Better-light 7 Manuel d'utilisateur

Large Format DigitalScanning Camera SystemRevision DMarch 2007User’s Manualfeaturing…Digital Scanning Camera Software

10Parts List1. Control Unit (1)2. Insert (1)3. Double shielded cable (1)4. USB cable (1)5. Power supply(1)6. Power cord(1) [not shown]7. Filters (1 da

11Connector Identification

12Getting StartedInstalling and Configuring the ViewFinder™ SoftwareInsert the CD containing the ViewFinder™ camera control software and copy the entir

13Memory Requirementse ViewFinder™ software requires about 20,000K bytes (about 20 MB) of memory to operate, as shown in its Get Info window.System R

14Quick Start Guide1. Connect the camera insert to the control unit Plug the male end of the insert connector into the DB-25 socket on the camera cont

153. Connect the AC power to the control unitUse only an approved power cord with a plug appropriate for the power receptacles of the region. e camer

16of the ground glass to position the viewing area correctly. e outside of the mask can be trimmed with a pair of sharp scissors for a better fit in

17a lens shade is recom-mended to reduce possible filter flare.e infrared filter can be fitted to most smaller 4x5 lenses by means of a clip-on filter hol

1812. PrescanClick the button to take a quick scan of the image. Check the prescan image to make certain that the intended image is displayed in the

19Prescanninge usual method of operating the Better Light camera centers around the tasks of prescanning the scene, adjusting parameters to achieve t

2AcknowledgementsBetter Light acknowledges and is grateful for the hard work and dedication of its employees. Additionally, Better Light acknowledges

20Fast Prescanse Fast Prescan checkbox in the main control area selects between normal prescans (unchecked), per-formed at exactly the line time and

21Cropped PrescansPrescans always scan and refresh the entire image area unless the Crop Prescan box is checked. When the Crop Prescan box is checked,

22Super View Prescansis is a feature that allows a quick scan of a prescan sized area in the image at the current resolution. is is a great feature

23Saving and Viewing PrescansAfter a prescan has been made the Save Prescan… option may be selected from the File menu. When selected, the current, a

24RulersSelecting Show Rulers from the Display menu will cause rulers to be displayed on the top and left edges of the preview image. Command-R (Contr

25Image Capture SettingsResolutionTo change the selected resolution, click the Resolution Increase or Decrease button. Each click will select the n

26fewer, effectively larger pixels. is process always samples the entire image area, does not skip lines, and thus is immune to aliasing caused by sub

27Line Timeese up/down pushbuttons select the integration time for each line in a scan, and are the digital equivalent of the shutter time. As with

28e Scan Time readout displays the overall scan time for the selected Scan Area, Resolution, and Line Time settings. e overall scan time is simply

29Exposure LockClicking on the Exposure Lock button switches the exposure lock on or off. When on , changing the Line Time will automatically chang

CAUTION! PINCH HAZARD: DO NOT OPERATE INSERT OUTSIDE CAMERA.ATTENTION! DANGER DE PINCEMENT: NE PAS EMPLOYER AVEC L’INSERTION A L’EXTERIEUR DE LA

30ScanningAfter the prescan image has been inspected and the exposure and other image characteristics have been adjusted to give the desired results (

31used for other operations while the scan continues in the background. If, during a scan to the cam-era’s disk drive, the program is exited, the scan

32 If Auto Naming is active, you can add more words, edit or replace the auto entry data by editing the entry in the filename field on the main control

33Exposure EvaluationDigital Spot Meteringe camera control software includes two types of digital spot meters. e first is a “live” spot meter that di

34Determining Relative Exposuree digital spot meter can be used to quickly measure exposure values in an image and to help determine proper exposure

35 Static Spot Meter ToolDuring exposure, color balance, and tone curve selection, the same regions in an image often need to be metered repeatedly as

36Setting the Spot Meter Sizee number of pixels used to determine spot meter readings can be selected from the Spot Meter Size popup menu above the h

37HistogramIn addition to the location-specific image information provided by the spot meter, a histogram display presents overall image expo-sure info

38against the left (zero) side of the histogram, the image is probably underexposed, and will be dark. Likewise, if a significant portion of the image

39Tool Bar Magnify Toole preview may be enlarged (“zoomed in”) by selecting the Magnify tool from the top set of buttons or by pressing and holding

4

40 Measure Tool (Mac only)e distance between two points in the preview image may be measured by selecting the Measure tool from the top set of button

41 ToneZones™ ToolSelecting the ToneZones™ tool from the top set of buttons will colorize the preview image to allow for rapid assessment of the image

42Sets of ToneZones™ may be saved, named and reused by using the popup menu below the Tone-Zones™ color bar. Once a set of zones is made, click on the

43 Crop Mask ToolWhen working with cropped areas for scanning, a crop mask may be displayed on the preview by selecting the Crop Mask tool from the t

44 When manual grid adjustment is used, the values in the grid spacing fields in the Pref-erences are automatically adjusted to reflect the manual sett

45Tab PanelsSize PanelScan Area & CroppingFor those instances not requiring the full scan area of the camera, fully variable image cropping is pro

46e crop rectangle may be locked to maintain the aspect ratio proportional to the size indicated by the Scan Area displays by clicking on the Lock Cr

47on Windows) is held down while the Insert Direction popup is selected, or if the Rotate with Image option is checked in the Preferences.Dimension se

48 Resolution is independent of the crop ratio. Once crop shape and size is set, select the reso-lution (file size) that you wish to use. However, if

49Faster Scans for Free!In many instances, the required image file size will be smaller than the maximum available from the scanning camera. In these c

5ContentsParts List ...

50Color PanelColor balance adjustments are used to neutralize unwanted color casts, and also to introduce intentional color casts for mood or effect. V

51 If a grayscale or card is not used, a white background or neutral tones of the subject itself could be used for the color balance. (It is best to

52Changing Existing Color Balances Any existing color balance setting can be altered by first selecting the setting from the Color Balance popup menu.

53Reverting to a Previous Color Balancee Revert button may be used to return to the set of color balance numbers in effect before the last Auto Balanc

54Tone PanelTonal adjustments are most often used to make changes in the overall contrast range of an image, or to make changes to the placement of mi

55also reduced, since the dominant colors are “bright”, and the secondary colors are “dark”, and this dif-ference is reduced along with the overall im

56e second method for 16 bits per color images is selected by clicking on the small button. e current tone curve will be applied to the image in 1

57 You can change the pivot point of the contrast buttons by sliding the zero position of the scale at the bottom of the tone curve. Drag the zero EV

58Limit LineOn the left side of the tone graph is a curved green line that never moves. is is the line that denotes the limit for conversion from the

59Tone Curve HistogramWhile the Tone panel is active, a histogram of the image data appears in a gray color in the tone curve graph. e shape of this

6Automatically Naming Images ...31Adding Notes to Your

60Saving Tone CurvesAfter creating or modifying a tone curve, you may wish to save the new curve; either as startup preferences, or as part of a custo

61Focus Panelis digital camera system provides an extremely accurate method of verifying correct image focus after the device has been inserted into

62Selecting a Focus Siteere are several factors to consider when select-ing locations within an image for focus verification. e focus-quality algorit

63As the focus is adjusted on a view camera, the image also changes size, and therefore moves slightly as a function of its distance from the optical

64In addition to the “waveform” graphic display, the pixel data from each line segment is analyzed by the computer, using algorithms that detect and a

65be added to the displays. All three channels may be selected for simultaneous display. As mentioned earlier, this focusing system is so accurate tha

66Image File Management and RetrievalDigital scanning cameras can easily generate gigabytes of image data in a single day. e transfer, handling, and

67e ViewFinder™ File ManagerImages stored on the digital camera’s internal disk drive can be accessed by using the camera control software’s File Man

68 If Auto Save is activated and you wish to save the files to another drive or removable media, be sure to uncheck the Auto Save box in the File Mana

69Automatically Saving Files to a FolderWhen the Automatically save scans function is activated in the Preferences, the files selected in the File Mana

7Changing Existing Color Balances ...52Deleting Color Balances ...

70Retrieving Image Filese File Manager provides a very flexible method of transferring image files from the camera disk drive to any destination folder

71Selecting the Retrieval Tone Curve (USB controller only) Images are stored on the controller’s internal hard drive in 16-bit raw mode (as though you

72Deleting Image FilesImages scanned to the camera’s internal disk drive remain on the drive until specifically deleted. is provides an extra level of

73MenusFile MenuFile Manager ⌘F (Control-F in Windows)Opens the File Manager window.Save Prescan ⌘S (Control-S in Windows)Saves the prescan image as a

74Quit ⌘Q (Control-Q in Windows) (under the ViewFinder window on Mac OS X)Closes the program.Edit MenuCut ⌘X (Mac only)Cut the selected text from the

75Display MenuInsert DirectionSelects the insert orientation, as viewed from behind the camera.ToneZones™Selects the ToneZones™ false-coloring tool.Cr

76Zoom to 100% ⌘0 (Control-Alt-0 in Windows)Zooms the preview image to 100%.Normalize Histogram ⌘N (Control-N in Windows)When selected, scales the his

77Capture ModeSelects the type of image capture:Color - a full color image is captured.Red - only the red channel is imaged.Green - only the green cha

78User PreferencesSome of the operating parameters of the camera control software can be customized for easier use, as determined by the type of imagi

79A folder may also be selected as the preferred location for saving prescans when the Save Prescan… menu option is selected from the File menu. Click

8Adding Notes to Your Pictures ...68Exporting Notes ...

80 Note that if the name for a saved prescan remains unchanged after a previous prescan with that name already being displayed in Photoshop, the new

81Gride default color and spacing of the vertical and horizontal rulings for the Grid tool can be set with the controls in the Grid area of the Prefe

82Using SoundsAt the conclusion of each prescan or final scan, a sound may be played. e Play sound when scan finishes and Play sound when prescan finish

83Time LapseIt is now possible to make time lapse sequences. Check the Time Lapse checkbox, then fill in the time in seconds between images and the tot

84Appendix ACleaning the CCD Cover GlassFirst, position the camera insert face up on a clean, stable surface. Use the Clean/Park menu option to move t

85Appendix BManipulating Exposuree Better Light digital camera system provides a very flexible set of controls for adjusting both exposure and process

86 Increasing the line time is the “cleanest” method of increasing exposure. Doubling the line time yields one EV (f-stop) of increased sensitivity,

87 e philosophy of stopping down to f/32 (or smaller) that was often done with film and strobes is not the best practice for high-resolution digital

88Appendix CLine Time SettingsSelected Line Time Actual Line Time ____________________________________ Exact 60 Hz 50 Hz1/3000 sec. 0.33 msec. 0

89Appendix DResolution Selectionsmodel 4000E-HS file size (MB)resolution pixels lines 24-bits 48-bits 100% 3750 5000 53.6 107.3 80% 3

9Appendices ...84Appe

90Super 6K-HS file size (MB)resolution pixels lines 24-bits 48-bits 150% 9000 12000 309.0 618.0 137% 8250 11000 259.6 519.3 125%

91Super 8K-HS file size (MB)resolution pixels lines 24-bits 48-bits 150% 12000 15990 549.0 1097.9 142% 11333 15101 489.6 979.3 13

92Appendix EStatus IndicatorsPowere camera controller has an LED that indicates the status of the power to the unit. is LED also indicates whether t

93Appendix FPanoramic Adaptere Better Light Pano/WideView can capture images for three types of panoramas; scene, rollout and object. Scene panoramas

94necessary to know the exact number of rotation degrees in advance. Use the rotate stage buttons at the bottom of the tab panel to position the camer

95Rollout PanoramaHardware SetupFor a rollout, the camera is fixed to a tripod and the stepper stage unit is placed on a firm, non-skid surface in such

96Object PanoramaHardware Setupe hardware is assembled just as it is for a Rollout panorama.Software OperationFor this operation, begin by selecting

97Appendix GError Messages(not to be confused with Macintosh OS error message numbers)Camera Errors“Camera reported error: Busy”e camera is busy doin

98“Camera reported error: Value Error”e camera controller returns this error when an incoming parameter value is successfully con-verted to a number,

99“ere is not enough free space on this volume to save the selected file.”is error message may be encountered when attempting to retrieve a file from