I'm looking to you other photo geeks out there on this one... specifically, anyone who's shot and had scanned medium format stuff.

I had a couple positives scanned for a client who wants large prints of downtown. I used a Minolta Autocord, which by all accounts has a very sharp lens; corner as well as center. I got the scans back today and... well...

These are 4000 DPI scans off Velvia. Here's a 100% center crop:

click to view

Here's a 100% edge crop at about the same vertical position in the frame:

click to view

And here's a 50% crop from about the center to near the edge:

click to view

What I'm wondering is... did the doofus at Cord not get the frame flat, so the middle was in focus on the scanner but not the edge? Or does this look like a lens effect? I'm hoping maybe someone can tell from looking at the bokeh. I was stopped down to f/8 or f/11... I only have a 4x loupe but from what I can tell of looking through it, the edge stuff isn't as out of focus as it is in the scan. But this could just be because I don't want to believe that my camera is this bad.

Just for fun, here's the actual (crappy) picture I took:

click to view

What shutter speed did you use for the shot?

I shot using Sunny-16, so if it was f/8, I used 1/200, and if it was f/11 I used 1/100. But I had it on a 9lb tripod either way.

I think I may have answered my own question though... I just noticed, looking at the edges of the frame... there's no visible grain. Whereas in the middle there is. Even if the lens is soft on the edges, the grain would still be visible on the edges, that is unless the scan was bad. Therefore, the scan must be bad.

But can someone validate this reasoning? I really really want this camera to not suck.

I vote bad scan... the lack of grain caught my eye right away.

There may be a bit of softness in the image itself but it really looks like a craptastic digitising job. I suggest that not only was the film not flat when it was scanned but also the scanner was not properly focused on any one part of the image.

Yep, after further review on the light table and, again, the no-grain-in-corners thing... I'm positive it was a shitty scan. In fact I just went to the shop and got a refund. They didn't give me a hard time, thankfully.

Bad scan. If the original were that blurry you should be able to see it on a light table with your loupe.

Ok. Thanks for the help. Now, is this a problem endemic in scanning techniques where the film is held flat; in other words, can I do any better without going to a drum scan?

What kind of place did you have the scan done at?

Cord Camera... they're not the best but they're a little better than Wolf/Ritz. Well, at least I thought they were... they at least have next-day E6.

Posted by Servo Ok. Thanks for the help. Now, is this a problem endemic in scanning techniques where the film is held flat; in other words, can I do any better without going to a drum scan?

It's a problem for any negative and it gets worse as the negative size increases. For large format and some types of medium format there are film carriers for enlargers that sandwich the negative in glass.

I haven't actually done much scanning of MF, but if the carriers are anything like the ones that I use with my 35mm film scanner, film flatness will be difficult to achieve.

If you come with me to the computer lab sometime, I'll log you into my account and you can use the flatbeds we have. I know a lot of people use them to scan MF and 4x5 and have no problems with them.

Ted'z E6 also does next day and perhaps same day if you're there early enough. They are north of campus near Morse.

Sara

Posted by svdc82 If you come with me to the computer lab sometime, I'll log you into my account and you can use the flatbeds we have.

Woohoo. Much better deal than $10 a frame at Slide Service.

Posted by Servo Woohoo. Much better deal than $10 a frame at Slide Service.

Yeah, for real, the slide shack is JACKED.

Posted by Servo Woohoo. Much better deal than $10 a frame at Slide Service.

what are you expecting for 10 dollars?

What kind of scanner was used? I've used a rented Nikon 8000 to scan 6x9 slides in the past and had no problems, as long as I took the time to load the film holder properly. There's a mechanism that allows you to stretch the film to ensure it's as flat as can be without the optional glass holder (which would have been a much preferable option for me, had the previous renter not smashed it).

Anyways, a better scanner (and/or operator) should fix any issues you have there. Get your money back.