Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Post-processing & Printing | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2014 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?

  
 
patrick04
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


Can anyone suggest a good workflow for using VueScan together with Lightroom? I'm a bit confused about the VueScan "Raw" format and whether or not it plays nicely with Lightroom...

I've been scanning the slides as VueScan "Raw" files so that I can re-process them in the future with VueScan without rescanning the slides. In reality I probably never re-process them in VueScan, but it makes me feel good to save the Raw files just in case.

What I am definitely going to do is process the scanned images in Lightroom 5… So my biggest question is: Is it okay to use the Raw images for these edits? Or should I export to standard TIFF or JPG files first?

I'm still reading the VueScan user manual to try to figure this stuff out, but in the meantime advice from experienced VueScan users would be very appreciated on how best to use VueScan and Lightroom together.



Jan 04, 2014 at 10:35 PM
Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


a quick google of Vuescan Raw in Lightroom says yes .

it seems the Vuescan RAW is DNG so it should be fine .
do you have LR at the moment? if so you can just try to impprt a few of the RAW scans to see what happens . if you dont have LR then you can download the trial .





Jan 05, 2014 at 02:32 AM
patrick04
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


Hi again Ian! Yes, I have Lightroom 5 and I also have VueScan Professional. I'm still waiting for my new scanner to come in (delayed due to the snowstorm) so I'm just testing out the software with my old Epson 2480.

I should have given a little bit more information up front: The VueScan "Raw" files can be either TIFFs or DNGs, and I'm able to open the Raw TIFFs in Lightroom. The problem is that they are dark. I can fix this problem in LR by adjusting exposure, but I'm not sure if it's better to export to a normal TIFF first, which I can do, and which appears as the correct brightness/exposure. It's just an extra step that I'd like to avoid if it's not needed.

Based on what I've read on the internet, the Raw ViewScan files are really only intended to be re-edited within VueScan itself. They appear dark in other applications because they have a gamma of 1.0 whereas exported TIFF files have a gamma of 2.2. There are also some other differences.

TIFF is the standard VueScan Raw format but most of the information can also be wrapped up in a DNG. The exception (I think) is the infrared channel, which can't be wrapped in a DNG because there isn't anywhere to put it within the DNG standard. A full Raw VueScan file is a 64-bit TIFF (an "RGBi" file) which has three 16-bit color channels (48 bits total) and one infrared channel, which is what the "i" stands for. My understanding is that these RGBi files can be opened in other applications but the infrared channel is ignored (same thing if the Raw files are saved as DNG instead of TIFF, I think).

I think the best thing is probably to scan everything as a Raw TIFF and then convert all the images to standard TIFF files for editing LR. This is what I would like to do if I can find a way to do true batch processing. Unfortunately, so far I've only been able to do semi-batch processing in VueScan. It goes like this: I have to re-open ("re-scan") the images from the Raw files, which I can do as a batch process. But then I have to click the "Save" button for each image to save it as a standard TIFF file. I haven't been able to figure out how to re-scan and save all the files as standard TIFFs in one go. If you have any suggestions let me know. I'm probably just missing something in the VueScan software…



Jan 05, 2014 at 10:10 AM
Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


ok that makes more sense.

I think because of the darkness thing Id be tempted to export the processed TIFF as well as the RAW TIFF (or DNG) . then when importing into LR5 id stack the 2 together . that way you have easier access to a 'RAW' file should you want to play with it .
The downside is the extra storage , but unless its tons of images it shouldnt be that bad (should it ?)



Jan 05, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Eyeball
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


DNG will also retain the IR channel if you set up VueScan to include it.

Using a VueScan-generated DNG outside of VueScan though is not really recommended. Sascha Steinhoff, the author of the Vuescan Bible, goes as far as to put this on the english home page of his web site:

P.P.S. Please don't send me questions how to process Vuescan-DNG in Lightroom, Aperture or other Raw-editing applications. DNG from a scanner is something different than DNG from a digital camera! Please use only Vuescan to process and convertet a scanned DNG-File into another format. Other raw editors can not handle it's scan specific functions. I know why people want to do it, but it really has the restrictions described in my book

I think the biggest advantage of the Vuescan raw capability is to defer the futzing-around with all the filters and image adjustments. You can concentrate on doing the mechanical portion of the scan and then later do the image adjustments at your leisure later. If you're only doing 1 or 2 scans at a time, there isn't much benefit, but if you are doing mass scanning it might be helpful.

In terms of file that provides the best balance of data-retention and future compatibility, the 16-bit TIFF with linear gamma is probably not a bad way to go. You will need to make the gamma adjustment before a final image/print, but you will always have that extra highlight information there if you need it before squeezing some of it out during the gamma adjustment. Most of the time that extra highlight info is not going to be that important but if you're going to be suffering the storage penalty of a 16-bit TIFF anyway, you might as well keep it around.



Jan 05, 2014 at 02:20 PM
patrick04
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


Thanks for the idea to stack the two images together, Ian! I'll give it a try.

And thanks for the information, Eyeball! I should probably get a copy of the VueScan Bible. Since I am going to be doing batch scanning of hundreds of images (my dad's old stash of 35 mm slides and negatives) I really want to save in the Raw format for later re-working. I'm leaning toward saving as Raw because don't want to have to physically re-scan anything again because it takes so long. Disk space isn't an issue as I have plenty of external HDs.

I think what I'll do is save both the Raw TIFFs and standard TIFFs simultaneously while scanning. Then I'll either stack them in LR or I'll just import the standard TiFFs for LR editing purposes.

One more question: Is there a way to adjust gamma directly in LR?



Jan 05, 2014 at 02:58 PM
Eyeball
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


patrick04 wrote:
One more question: Is there a way to adjust gamma directly in LR?


I would use the Tone Curve in "point curve" mode to do it. It might take a little experimentation to get it perfect but once you have it, you can save it as a preset. I took a quick look to see if Google turned up an already-made preset for this but didn't find one. You might find one with a little more time though. You want the curve to look something like the blue line in the first graph on this page:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/gamma-correction.htm



Jan 05, 2014 at 03:21 PM
patrick04
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Workflow for VueScan & Lightroom?


Thanks for the tip and the link!


Jan 05, 2014 at 03:32 PM





FM Forums | Post-processing & Printing | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.