Interestingly... on looking closer at the "restored" version, he is now sipping his tea with his right hand, as are his daughters, but he is smoking with his left hand.
This idea is similar to how some MIDI controllers work where the state is indicated by an array of lights around the knob, and the knob is an encoder which rotates endlessly. A popular and cheap example https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0B3M
This makes it possible, for instance, to map knobs to adjustment controls in Lightroom and have the knob "change" instantly as you move between photos that have different adjustments applied.
The 5400 is a really great scanner. Vuescan is a bit odd to get used to but it opens so much control and the possibility to scan color negatives using the “advanced workflow” where you lock the orange mask film base compensation values across a roll (or a batch of rolls). I much prefer to use Vuescan over the original software which assesses every exposure on its own and doesn’t let you control very much.
Vuescan also supports creating and using custom input profiles if you have an IT8 target as either a slide or a reflective object that you photograph (documentation claims that this won’t work but I found it to be an improvement - essentially profiling the combo of the unique characteristics of the sensor and a certain film type and some variability from lab conditions)
The hardware on the 5400 is about as good as it gets for scanning 35mm unless you get into Imacon territory. Doing comparisons between the 5400 and an Imacon 848, I’ve never been very convinced the 5400 is missing out on much. The one weak spot with the 5400 in my opinion is the film holder’s inability to perfectly keep a curly negative flat at the ends of the strip, a problem that the Imacon gracefully and completely solves with its curved film path. On the 5400 back-rolling stubborn negatives before scanning at full resolution usually does the trick.
Vuescan will also let you save raw versions with an optional separate layer for the IR channel which can be used to handle motivation. I like the idea of capturing as much data as possible with the ability to process as you wish later.
Ed Hamrick has always been responsive and helpful if I have contacted him about something. A few years ago I realized I had been using Vuescan happily and consistently for 15 years for only a single payment of less than $100 and bought a second for the heck of it.
An entertaining (if not extreme) take on this general topic is the “Vagrant Holiday” series of videos.
I appreciate his dedication to ultra minimalist travelling without any of the hype that is usually involved. Nothing about expensive gear, just actually not needing much.
https://community.metabrainz.org/t/best-way-to-rip-pre-gap-t...