NAME
sane-coolscan2 - SANE backend for Nikon Coolscan film scanners
DESCRIPTION
The sane-coolscan2 library implements a SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy)
backend that provides access to Nikon Coolscan film scanners. Some
functions of this backend should be considered beta-quality software.
Most functions have been stable for a long time, but of course new
development can not and will not function properly from the very first
day. Please report any strange behaviour to the maintainer of the
backend.
At present, the following scanners are known to work with this backend:
Model: Connection Type
--------------------------- -------------------
LS-30 (Coolscan III) SCSI
LS-2000 SCSI
LS-40 ED (Coolscan IV) USB
LS-4000 ED IEEE 1394
LS-8000 ED IEEE 1394
Please send mail to the backend author (andras@users.sourceforge.net)
to report successes or failures.
OPTIONS
The options the backend supports can either be selected through command
line options to programs like scanimage or through GUI elements in
xscanimage or xsane.
Valid command line options and their syntax can be listed by using
scanimage --help -d coolscan2:<interface>:<device>
where <interface> and <device> specify the device in question, as in
the configuration file (see next section). The -d parameter and its
argument can be omitted to obtain information on the first scanner
identified. Use the command
scanimage -L
to list all devices recognized by your SANE installation.
The options should be fully described by the description or tooltips
given by frontend. Here is a description of some of the most important
options, in the syntax with which they must be supplied to scanimage:
--frame <n>
This option specifies which frame to operate on, if a motorized
film strip feeder or APS adapter are used. The frame number <n>
ranges from 1 to the number of frames available, which is sensed
each time the backend is initialized (usually each time you
start the frontend).
--subframe <x>
This option shifts the scan window by the specified amount
(default unit is mm).
--infrared=yes/no
If set to "yes", the scanner will read the infrared channel,
thus allowing defect removal in software. The infrared image is
read during a second scan, with no options altered. The backend
must not be restarted between the scans. If you use scanimage,
perform a batch scan with batch-count=2 to obtain the IR
information.
--depth <n>
Here <n> can either be 8 or the maximum number of bits supported
by the scanner (10, 12, or 14). It specifies whether or not the
scanner reduces the scanned data to 8 bits before sending it to
the backend. If 8 bits are used, some information and thus image
quality is lost, but the amount of data is smaller compared to
higher depths. Also, many imaging programs and image formats
cannot handle depths greater than 8 bits.
--autofocus
Perform autofocus operation. Unless otherwise specified by the
other options ( --focus-on-centre and friends), focusing is
performed on the centre of the selected scan area.
--ae-wb
--ae Perform a pre-scan to calculate exposure values automatically.
--ae-wb will maintain the white balance, while --ae will adjust
each channel separately.
--exposure
Multiply all exposure times with this value. This allows
exposure correction without modifying white balance.
--load Load the next slide when using the slide loader.
--eject
Eject the film strip or mounted slide when using the slide
loader.
--reset
Reset scanner. The scanner will perform the same action as when
power is turned on: it will eject the film strip and calibrate
itself. Use this whenever the scanner refuses to load a film
strip properly, as a result of which --eject does not work.
CONFIGURATION FILE
The configuration file /etc/sane.d/coolscan2.conf specifies the
device(s) that the backend will use. Owing to the nature of the
supported connection types SCSI, USB, and IEEE 1394, the default
configuration file supplied with the SANE distribution should work
without being edited.
Each line in the configuration file is either of the following, where
all entries are case-sensitive:
blank or starting with a # character
These lines are ignored, thus ’#’ can be used to include
comments.
containing only the word "auto"
This instructs the backend to probe for a scanner by scanning
the buses for devices with know identifiers. This is the action
taken when no configuration file is present.
a line of the form <interface>:<device>
Here <interface> can be one of "scsi" or "usb", and <device> is
the device file of the scanner. Note that IEEE 1394 devices are
handled by the SBP-2 module in the kernel and appear to SANE as
SCSI devices.
FILES
/usr/lib/sane/libsane-coolscan2.a
The static library implementing this backend.
/usr/lib/sane/libsane-coolscan2.so
The shared library implementing this backend (present on systems
that support dynamic loading).
/etc/sane.d/coolscan2.conf
Configuration file for this backend, read each time the backend
is initialized.
ENVIRONMENT
SANE_DEBUG_COOLSCAN2
If the library was compiled with debug support enabled, this
environment variable controls the debug level for this backend.
E.g., a value of 128 requests all debug output to be printed.
Smaller levels reduce verbosity.
SEE ALSO
sane-scsi(5), sane-usb(5), scanimage(1), xscanimage(1), xsane(1)
BUGS
Currently, the SANE protocol does not allow automatically updating
options whenever the hardware changes. Thus the number of choices for
the --frame option will be fixed when the backend is initialized
(usually when the user runs the frontend). In particular, if there is
no film strip in the automatic film strip feeder when the backend is
initialized, the frame option will not appear at all. Also, restarting
the frontend after swapping film adapters is strongly recommended.
Linux kernels prior to 2.4.19 had a patch that truncated INQUIRY data
from IEEE 1394 scanners to 36 bytes, discarding vital information about
the scanner. The IEEE 1394 models therefore only work with 2.4.19 or
later.
No real bugs currently known, please report any to the backend
maintainer or the SANE developers’ email list.
AUTHORS
The backend is written and maintained by András Major
(andras@users.sourceforge.net).
11 Jul 2008 sane-coolscan2(5)