Oversized davidlandin Model

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daniel_reetz
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by daniel_reetz »

OK. I am looking at the EXIF data from your first photograph.

First off, your rig with the two 75W halogens should be fine, and should be plenty of light. You may have to move it up higher to remove the glare image appearing on the right side of the platen in the black area.

With respect to the camera image, the EXIF reports the following not-cool settings.

1. ExposureMode: Auto.
2. WhiteBalance: Auto.

Why are these settings not cool? Exposure on auto means that the content of the page and the darkness of the paper will change the brightness of the final capture. Exposure should always be manual, and if you keep your lights consistent, you should only have to find it once. The metering algorithm on the camera, which sets the exposure time, is making the image darker than it needs to be. Override the exposure with a manual setting, and set your exposure time to a longer period, like 1/60s. Your images will brighten up.

As for WhiteBalance, you are using Tungsten lights. Set it to Tungsten. Your colors will come out more accurately.

Do these two things and post your results, and we'll see how close you are to something usable.
GPHS2
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by GPHS2 »

Thanks Daniel, I will try those and see what happens. I will post results after I do. I have to figure out how to change those settings.

Also, don't think I am not responding to a post if I don't post for a few days.

I have some complications from my past brain surgery and sometimes get numerous and severe migraines so can't even think of using the computer. These can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. I just don't want anyone to think I am ignoring what they said or don't care enough to respond.

I will post results after I figure out how to change those settings.

Thanks again.

Mike
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daniel_reetz
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by daniel_reetz »

No worries at all. Something to note, it might be easier to set "exposure compensation" than exposure - set it to +1 or +2 and you'll see your shutter times increase.

Good luck and good health to you!
GPHS2
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by GPHS2 »

Daniel, here is a test I just did. I am not great with the settings but I did change the exp. comp. to +2 but I may have also set the IS0 to 400, not sure on this test.
IMG_0010.JPG
The above shot was taken this afternoon with Tungsten setting and Exp. Comp. at +2 and ISO may have been set to 400.

Here is one I took zoomed in a little too much but it is easier to read.
IMG_0009.JPG
This is not only a learning experience for the scanner unit but also in photography. (:-)

I appreciate the help with this part, believe me. To me this is the hardest part of the whole experience. Once I get the lighting and camera settings correct, I can actually start scanning books and get people transcribing them. If it wasn't for the different ink darkness, I could scan now with the original settings I was using. But the lighter pages might be a little hard to transcribe.

I just need to be sure people can read each page. We want to eliminate having to use the actual books to prevent and damage to them.

Thanks again.

Mike
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daniel_reetz
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by daniel_reetz »

No problem, thanks for reporting back.

OK, well it looks like the ISO was indeed set at 400, so please try setting it to the lowest available number (80 or 100 probably) to reduce the noise that has become apparent in the image. Your color was much improved by the tungsten setting, but there is noise apparent in the image that we have to reduce to get the best possible "scan". Think of ISO like a guitar amplifier - as you turn it up, it's more sensitive (louder for a given input) but the noise turns up, too. ISO should be at the lowest available setting.
GPHS2
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by GPHS2 »

ISO Set at 80
IMG_0011.JPG
GPHS2
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by GPHS2 »

I know I need to do something with the lighting also as I can see the light and dark areas on the page. I am wondering if another set of these lights would work if placed to hit the darker areas.
cday
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by cday »

GPHS2 wrote:Page 159 ... [the] ink used was much lighter so image quality is much less than Page 1.
It should be reasonably easy to enhance images with lighter ink to significantly improve their readability, if you can optimise the lighting and exposure: even lighting -- as even as possible -- and a near-white page background would produce the best results for those pages.
GPHS2
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by GPHS2 »

Cday, that is what I was thinking too. However, I am not sure if the shadows will impede the enhancing process.

Since this is such a learning process for me I am not yet real familiar with the different post processing programs available. So I can't really feel comfortable with how much they may be able to improve the images. But I figure the better I can make the original scans, the better the results will be after post processing.

I have also realized that the book I am testing everything on so far is actually one of the books with the darker ink and the others are pretty light compared to this one. So even though I may be able to get this one to come out pretty good, the others may take a little more effort to be able to transcribe them.

Mike
cday
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Re: Oversized davidlandin Model

Post by cday »

GPHS2 wrote:... I am not sure if the shadows will impede the enhancing process.

... the book I am testing everything on so far is actually one of the books with the darker ink and the others are pretty light compared to this one.
As your aim is to produce images that can be read easily so that the text can be transcribed, many of the usual post-processing steps will not be relevant. The enhancement process I have in mind could be done easily using standard image editing software, and from some quick tests I did yesterday on your initial images, the limitation on the results that can be achieved will be set by the evenness of the lighting.

I can't advise on lighting as I use flatbed scanners, but perhaps a brighter light further away, and a longer exposure, might help? And I do wonder if the LED floodlights mentioned before produce a bright and even light?
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