I'm agreeing with Chuck, here. Group B illustrates several film "problems".
Number one issue that I see is a narrow Dmax scan which forced noise in the
shadows to increase too greatly. It looks like the scanner was underexposing
and Vuescan's curves adjustment (most likely auto) was correcting things so
much you didn't see where the actual scan exposure was actually at. We must
remember that a digital scanner is a digital camera with the same
requirements and limitations in exposure that any digital camera has.
The second thing I noticed was an incorrect adjustment for the film base.
When scanning negative color films, one must not just go for balancing the
mid-tones, but also balance for a different gamma across the entire
spectrum. Some scanner software does this better than others and I've
pulled much hair out (I have plenty more) attempting to get good scans from
color negs with Vuescan. This is one area where the Nikon Scan software
does a phenominal job and saves me much grief.
The third thing that jumped out at me is the yellow cast in Group B. This
may be totally related to my second observation, but it could also be due to
the notorious yellowing of the old Mamiya lenses. I noticed that this was
an RB67 shot, but you did not reveal the vintage of the lens. (or maybe you
did, and I just don't know my model descriptions well enough. From
experience with my classic silver-nosed Zuikos, this yellowing does actually
affect the reds and not necessarily in a positive way.
Through minimal adjustments I can get Group B to mimick Group A, but the
noise in Groub B is outrageous. I come back around to a bad scan. What you
are seeing is NOT grain, but noise. A 2400dpi scan of Portra 400NC is not
going to have enough grain to be an issue--especially in a downsized image.
I also question the focus accuracy of the scanner. This reminds me of scans
I got with my old Coolscan II.
Of course, Wayne could be yanking our chain.
AG
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