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Nikon Super Coolscan
4000 ED Review
Analog Gain Control Examples
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| All of the images on this page are the result of Nikon
Scan's default color and exposure choices with no user adjustments before scanning. The
resulting histograms were produced in Photoshop right after the scan was
imported. This first example was from a Fuji Provia F ISO 100 transparency that was properly
exposed and no analog gain was applied during the scan. Although his image
is predominated by dark tones the histogram is relatively well balanced
and probably needs about a +.2 to .4 gamma adjustment, depending on
intended output, to get it 'just right'.
Full resolution (4000 dpi) images of the corresponding application of
image processing are available by clicking any of these images. Each of
the larger images represent a little more than 1/2 of the area of the
original transparency represented above. The larger images are about
3500X3100 pixels and 1 to 1.5 megabytes in high quality (low compression,
very few artifacts) JPEG. |
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| The transparency used for this example
and the two following scans was a Fuji Provia F ISO 100 transparency that was
about a half stop under exposed. For this first example analog gain was
left at it's default of 0 for all channels.
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| For this scan analog gain was set to +.5 (five tenths) on
the master channel, or about + 1/2 stop. This manipulation helped this
underexposed image a little. I found that adjusting the levels and getting
a decent tone and color range on this example scan produced better results
than trying to adjust levels on the underexposed transparency scan with
the analog gain set to 0 on all channels.
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| This scan example had analog gain set to +1. You can see
that we've moved and compressed the histogram even more and lost a few black
pixels and got quite a few more nearly white pixels. The white trim areas
of the house gables have all gone to nearly 250 and have lost almost all
of the texture that was noticeable in the default scan. The viewable
detail in the shadow areas has not be enhanced. Blacks have been raised
from values of 2 to 4 in the original underexposed transparency scan to
about 10 to 13 in this version. Some folks may like this rendition the
best of the underexposed transparency scans but I find it to be a little
too contrasty at the white end of the histogram. I found the +.5 analog
gain scan was the easiest of the underexposed transparency scans to adjust
properly in Photoshop. However, if you know how to use layers and the
magic eraser effectively in Photoshop, layering multiple scans at
different analog gain settings could save or enhance some images. |
WEB SITE LINKS
Steve Hoffmann's Nature and Landscape Photography - Gallery
Index & News
PHOTOGRAPHY AND DIGITAL IMAGING INFORMATION
Beginners Level Digital Darkroom Slide Show Tutorial
Digital Darkroom Imaging and Printing Tech Tips
Photography Tech Tips
A Practical Guide to Interpreting RGB Histograms
Digital Camera Raw Converter Comparisons
Digital SLR vs. Film Scans
DSLR Sensor Size and Pixel Density
Aftermarket Scanner Control Software
My Photo Equipment
Building Your First Web Site Mini Tutorial
LEGACY* EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED Film Scanner Review
Nikon LS2000 Film Scanner Review
HP S20 Film Scanner Review
HP PhotoSmart 1100 Printer Review
HP Original PhotoSmart Printer and Scanner Review
Comments or Questions
*legacy = not the manufacturer's current product
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