Another Scanning Question

[Gunni]

My scanner is a new CanoScan 8800F

With this new scanner, there is a Preview window showing the scan.

As you apply each setting to the Scan, such as Fading Correction, Backlighting Correction, etc., it is immediately applied to the Previewed image so you can toggle these setting on/off/on/off etc. to determine whether you like the change they make or not.

Here's my problem/question;

Since I can correct for brightness, for example, in both the scanner's software or in Adobe PSE, which should I use? New to both the scanner and to PSE, I strongly suspect that PSE contains the more powerful tools.

BUT, and this is what gives me pause: the scan is the image on which I will work in PSE. If I begin with a scan that is poor, because it is under- or overexposed, etc., isn't it like taking a photo without a flash, looking at the photo, realizing you should have used the flash, then trying to add the flash, in PSE, after you took the photo???

So, I am guessing that logically the most important thing is the state of brightness/contrast and saturation/color in the scan itself, so that I am starting in PSE with the best scanned image I can.

Does this make sense to folks???

Gunni

[kevin_c]

The most I ever do at the scanning stage is to adjust the levels but taking care not to clip either end of the histogram, always erring on the side of caution, once you clip the highlights or shadows at this stage they are lost for good.

Any other adjustments are done in Photoshop

[Gunni]

I am thrilled to see someone with almost three years on this forum and 4,603 posts confirm what I suspected.

Conclusions can so easily be counterintuitive and i have been getting advice both to use the scan software and not to use the scan software. It made sense to me to use Photoshop, but I needed the assurance that this was indeed the way to do it.

Thank you for confirming that.

Gunni

[kevin_c]

It's really the same as processing a raw file really. Assuming the raw file is properly exposed, you will have the maximum amount of information available to you - If you start b*ggering around, clipping the highlights and such like before you even save it as an image file, you are losing information. I would also recommend saving as a 16bit TIF file at this stage.

Obviously the quality of the scanner comes into play here, but the idea is to get the maximum amount of information from the negative/transparency that your scanner will allow.

The only thing you may want to do at the scan stage, as I said is a basic levels adjustment and maybe a small amount of basic colour correction, most software comes with 'profiles' of different films so this mainly sorts it out for you, but be careful of clipping an individual colour channel doing this, probably still best to do this in PS as most 'free' scanning software is pretty cr*ppy anyway!

[Gunni]

Thanks once more, Kevin. Much appreciated.

Gunni

[Jon]

Are you scanning prints or film? If film, are you scanning negatives or transparencies?

[Gunni]

Hi Jon,

I am scanning color transparencies/slides from 30 to 50 years old.

Here is my latest summary of advice I have received here and from reading elsewhere on scanning slides. As you can see, some of it is contradictory.

Your opinions on these would be most welcome! Gunni

(From a photographer) -
Best to work on your color correction before scanning.

(Kevin, Canon forum) -
If you start b*ggering around, clipping the highlights and such like before you even save it as an image file, you are losing information. I would also recommend saving as a 16bit TIF file at this stage.

The most I ever do at the scanning stage is to adjust the levels but taking care not to clip either end of the histogram, always erring on the side of caution, once you clip the highlights or shadows at this stage they are lost for good.

(Web page titled: Organizing & Storing The Old Family Photos)
Generally it is useless to scan documents and photos at much over 300 dpi as the information just isn't there in the original.

it only takes "roughly" a scan resolution of 853 to 1024 dpi to scan an image so it will* fit most computer monitors.