Over TIFF? Not sure. I haven't played around with the TIFF compression options that much in a direct comparison against compressed DNG. I'd wager that you wouldn't get that much of an advantage since I'm sure the underlying compression schemes are the same; LZW or ZIP.
I've been shooting film since 2001. Had a break with digi for 3 years but am now shooting more film than ever, 135 and 120 and scan with a V700. My comments on films:
Current films:
Portra 400: This is my main film. It prints great, it scans even better and can be shot 100-1600 without breaking a sweat. It can look a bit digital at times but is so versatile I don't care.
E100G: I love this slide film. The colours are just bang-on. Not too saturated, not too cold, not too warm, well maybe a bit warm at times.
E100VS: Too contrasty and red for my liking, on a cloudy day it burns the highlights, on a sunny day it goes crazy red/yellow/magenta.
Portra 160: A bit soft and less saturated (maybe) than the 400. Not sure if I like it but I do use it when I need the (lack of) speed. This can be an issue when you're limited to 1/500 top speed...
Ektar: Shot 4 rolls and won't be using again. People show like they have sunburn, scanning is very easy though.
Portra 800: I really like it for mixed lighting and night shots. It keeps colours much nicer than any other film and I also like it for daylight shooting overexposed 1-1.5 stops. It is a bit softer than 400 and more old-fashioned.
Fuji 400H: Too contrasty both on prints and scans. Don't like it and scanning is tricky.
Velvia: Too contrasty and green for me. Don't care for it much.
Provia: Too cold for my taste.
TriX: Love it in 120, the signature grain is just classic B&W.
HP5: I don't shoot much of it as I don't process my own B&W anymore but I really like the traditional B&W look.
FP4: Too muddy for my liking.
Delta 100: Too sterile and can never get processing right in the lab. Although when it is right it is brilliant, if you were to say architecture I'd say Delta 100.
Delta 3200: When speed is needed, that's what I use. It has a grainy look that is not suited to everything but I like it and the labe seems to process it ok.
BW400CN: I adore this film. I was really sad to see it go in 120. It was my main B&W film. I still use it in 135.
XP2: I just get muddy prints/scans from this, prefer BW400CN.
Older stuff you may find on ebay:
Portra VC: I just loved that film in 120. Was really sad to see it go. Great sharpness, punchy colours, great skin tones.
Portra NC: My main film in 135. Overexposed a stop it was very smooth.
E200: Probably my favourite slide film ever, during afternoon shooting it just had a glow that I haven't seen in other slide films.
E100GX: That was some brown stuff! Yuk.
Basically, my main films are Portra 400 and BW400CN. Secondary films are Portra 800, E100G and a bit of HP5 & TriX. The odd roll of Delta 3200 and Portra 160 can be found at the bottom of the bag.
Gunzorro wrote:
I'm not overly impressed by the Epson 700 and 750 pro models of flatbed scanners, but those are the cheapest I've found so far.
These two scanners, with a bit of care and an aftermarket negative holder, can approach the results of a Nikon 9000, but only for medium format and larger. I would not buy one for 135 format, unless you don't expect to print very large (maybe A4).
Thanks Carsten. My experience confirms what you say. I'd found scanning 35mm film produced unacceptable results in detail and grain. The old Minolta almost made me think of getting an XP machine dedicated to scanning, but that set-up takes up a lot of work space. I wish desktop towers had built-in scanner slot!
The price difference between the SE and AI is (I think) just the sophistication of the software. If you want to wait a bit, Plustek has a swing model (120 and 35mm) supposedly coming out soon.
corposant wrote:
The price difference between the SE and AI is (I think) just the sophistication of the software. If you want to wait a bit, Plustek has a swing model (120 and 35mm) supposedly coming out soon.
The new Plustek will be around 2-3K according to the hints from the manufacturer.
As for silverfast, both versions are the same, except that the AI can be calibrated by shooting supplied color targets. I have the SE plus version.
