Scanning positive transparencies

I've got a few positive transparencies of pictures I took in the mid '70s --
and haven't been able to find the original negatives. I have no particular
memory of ever using B&W reversal film so I'd have to guess that I shot B&W
negatives of the B&W negatives and then mounted them in slide mounts.

I'd love to scan them but so far the best I've been able to do with my Nikon
ED V (5000) scanner is to do it on the "Kodachrome" setting and I get weird
highlights. The other settings produced what I have to call "unacceptable"
results.

Now I'm a novice with this scanner -- I only set it up about 3 hours before
I tried scanning these pictures so I'm sure that there's a way to do it that
I'm not yet aware of.

If anyone has experience with scanning B&W transparencies with this (or any
similar) scanner, I'd love to hear about it.

TIA
Norm

"Norm Dresner" <ndrez@att.net> wrote in message
newscGXj.349355$cQ1.308101@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> I've got a few positive transparencies of pictures I took in the mid
> '70s --
> and haven't been able to find the original negatives. I have no particular
> memory of ever using B&W reversal film so I'd have to guess that I shot
> B&W
> negatives of the B&W negatives and then mounted them in slide mounts.
>
> I'd love to scan them but so far the best I've been able to do with my
> Nikon
> ED V (5000) scanner is to do it on the "Kodachrome" setting and I get
> weird
> highlights. The other settings produced what I have to call
> "unacceptable"
> results.
>
> Now I'm a novice with this scanner -- I only set it up about 3 hours
> before
> I tried scanning these pictures so I'm sure that there's a way to do it
> that
> I'm not yet aware of.
>
> If anyone has experience with scanning B&W transparencies with this (or
> any
> similar) scanner, I'd love to hear about it.
>
> TIA
> Norm
>

Try scanning with the Positive film type. Then choose Grayscale.

Do not use Kodachrome unless you actually have slides that say Kodachrome.

Turn off Digital ICE if you get poor results. B&W film may have silver left
in the emulsion which interferes with Digital ICE.

--
CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
--

On Sat, 17 May 2008 19:18:59 GMT, "Norm Dresner" <ndrez@att.net>
wrote:

>I've got a few positive transparencies of pictures I took in the mid '70s --
>and haven't been able to find the original negatives. I have no particular
>memory of ever using B&W reversal film so I'd have to guess that I shot B&W
>negatives of the B&W negatives and then mounted them in slide mounts.
>
>I'd love to scan them but so far the best I've been able to do with my Nikon
>ED V (5000) scanner is to do it on the "Kodachrome" setting and I get weird
>highlights. The other settings produced what I have to call "unacceptable"
>results.
>
>Now I'm a novice with this scanner -- I only set it up about 3 hours before
>I tried scanning these pictures so I'm sure that there's a way to do it that
>I'm not yet aware of.
>
>If anyone has experience with scanning B&W transparencies with this (or any
>similar) scanner, I'd love to hear about it.
>
> TIA
> Norm
Norm,

I'd first try scanning them as if they were Black & white negatives
(which they are, if they are shots of negatives on B/W neg film), then
inverting in Photoshop (or whatever image editing program you have).

--
Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

Norm Dresner wrote:
> I've got a few positive transparencies of pictures I took in the mid '70s --
> and haven't been able to find the original negatives. I have no particular
> memory of ever using B&W reversal film so I'd have to guess that I shot B&W
> negatives of the B&W negatives and then mounted them in slide mounts.
>
> I'd love to scan them but so far the best I've been able to do with my Nikon
> ED V (5000) scanner is to do it on the "Kodachrome" setting and I get weird
> highlights. The other settings produced what I have to call "unacceptable"
> results.

What CSM1 and Charlie said.

note: B&W reversal film did exist and some people process B&W negatives
in a way that makes them reversals ... but you'd remember that!

In article <9EkYj.13496$JJ4.29535@wagner.videotron.net>,
Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> wrote:

> Norm Dresner wrote:
> > I've got a few positive transparencies of pictures I took in the mid '70s
> > --
> > and haven't been able to find the original negatives. I have no particular
> > memory of ever using B&W reversal film so I'd have to guess that I shot B&W
> > negatives of the B&W negatives and then mounted them in slide mounts.
> >
> > I'd love to scan them but so far the best I've been able to do with my
> > Nikon
> > ED V (5000) scanner is to do it on the "Kodachrome" setting and I get weird
> > highlights. The other settings produced what I have to call "unacceptable"
> > results.
>
> What CSM1 and Charlie said.
>
> note: B&W reversal film did exist and some people process B&W negatives
> in a way that makes them reversals ... but you'd remember that!

As I understand it, *any* B&W film is a "reversal" film; it just takes a
different sort of processing to make that happen. ISTR that the gamma is
a bit wonky, though. Making a standard negative and then a positive from
that helps deal with the gamma issue.

Isaac