Scanner question - Epson 4870

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Tricky69

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Hi all.

I've just got an Epson 4870 scanner off ebay.

It had no documentation or drivers/software.

I've got the 35mm transparancy unit, but not the 120 or 5x4 - anyone know if you can get these ?

also ... a 'dumb' question.

I've downloaded some drivers and got it working, but I am unsure as to which side of the film to face down ? I assumed the dull side is the emulsion side, with the image on ? so if I face this down, the image is mirrored.

so am I wrong ? or should I be doing something with the drivers to mirror it ?

also, I've found that the scanner was shipped with silverfast. I can see it for sale on the silverfast site, but does anyone know if I can get a copy of the original scanner disks with all the drivers and software on ?

Thanks for any help :-)

I am really pleased with the scanner so far. It can scan up to 6"x9", but I guess I'll need to make film carriers for that size.

It cost me £35 plus post, so I am happy with the price too !

Rich
 
well - if you can't source the epson ones, theres a company called betterscanning.com that do replacements that are supposed to be much better than the originals. Though I'm pretty sure you'll not like the price, compare to the scanners cost :(
 
:eek: ouch !!!

Thanks for the link ... I've read that some of the after market stuff can giv better results.

I'll no doubt be making something similar myself :thumbs:
 
To be honest, I'm sorely tempted to try their 120 carrier for the Canoscan 8800F - using the Anti-Newton glass would help keep the negs/trannies flat and even - a problem that the canon kit doesn't really address very well.
 
film scanning is all very new to me. I have a lot to learn before I can consider spending any money on it !

I presume the scan head in the base is for scanning documents and film, and the lid unit is just a light source for when scanning film ?

So - which side up/down does the film go ?

the film carriers/holders that have frosted glass ... does the glass go above the film ? if so, what keeps the film flat ? (from sagging ) ... if not - how does the scanner scan 'through' it, and see the image ???


:)


EDIT >= ... the site in the link seems to explain most of my questions so far. I am surprised the film can be scanned either way !
 
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Well Epson's site for downloads...and which way up to put the neg? Well I put the negs in the best way (in the holder) to counter some negs that want to "bow", and if there is a difference I can't see it on a computer screen or 6X8" print.
Scanning? Well I like a combo of Epson software and Photoshop, Viewscan and Siverfast IMHO are unfriendly and just couldn't be bothered to learn how to use them.
 
Tricky69 said:
I presume the scan head in the base is for scanning documents and film, and the lid unit is just a light source for when scanning film ?
Click to expand...

Yep for the flat bed scanners I think that is right

Tricky69 said:
So - which side up/down does the film go ?
Click to expand...

TBH I don't think it matters, I have scanned both ways, just if you get it wrong it is a case if inverting when you process it.

Tricky69 said:
the film carriers/holders that have frosted glass ... does the glass go above the film ? if so, what keeps the film flat ? (from sagging ) ... if not - how does the scanner scan 'through' it, and see the image ???
Click to expand...

I think that holders with frosted glass go below the film and all it does is diffuse the light hiding scratches etc. I have 2 film scanners and both have different light sources, the Nikon I find is a very hard light so will show up any imperfections in the film and make the grain more pronounced. The Microtek on the other hand is better for scanning high speed films as the light is a little more diffused and so does not seem to show the grain in the same way as the Nikon.

Keeping the film flat is the key to getting a good scan and that is the job of the holders, they basically sandwich the film between them.
 
My glass carrier is a sandwich of two pieces of etched anti-newton glass, the film goes in between obviously.
Glass carriers keep the film perfectly flat, the glass is etched partly as a process of manufacturing anti-newton glass (you cant see the etching with a film frame in the holder), it also reduces reflections and ghosting.
You are supposed to scan neg film with the shiney side up on a flatbed for the same reason, I never found it an issue on the 4490 I used have though, and slide always came out fine :shrug:
 
Gloss down, facing up. A great scanner. I can copy cd games covers and its hard to spot the difference.
 
excalibur2 said:
Well Epson's site for downloads...and which way up to put the neg? Well I put the negs in the best way (in the holder) to counter some negs that want to "bow", and if there is a difference I can't see it on a computer screen or 6X8" print.
Scanning? Well I like a combo of Epson software and Photoshop, Viewscan and Siverfast IMHO are unfriendly and just couldn't be bothered to learn how to use them.
Click to expand...


Thanks . Got the drivers from Epson ... They dont supply the version of silverfast that shipped with the scanner though .. I quite fancied having a try ! (for free :-) )
 
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