This might be the most important test you really need to do on your own. The film holders can be adjusted slightly, but in order to get the highest possible quality, I suggest doing some tests to find the sweet spot of your personal system. The Epson film holders are optimized for this point, but due to building variations many scanner units are the sharpest at a different height.
Unfortunately there is no focusing option built into the scanner and that means we have to live with the fixed focus that lies somewhere above the flatbed surface. Mostly the center is the sharpest and sharpness drops towards the outer areas. Additionally the real optical resolution can vary along the scanner surface due to the complexity of the system. We need to be aware that the optical performance of the scanners may vary from system to system. Other factors on resolution and sharpness That means the real optical resolution is smaller than the one stated by Epson. The optical group that includes the CCD sensor is quite complex and small variations and inaccuracies reduce the optical quality slightly. Epson states a theoretical optical resolution of 4800spi for all of their V-series scanners. These two elements determine the theoretical optical resolution in both directions vertically and horizontally. After my tests it turned out that these values are close to the optimum settings but with some adjustments I was able to reveal even more and cleaner detail from my scans.Įpson uses CCD sensors (Charge-Coupled Devices) for their scanners and these CCD elements are moved by an stepper motor underneath the glass surface of the flatbed scanner. In the past few years I simply used 2400spi (samples per inch) as a standard resolution setting for all my scans, as well as some sharpening presets that seem to work most of the time. So it is totally up to you if you want to do your own tests or play around with my settings and see if they work for you. In this blog post I will explain what is required to do the tests and provide you with the link to some more detailed explanations. Of course the optimal way of doing it, is investing some time and money and do your own tests. These settings work great on my scanner, with my mounting solution and chances are that they work for your flatbed scanner as well. I did some testing with an USAF 1951 resolution target and I will share my findings with you. Have you ever wondered what would be the best settings for your scans with an Epson flatbed scanner? Well, there are two ways of getting those values and one of them is a s simple as reading this blog post. Depending on your phone and its camera(s), however, you may have to experiment with the distance and focus to capture crisp images.How to get the most out of your Epson V700, V750, V800 or V850 Just put a slide or negative on the battery-powered LED backlight, then focus the phone’s camera on it from above and snap a photo.
It works with the free Kodak Mobile Scanner app for Android or iOS. Kodak’s Mobile Film Scanner kit ($40 or less) is one option. An inexpensive scanning kit - which provides the backlight as well as a place to rest your phone for a more stable shot - is an option.
For best results, make sure the original is free of dust, and evenly illuminate the transparency from behind. The Smartphone MethodĪs with prints, you can “scan” a slide or negative with your smartphone by taking a picture of it or using one of the many slide/film-scanning apps. While not quite as simple as scanning old photo prints, digitizing that film rescues family history from outdated media and makes it easy to share the restored memories. Or maybe you have stacks of your old slides and negatives from long-lost pictures boxed up in the attic or garage. Photography began to go digital about 30 years ago, so if you’re older than that your relatives probably documented a portion of your childhood on film-based formats, like slides or prints made from negatives.