Minolta Elite 5400 Bright Image Artifacts on Slides

  • Thread starter Thread starter JS
  • Start date Start date
J

JS

I recently purchased a Minotla Elite 5400 scanner. In the few days I've
had it I like it alot particularly batch scanning and ICE. My Previous
scanner was the HP Photosmart scanner. However I have noticed that on
slides with strong light-dark boundaries the scanned image displays an
artifact of the bright area right next to it in the darker portion of
the image. The artifacts are not visible on the slides under hi optical
magnification, but seem to be scanner induced. The effect is most
pronounced with Astro slides where the artifact is in fact a rainbow
blob offset slightly from a star. The position changes depending on the
slides position in the scanner (rightside up or upside down). You can
see two images at http://tinyurl.com/46uy3 which show the artifacts.
The two images are crops from larger images and have arrows to help
locate the artifacts (it helps to brighten your monitor). The ones near
the stars are a little more obvious and become more pronouced when I
fully process the images.. The halo on Thomas the Tank Engine (in the
daytime slide) is greenish in color, perhaps because it seems to be
brighter than the red or blue components. BTW, the effect does not
show up in color negatives. Has anyone else seen this type of problem?
I have a few days left to return it, and at this point I think I
will. It seems that this might be a defect in the design of the
optical system rather than unique to this unit.

JS
 
SNIP
Has anyone else seen this type of problem?
Click to expand...

Never experienced anything like that.
I have a few days left to return it, and at this point I think I
will. It seems that this might be a defect in the design of the
optical system rather than unique to this unit.
Click to expand...

I doubt it, because I have never seen anything like that on my
DSE-5400. It looks like a dirty mirror somewhere in the optical path.
Try getting a replacement, or at least compare it with another unit.

Bart
 
JS <[email protected]> said:
I recently purchased a Minotla Elite 5400 scanner. In the few days
I've had it I like it alot particularly batch scanning and ICE. My
Previous scanner was the HP Photosmart scanner. However I have
noticed that on slides with strong light-dark boundaries the scanned
image displays an artifact of the bright area right next to it in the
darker portion of the image. The artifacts are not visible on the
slides under hi optical magnification, but seem to be scanner induced.
The effect is most pronounced with Astro slides where the artifact is
in fact a rainbow blob offset slightly from a star. The position
changes depending on the slides position in the scanner (rightside up
or upside down). You can see two images at http://tinyurl.com/46uy3
which show the artifacts. The two images are crops from larger images
and have arrows to help locate the artifacts (it helps to brighten your
monitor). The ones near the stars are a little more obvious and become
more pronouced when I fully process the images.. The halo on Thomas
the Tank Engine (in the daytime slide) is greenish in color, perhaps
because it seems to be brighter than the red or blue components. BTW,
the effect does not show up in color negatives. Has anyone else seen
this type of problem? I have a few days left to return it, and at this
point I think I will. It seems that this might be a defect in the
design of the optical system rather than unique to this unit.
Click to expand...

Definitely return this unit while you have the opportunity - there is no
doubt at all that this is dirt or debris on the optical surfaces.

Whilst contamination can be expected to build up over time due to the
outgassing of plasticisers and lubricants re-condensing on the optics,
it should never be present in a new scanner. A general clean of the
optics every couple of years is typical for most scanners, but even so
they would rarely get as bad as that one appears.

The Minolta is a very good scanner, but with every unit there is a
chance of it being bad. You have probably been unlucky but, if you can,
check the next one works properly before leaving the shop - you never
know, they might store them out back next to a concrete mixer!
 
JS said:
The effect is most pronounced with Astro slides where the artifact is in
fact a rainbow blob offset slightly from a star.
Click to expand...

It might be that the CCD is being overexposed. Try using VueScan,
setting "Input|Lock exposure" and setting "Input|RGB exposure" to 1.0.

Regards,
Ed Hamrick
 
Hi there,

no artifacts for me, except little halo with slides, but in general I have
to say I have not yet managed to get good slides scans from 5400. I only
have it for a week now, and I am still trying to see how to use it
correctly. I only had some blurred halo around a lighthouse with deep blue
sky at the background in a slide. Unfortunatelly, I do not have the image
with me, I'll try to post tomorrow. Why don't you try vuescan and
silverfast, so that you're sure there is no problem with the software, also
download latest SW from minolta. I would also suggest, IF you're to try
silverfast, install silverfast and THEN the new sw from minolta.



BTW, all you 5400 users, I yesterday managed to break the little plastic
that holds the spring on the lock tab, (the small part that says "pull").
DON'T pull too hard, in fact don't pull at all, be very gentle, it probably
has been defective in the fist place. I do not know why, I have been gentle,
but it broke.

Regards,

dimitris
 
Ed Hamrick said:
It might be that the CCD is being overexposed.
Click to expand...

Looks far too symmetric for that. CCD overexposure would result in
digital blooming along the CCD axis - this is almost circularly
symmetric around all point sources.
 
Dps said:
BTW, all you 5400 users, I yesterday managed to break the little plastic
that holds the spring on the lock tab, (the small part that says "pull").
DON'T pull too hard, in fact don't pull at all, be very gentle, it probably
has been defective in the fist place. I do not know why, I have been gentle,
but it broke.
Click to expand...

Assume you mean on the film holder? Don't need to 'pull' at all.
Just touching and lightly lifting and it opens immediately with
hardly any force.
 
SNIP
Assume you mean on the film holder? Don't need to 'pull' at all.
Just touching and lightly lifting and it opens immediately with
hardly any force.
Click to expand...

And don't try to lock it by pushing down till it snaps shut (I'm not
saying that's what caused it), but lift it slightly when closing. The
shape of the latch won't allow it to close smoothly without some
"help". It does look like it rotates around a plastic axis, so it can
break.

Bart
 
Assume you mean on the film holder? Don't need to 'pull' at all.
And don't try to lock it by pushing down till it snaps shut (I'm not
saying that's what caused it), but lift it slightly when closing. The
shape of the latch won't allow it to close smoothly without some
"help". It does look like it rotates around a plastic axis, so it can
break.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I am doing (I am the kind of person that handles slides
and negatives with surgery gloves, I have no hair left on my palms). I am
very gentle, but still, that small part at the inner side of the tab, where
the spring exerts the force just snaped....
 
SNIP
That's exactly what I am doing (I am the kind of person that
handles slides and negatives with surgery gloves, I have no hair
left on my palms). I am very gentle, but still, that small part at the
inner side of the tab, where the spring exerts the force just
snaped....
Click to expand...

It does look like the most fragile part of the holder. Maybe you can
replace it by a small metal pin. Perhaps by using a glowing needle to
create some room, you can then super-glue a short piece of a paperclip
in (seems about the right thickness).

Bart
 
It does look like the most fragile part of the holder. Maybe you can
replace it by a small metal pin. Perhaps by using a glowing needle to
create some room, you can then super-glue a short piece of a paperclip
in (seems about the right thickness).
Click to expand...

I just got one from the slide feeder, I have my slides in 6-frame strips
anyway. I wouldn't rely on modifying it. If something goes wrong and the
replacemnt you suggest breaks inside the scanner, you might damage the
scanner itself. Also, I would never suggest super glue so close to optics
and slides. What I have done is that I ordered a couple of new tabs from
minolta, just in case...
 
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