Best Vuescan settings (split from Scanning step-by-step)

[Myron]

The problem with the Nikon scanning software is they have not updated it to run on a 64bit machine and, from all accounts have no intention of supporting the scanners. Which was why I got VueScan in the first place when I ran into that issue with my Coolscan 5000.

I am new to Vuescan using Nikon 5000ed. I can't get any scanned image to be accepted by Lightroom. Not .tiff, .jpeg or raw. Any ideas?

 

[rob211]

"accepted?" What are the exact steps you are taking to import them into Lr?

 

[gpsmikey]

Unfortunately, I have not used my Nikon scanner for a while (still on my "todo list") so I am not able to answer what the question at this point. I have been trying to get up to speed with lightroom for at least cataloging my photos and adding keywords, but it keeps going to a lower point in my list of things to do (I still have to process the pictures I took on our trip back in September !! ). Now that the rainy weather is back, I am going to try to get things back in order again and work with the scanner (using VueScan). I don't remember having any problems in the past though getting lightroom to recognize the images from VueScan.

mikey

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Unfortunately, I have not used my Nikon scanner for a while (still on my "todo list") so I am not able to answer what the question at this point. I have been trying to get up to speed with lightroom for at least cataloging my photos and adding keywords, but it keeps going to a lower point in my list of things to do (I still have to process the pictures I took on our trip back in September !! ). Now that the rainy weather is back, I am going to try to get things back in order again and work with the scanner (using VueScan). I don't remember having any problems in the past though getting lightroom to recognize the images from VueScan.

You still haven't explained what you mean with 'getting Lightroom to recognize the images'. Without knowing what you're trying to do, we cannot help you.

 

[gpsmikey]

Johan - you are responding to the wrong post - it was the one above mine (that you quoted) that said he could not get it to recognize images. I didn't have a problem in the past, but have not worked with it recently.

mikey

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Sorry. It gets confusing if different people all use the same thread for posting unrelated stuff.

 

[gpsmikey]

eh? I responded to the question (that I was notified had been posted) about the user not being able to get scans from his Nikon 5000 scanner files to be recognized and said I had not used mine for a while but it had been OK when I used it a while back. How is that unrelated to the question? (yes, I know he posted to an old thread however, in the first page of the thread, the Nikon 5000 was discussed as well as Vuescan).

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I've split it off into a separate thread, just to avoid confusion. And welcome to the forum Myron!

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I am new to Vuescan using Nikon 5000ed. I can't get any scanned image to be accepted by Lightroom. Not .tiff, .jpeg or raw. Any ideas?

OK, back to the original question. Vuescan simply creates TIFF or JPEG files (not RAW files). There is no setting in VueScan to make these files 'accepted' by Lightroom. Lightroom can read TFF and JPEG just fine, so if you can't import these scans into Lightroom, it's more likely that you are doing something wrong in Lightroom, not in Vuescan. Tell us what you are doing to 'accept' the scans.

 

[Klaas]

My even older Nikon Coolscan V ED runs fine with Vuescan or with the old Nikon Scan Software on Windows 10 Home 64 bit. Reading files from the Nikon scanner by Lightroom 6.7 works fine also.

Klaas

 

[Klaas]

OK, back to the original question. Vuescan simply creates TIFF or JPEG files (not RAW files). There is no setting in VueScan to make these files 'accepted' by Lightroom. Lightroom can read TFF and JPEG just fine, so if you can't import these scans into Lightroom, it's more likely that you are doing something wrong in Lightroom, not in Vuescan. Tell us what you are doing to 'accept' the scans.

Well ... In Vuescan you can have tiff-files compressed. But Lightroom can't read every type of compression coming along with tiff. At least that is my experience. Try tiff without any compression.

Klaas

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Well ... In Vuescan you can have tiff-files compressed. But Lightroom can't read every type of compression coming along with tiff. At least that is my experience. Try tiff without any compression.

I'm pretty sure that VueScan uses LZW-compression if you turn on compression for tiff files, and Lightroom handles LZW-compressed tiff's just fine. Besides, the OP says he also can't get jpeg's being 'accepted' by Lightroom, so that doesn't seem to be the problem. Let's wait for what the OP has to say about 'accepting' files by Lightroom. All we can do now is speculate.

 

[Myron]

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE RESPONDED SO KINDLY AND SPEEDILY. I am new to this forum and pardon me if I got into a wrong thread. :-( I do not know what I did but all is working fine now!!! Ed at Vuescan made valiant efforts to help and was quite responsive. However, can some of you gurus or others as well, let me know whether .tiff, .jpeg or Vuescan's 'raw' are the best? Also, any ideas on cleaning off dust on negs for scanning?

 

[Conrad Chavez]

let me know whether .tiff, .jpeg or Vuescan's 'raw' are the best? Also, any ideas on cleaning off dust on negs for scanning?

The VueScan Help pages have some advice on TIFF and JPEG:
Hints and tips
File Formats

I've used VueScan to get my Nikon CoolScan scans into Lightroom for many years. If you're archiving you'll want to use a lossless format like 48-bit TIFF with compression. If you want to have VueScan save at the highest quality levels, think about whether you should turn on some of the advanced features like multisampling, manual focus, and infrared cleaning to get the best possible quality out of the scan you're saving.

The VueScan "raw" format predates the digital camera raw format and is not the same. VueScan raw means no image adjustments have been applied at all, so it looks "wrong" if you open it because it isn't even white balanced or gamma corrected, and I don't think negatives are inverted. But unlike a digital camera raw file, VueScan raw is already an RGB TIFF. VueScan raw can be useful if you would rather make every adjustment in a program other than VueScan, but it really means editing from scratch.

I think it's better to have VueScan make some basic edits like white balance, black point, and white point, save as TIFF, and use Lightroom to refine them from there. I like to set the black point and white point a little wide to make sure they don't clip the original scan, then evaluate in Lightroom.

JPEG doesn't preserve all of the original data, but it might be OK for quick scans that don't need to be perfect, like party pictures or an image you're only going to email or post small on a web page.

To clean film, I use one of those blower brushes with a bulb on the end that I squeeze to blow air out. Some people use cans of compressed air. I keep a small clean brush around in case dust needs to be dislodged.

 

[Myron]

Thanks, Conrad!! 1) While I MIGHT get into colored slides at a much later date, but now I am digitizing my late 1960's B&W negs, which have had some deterioration of the neg. such that 8x10 might be about the largest I can make them.
2) Isn't infrared only for color?
3) I have used compressed air for cleaning, but seemed to have some dust left on the neg. I have used a soft lens cleaning cloth which has done well so far. 0 evidence of neg scratching, so far.
4) How does the 'bit' level affect things such as 16 bit, 48 bit, etc?
Thanks guys.

 

[Conrad Chavez]

Right, if you're scanning silver-based black and white, don't use infrared cleaning.

More bits preserve more tonal gradations for more flexibility and less banding when editing. 8 bits per channel (24-bit images) is OK if you want to make most edits in VueScan, having VueScan save a final image. But if the goal is to do possibly heavy edits in Lightroom/Photoshop, have VueScan save at 16 bits per channel (48-bit images).

 

[Replytoken]

Use an anti-static cloth or brush to help with dust. These should be more effective at dust removal and at minimizing further attraction of dust particles immediately after cleaning.

Good luck,

--Ken

 

[Myron]

THANKS, Conrad !
THANKS, Ken. Where can this cloth be found? LOVE Seattle. Thanks.

 

[Klaas]

For cleaning a film I use an old fashioned brush made of goat hair. This material is softer than any plastic brush and it is nearly antistatic, since it doesn't pull new dust to a film.

Klaas

 

[Replytoken]

THANKS, Conrad !
THANKS, Ken. Where can this cloth be found? LOVE Seattle. Thanks.

I bought my clothes and brush back in my darkroom days. I know that Ilford made clothes and Kinetronics made brushes. I'd give B&H a try to see what they have in stock.

--Ken