I just checked and the Antistaticum clothes ares still available from camera stores etc., B&H for example.īTW, on that subject - not to hijack the thread, but I got tired of letting my Phase One P40+ just sit in a closet gathering dust - mea culpa it was an expensive mistake buying that rig because I learned after the fact that it just doesn't respond to my style of photography but no question it can make very fine photographs, so just this past couple of weeks I've been rigging it up as a camera scanner. A good, filtered compressed air system works as well, but best after using the cloth, since a high pressure air flow can sometimes set up a static charge on the film which can attract dust. I made sure I had a good supply of these clothes many years ago and still using them. I don't know if they are still available, but I do know that they do a great job at dust removal and setting up an anti-static environment on the film so that it does not attract more dust. from film, both in the darkroom and later for film scanning purposes. For more years than I would admit to I have been using the Ilford Antistaticum clothes for removing dust etc. I've also used the Epson Fluid Mount with the Museum Glass, mostly for 4x5 film, but occasionally roll film as well.
Definitely worth the cost if quality scanning is what you are looking for. They are very rigid and well made holders and also height adjustable. I agree with all of Mark's suggestions, and a +1 for the BetterScanning film holders from Doug Fisher. If his media image is sharp and the scan isn't I suspect a mechanical focus problem. All those scanners except an Imacon have problems with edge/corner sharpness regardless of the focus, but the center should be reasonably good. Put-up on a high-res display at no more than 100% magnification (1 image pixel per screen pixel) the results should look OK, particularly in the center, IF the focusing were correct. If prepared for an Epson printer at 360 PPI, his long dimension could be about 9 inches without resampling. So to be clear about what's implied - if we're talking a 35mm slide, he has about 2300x1.4 or 3220 total pixels on the long dimension.
But that doesn't explain why scans should come out unsharp - if the optics are working properly and the software is being used properly FOCUS should be OK and the scans should look sharp enough as long as they are not being magnified beyond 100% at their native resolution.
Todd, I agree with the 2300 effective PPI for that scanner it coheres with my measurements as well. If you are getting no joy from the holder, I would suggest using the Fluid Mount Accessory, pinning the film to the glass using either a piece of Museum glass (that specific brand) on top of the film, or film cleaning fluid to very temporarily hold the film onto the glass. Are you absolutely certain that you re-assembled it exactly right? Putting the film into the holder should work well enough provided the film is flat - if the holder has height adjusters you may try rescanning at different settings for those adjusters and see whether one of those settings solves the problem. You say you took the scanner apart to clean the glass. The V750 should definitely produce better results than what your photo indicates, provided of course the media itself is sharp often we don't know how unsharp our originals are till we see them enlarged from a scan - check them with at least a 6x magnifier to be sure you know what you are working with. The focus issue may be a more mechanical problem. I think you should solve the focus problem before you do any sharpening, but when you get to sharpening, sharpen the scan in post-scan software using a gentle, non-destructive sharpening application, such as Photokit Sharpener which does very well with film scans (for Photoshop) or Lightroom's own sharpening tools if you are working in Lightroom post-scan. Use a powerful air blower on both sides of the slide for cleaning it and deal with anything residual in post-scan spotting. I don't know what software you are using, but to start with I would recommend turning off ICE and turning off all sharpening within the scan software. From what I can see the slide is both out of focus and over processed.