This tab lets you select the scanner, the device-specific options for this scanner, the size and position of the preview, the rotation of the previews and scans, the frame numbers that you want to preview or scan, and the media type.
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 "Options|Resolution" option works 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 this option is set to "Preview memory" or "Scan memory" something changes (usually an option) that affects the preview or scan, then a "Preview|Memory" or "Scan|Memory" command will be executed.
This option is reset to "None" if you use the "Device|Abort" command.
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 Media 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 negatives, and Ektachrome for E6 process negatives.
Note that the infrared channel and RGBI option only works on the Nikon LS-30, LS-2000, and Minolta Scan Elite 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.
Note that you should be careful to not set the Scan y size to a value larger than 190.5 mm on the PhotoSmart scanners, since there have been reports of scratched film when scanning longer lengths than this.
Note that rotation happens after mirroring.
On the Acer ScanWit, Polaroid SprintScan 4000, Microtek ArtixScan 4000 and Minolta Scan Multi, this option lets you select the frame number to scan in the film holder.
On Nikon, Minolta, Polaroid 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.