I spotted this on an Epson scanner mail list this morning. It was
written in response to another poster who was lamenting the quality
problems he was encountering trying to scan his old Nikon F/Vietnam era
films. I think it's very good advice and will make my future scanning
of old films and prints less "fussy".
Chuck Norcutt
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I was looking at a photography book from 1966 with work from many
recognized photographers from the time. By today's technical standards
parameters such as sharpness, blown highlights, color and tonality it
was not impressive. The printing and paper quality was obviously
suspect, likely the films were good but much was lost by the time it got
off the press. However it mattered little, it was obviously the content
that made the images memorable. As scanner operators, as we struggle to
chase todays digital expectations and yesterdays darkroom standards with
these marginal scanners and not really making it on either end it helps
to remember content is the most important, possible for future viewers.
That 1966 book listed all the cameras and films used and it was very
enjoyable to compare the images to the cameras and film used. It was not
obvious in most cases if it was a Leica, Nikon, a Hassleblad, or a
larger format.
With this in mind if I had your old Vietnamese films I'd be welcoming
any grain, blurs, exposure extremes that might help to capture the
capture of the time instead of chasing digital cleanliness.
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