On this page, you can find a Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 scan example. The initial tests focus mainly on the resolution capabilities. I have also included an example of what Neat Image can do to reduce graininess and other noise.
A portrait example.
Below you will find a few crops from the virtually full-frame 35mm film image at the right.
The first comparison crop image is a Nikon LS-2000 scan (@2700ppi), 'Stair-step' upsized to match the higher resolution scan. The second crop image is a Nikon LS-4000 scan (@4000ppi), also 'Stair-step' upsized. The third is a Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 scan (@5400ppi). They are scans of 35mm Portra 160NC color negative film. The fourth image is the same SE-5400 image, but after some noise removal with Neat Image and a little sharpening (I could have done more drastic sharpening, but I managed to restrain myself). The images have been scanned without the use of light diffusers or Digital ICE, which could have otherwise reduced some of the graininess but also a little sharpness.
Also in this case, the full uncropped film image would have measured 26.0 x 17.4in or 66 x 44cm.
Not too bad for poster size, but with distracting graininess.
This is much better, but there is even a little more detail that can be extracted.
As you can see above, the multi-colored blobs in the LS-2000 and LS-4000 scans are each replaced by smaller sharper, more accurate, dye cloud aggregates in this SE-5400 scan. At first glance it may only look like a grainier version of the LS-4000 crop, but it actually holds a bit more detail.
After some Neat Image noise reduction on the SE-5400 scan, this result would even tolerate nose-on-paper viewing of a poster. For the final print, more precise sharpening could be applied without exaggerating noise.
If you have left Javascript enabled in your browser, then you can switch here between the same images, superimposed on each other for a more accurate comparison.
