Epson Scan focusing issues

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Hall
  • Start date Start date
Can you be more specific as to your problem and exactly how/when it occurs?
Most Epson scanners (if not all) that use Epsonscan actually don't "focus"
so the Epsonscan has no control over focus. These scanners use a fixed lens
system with a supposedly wide enough depth of field. Many people who test
their scanner's sharpness find they need to shim their holder to a different
height to get optimal focus. This variance is a fairly common issue. Go to
Norm Koren's site and you can read more about this.

Doug
 
I have trouble with 2x2 instamatic slides. These are 1" sq. film in a
2x2 holder, one of Kodak's ideas in the 1970s. Neither scanning in
"normal" nor "thumbnail" gives a scan in focus thought the slides
themselves are sharp. Some are sharper than others and a few are
quite sharp. I use a marquee and I also scan without a marquee. It
seems to make no difference. These are just snapshots of family so
high quality is not necessary. What is the link to Norm Koren's site?
Thanks.
 
Has anyone found focusing issues with Epson Scan? Solutions?

I wasn't expecting your e-mail, but it was a nice change from the
usual spam forgeries. :) Sad to say, I know next to nothing about the
inner workings of the scanner. But everything I've read indicates it
has a fixed focus that depends on a large depth of field to see both
the scanner bed and the raised transparency adapters. Normal vs.
thumbnail has no effect on focus, it only determines whether you or
Epson Scan controls frame-by-frame cropping. As you now know, you'd
have to change your slide's height above the scanner bed to alter the
focus.

Your best bet was posting to the newsgroup. Quite unlike me, some of
the regulars know the insides and outsides of most scanning
technology. However, you could post some further information: are
you comparing your output to other scanners' output, other
transparency or reflective scans on the Epson, or ordinary
enlargements from the 2x2 film? What resolution and other settings
are you using? What precisely is the effect of the "focus problem" on
your output?

What's your experience level? If you're not already aware, even at
4800dpi/48bit color with grain, ICE, & ROC all disabled, you won't get
the sharpness of a dedicated film scanner. The Epson's eye for detail
apparently cuts out long before true 4800ppi is achieved. And most of
the experts say an unsharp mask should be applied after any scanning
(only after retouching is completed) in order to compensate for the
inherent softening effect of scanner technology.

I've scanned only 35mm negatives on my Epson. I can't compare the
output with anything better, but it's certainly not *out* of focus by
any standard. If you get bad results with other transparencies, maybe
the scanner is defective.

Those are all the possibilities I can think of. Hope they're helpful.
:)

false_dmitrii
 
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