watermark" on each picture you scan. The price for removing this watermark is only $40.
But let me admit, that I did not buy the software because, as you will read later, it didn't work correctly with my scanner.
I'm still convinced though, that this software is a good solution for many scanners and especially for the purpose of scanning negatives. You can simply select the film stock you use and the colors will be altered according to that film.
The first scan looked like this:
OK, it looks even worse, but it's actually just a bit too bright and the white point isn't entirely correct.
After playing a bit around with Levels in Photoshop I managed to make it look like this:
Which is rather close to the enlargement I have, however a bit more warm I think.
Glad that I was able to get correct colors I ventured on with the next negative. It looked like this:
Lübeck, Germany. Nikon F90x 35-105mm, Kodak Gold 200 gen.6
- totally out of focus, because the Auto Focus function in VueScan wouldn't work anymore. Unfortunately it has stayed like this, except for a medium format slide, which was focused all right (not perfect though).
I'm sure this problem can be overcome. Either the software has a bug or I need to try different settings, but that will be another day. This software works for many people, just not me.
Back to Minolta
So now I went back to the Minolta software to try to alter some settings.
I found out, that I could change the area on which the auto exposure is made. It looks like this:
Press the AE Lock button and then hold down the SHIFT key to alter the rectangle that Auto Exposure is using. I changed it to cover only about 95% of the image and made sure that it did NOT cover any of the white borders. Then I scanned again and this time the result looked more promising:
After some playing around with Levels in Photoshop (once again) I was able to make the output look like this (yes I know it's hard to see the difference on the screen):
Final judgement/Conclusion
I printed the Minolta and the VueScan images in the exact same size as my normal enlargement. I have tried to take a picture of these prints. I hope it will give an idea of what the colors are like:
Here you see the results of the Minolta software to the left, the normal enlargement in the middle and the VueScan on the right.
I hope you can see, that the skies aren't exactly the same. The Minolta scan is a bit more green and the VueScan is a bit warmer (more red, look at the buildings).
The paper is Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper, which is a bit brighter than the Agfa paper used for the enlargement in the middle. I used the Epson 1290 (1280) for the prints. This photo was taken in normal daylight.
Close enough?
Well, for the time being I've had it with scanning negatives.
What else?
Well, the SilverFast software from LaserSoft® ImagingTM could perhaps be a solution.
The scanner software itself is not made for the Minolta scanners, but the SilverFast HDR could be another solution. This software works on 48bit tiff-files.
To be continued...(?)
Links
My review of the Multi Pro scanner can be found here.
I will try to answer any question I get or find about this scanner on a separate page located here.
And don't miss the other articles about or related to the Minolta scanner:
• Scanner profiling on a budget 1/2 - [NEW]
• Scanner profiling on a budget 2/2 - [NEW]
• What resolution do I need?
• 4800dpi on 120 film
• Medium format vs. 35mm vs. Digital
[Update 26.06.02]
A group of Minolta Pro users are quite concerned about the problems with scanning negatives. They have made a site describing the problems:
• http://www.visicon.se/multipro/
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