This tab contains the controls that control the raw data coming from the scanner.
If you set this option to "Disk", then you'll be able to enter a file name in the "Disk file name" option.
Disk files can be scanned just like a normal scanner. The "Device|Preview resolution" and "Device|Scan resolution" options work just as you'd expect, the preview works as you'd expect, and all the X/Y offset/size options work as you'd expect.
If you choose "Image", no film correction is used, and the cropped file will look as much like the original image as possible. If you choose "Negative film" or "Slide film", the cropped image will look as much like the original scene as possible and the Color tab lets you choose the film manufacturer, the film brand, and the film type. You can also choose "Faded image", "Faded negative", or "Faded slide", in which case an automatic correction for film bleaching and staining is applied.
The difference between "Image" and "Slide film" is subtle. If you take a picture of the same scene with Kodakchrome and Ektachrome film and scan them with the "Slide film" setting, VueScan tries to make the resulting scan look the same (i.e. to resemble the original scene). If you use the "Image" setting, the resulting scans will look different and will reflect the slightly different color characteristics of Kodakchrome and Ektachrome film.
If you then took a picture of this same scene with Kodak Gold color negative film and scanned it using the "Negative film" setting, the resulting scan should look close to the scan you get from using the "Slide film" setting and scanning the Kodakchrome and Ektachrome slides (i.e. all three should look like the original scene).
VueScan contains sensitometric data for 200 types of negative film and 4 types of slide film. If you're scanning other types of slide film, choose Kodachrome for K14 process slides, and Ektachrome for E6 process slides.
Note that the infrared channel and RGBI option only works on the Nikon LS-30, LS-2000, Minolta Scan Elite, Canon FS4000 and Acer ScanWit 2740S scanners.
The only time you should change this option is if you have a scanner that is capable of scanning the infrared channel and you don't need to do dust and scratch removal or if you want to make the raw scan file or memory buffer smaller by scanning at 24-bit resolution instead of 48-bit resolution.
Scanning at 24-bit resolution can add gaps to the final image histogram (compared to 48-bit resolution), but it can also speed up scanning with some scanners and often the end result is virtually indistinguishable from 48-bit scans.
On the Acer ScanWit, Polaroid SprintScan 4000, Microtek ArtixScan 4000, Canon FS4000 and Minolta Scan Multi, this option lets you select the frame number to scan in the film holder.
On Nikon, Minolta, Polaroid, Canon FS4000 and Microtek scanners with APS adapters, this options lets you select which frame in the APS roll to scan.
You can specify multiple frames by specifying multiple frame numbers, or specifying a range of frames like "1-3", or some combination of both (i.e. "1,3,5-7" causes frames 1,3,5,6,7 to be scanned). You can also add an additional rotation to any frame or range of frames by putting a letter along with each frame number (i.e. "3r" says to scan frame 3 and rotate it 90 degrees to the right in addition to the default rotation, "2L" says to scan frame 2 and rotate it 90 degrees to the left, "1F,2L,4R" says to scan frame 1 flipped, frame 2 rotated to the left, and frame 4 rotated to the right.
Use this option if there is some leader on the film strip, or if you're scanning panoramic frames and need to scan what would otherwise be the gap between 35mm frames. This option is always a positive number.
If this option is set to "Auto", the preview will use a resolution that results in roughly one million pixels.
The actual dpi of the scan is stored in the file header of the output files.
If this option is set to "Auto", the scan will use a resolution that results in roughly one million pixels.
Note that rotation happens after mirroring.
If this option is set to "Preview memory" or "Scan memory" something changes (usually an option) that affects the preview or scan, then VueScan will simulate pressing either the "Prev Mem" or "Scan Mem" buttons.
This option is reset to "None" if you press the "Abort" button.
Note that the PhotoSmart scanner doesn't align multiple scans very well because of the way it uses rubber rollers to move the film or slides. For this reason, this option isn't useful on the PhotoSmart.
Other scanners (such as the Polaroid SprintScan 4000) sometimes have registration problems of a few pixels between each scan pass. A future version of VueScan will automatically register these multiple scan passes.
Pixels that are near saturated pixels on the long pass aren't merged with the scan. This reduces the problems of CCD blooming - saturated pixels spilling into nearby pixels. However, some CCD's have a severe problem with charge bleeding from saturated pixels to nearby pixel, causing a problem where dark areas are adjacent to bright areas.
Note that this option sometimes produces image artifacts near sharp transitions between dark and light areas, and should be used with care. It works better on some scanners than others, and it isn't recommended as a default option.
If you turn off the "Crop|Auto crop" and "Device|Auto exposure" options, then pressing the "Scan" button won't first do a preview scan. This can save time when batch scanning.
There's seldom any reason to increase the exposure time more than the amount computed by the auto exposure option. If the CCD is over-exposed when scanning color negative film, then the orange mask color value gets messed up and the dark parts of the image (the bright parts of the negative) will lose detail.