Steve Hendrix
Well-known member
The big plus of 4x5 scanning would be the ability to do it yourself, thereby negating operator error (or at least personalizing it ).
I worked for Imacon back in 1999 - 2001, and continue to sell the Flextight scanners today and have performed numerous scan-offs between drum scanners and the Flextights. Even with the Precision II, the results were within a hair of each other - the drum scan usually offering just a tad more shadow detail that was indistinguishable in the final print.
With the numerous Flextight generations since, I would expect this difference to be even less so as dynamic range has been expanded. However, the great thing about the Flextight is the software, which allows you to tweak the scans very effectively. On the other hand, in the wrong hands, this can also produce mediocre results.
One issue regarding soft Flextight scans can often be traced to the fact that recent Flextight scanners offer auto focus, and if the proper contrast area isn't defined well enough, a soft scan can result. This appears possible with some of the samples from this thread.
Steve Hendrix
www.ppratlanta.com/digital.php
I worked for Imacon back in 1999 - 2001, and continue to sell the Flextight scanners today and have performed numerous scan-offs between drum scanners and the Flextights. Even with the Precision II, the results were within a hair of each other - the drum scan usually offering just a tad more shadow detail that was indistinguishable in the final print.
With the numerous Flextight generations since, I would expect this difference to be even less so as dynamic range has been expanded. However, the great thing about the Flextight is the software, which allows you to tweak the scans very effectively. On the other hand, in the wrong hands, this can also produce mediocre results.
One issue regarding soft Flextight scans can often be traced to the fact that recent Flextight scanners offer auto focus, and if the proper contrast area isn't defined well enough, a soft scan can result. This appears possible with some of the samples from this thread.
Steve Hendrix
www.ppratlanta.com/digital.php