PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

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dpc
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by dpc »

cday wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 05:53 For the residual reflections you are seeing, remember that dpc has a proven method for removing those in software.
Are you referring to the post-processing step that is used to compensate for uneven lighting across the page? I'm not sure that would work very well for mitigating reflections because the reflection (glare hot spot) will cause the image to lose information on the page that can't be recreated by altering the brightness after the image has been acquired.
cday
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by cday »

dpc wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 11:21 Are you referring to the post-processing step that is used to compensate for uneven lighting across the page? I'm not sure that would work very well for mitigating reflections because the reflection (glare hot spot) will cause the image to lose information on the page that can't be recreated by altering the brightness after the image has been acquired.
I was, but not thinking in any detail about it as I'm not really familiar with your method.

Another idea: Has anyone ever considered whether using polarised light might be beneficial, if there could be a way of doing that?

I see that there are clip-on polarising filters available for smartphones now, this is a review of one model:

Aukey Clip-on Circular Polarizing Filter for Smartphones

There are evidently many models available, so something that might be worth searching for on eBay or Amazon, for example?
Vidar
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Vidar »

I will just mention that by using rather extremely slow shutter speeds, like four tenths of a second, one can get pictures using much less light
, and as a side effect, much less reflections. And perhaps combine that with a rather big aperture and rather high ISO. I'm using Canon G10 and PSRemote.
Doranwen
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Doranwen »

I wasn't ordering from eBay - but they came well ahead of when they said they were arriving, so I have the tape and second remote now. Will tackle that tomorrow, perhaps. The fabric may need to wait till another day when I can go to town. (While it may not be entirely necessary given the software method of removing reflections, it'd be handy to have something to drape across the scanner when it's not in use so it doesn't gather so much dust. A non-shiny black fabric would do double duty, then.)

As for the glare, it turns out it's reflecting off the edges of the phones themselves! That's easily solved, though - I have some more of that black non-reflective paint, and the phones shipped with flexible plastic cases. I can just spray paint those cases black on the outside (another task for tomorrow, perhaps) and snap them on, and that should eliminate the glare from those. A little black tape on wingnuts should remove those, and then all noticeable reflections should be dealt with.

One thing that might be helpful to note: A few of the books i plan on scanning will have color illustrations and I plan on preserving those, so I can't rely on "it's all going to just turn into text" because that's most definitely not the case here. In fact, only one or two books do I have any thoughts of doing OCR on. Most I plan on just having the images, so I want the images not to have bright glare/reflections in them (and while software can do a lot, I'm not sure it can get rid of super bright glare to the point of knowing what was underneath said glare).
Doranwen
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Doranwen »

After several weeks of real life intervening, black cloth was purchased and hemmed to create a backdrop to eliminate reflections from the back wall. Tonight I did a test run using a short ~50-page book, and tried out processing with ScanTailor, mostly just poking around and trying things. I don't think I've seen a guide to using it yet, though quite possibly one exists somewhere and just hasn't been well-linked anywhere I saw. So I experimented.

I found I still have a few things to sort out:

- There's STILL a line of reflection (at least, in the pictures taken with the "left" camera - aimed at the right side pages), despite the cases the cameras are in having been painted a "flat" black. I'm not sure what it's reflecting from - will have to test another day.

- My face reflects badly. I tried wearing a baseball cap, but the only one I had had a magenta bill (or whatever you call the part of a cap that sticks out front). THAT showed up in some of the pics as well. So I'm hoping if I can find a cap that's got a black bill, then I might be safe… ('Course, it might help if I tried doing the scanning sitting down so my head wasn't as high up.)

- The mounts holding the cameras grip only a little on each side of a relatively slim camera, which doesn't hold them tightly enough to prevent them from "sagging" so that the bottom of the picture appears wider than the top. I've tried and tried, but the only thing that works is physically holding the camera where I want it - and as soon as I let go, it'll start "sinking" again, meaning even if I held it the whole time (*possibly* doable with the left camera which is the worst offender) it would end up impossible to stay consistent with the angle the camera was at in relation to the book. I've taken to unscrewing it, tilting the camera at a diametrically opposed angle to the problem one, and then trying to tighten it as much as I can without feeling like I was going to break or crack something. There was some marginal improvement…

I could've lived with the pages being slightly askew, actually, but the reflections are *definitely* a problem and I'll have to scan this book again when I've solved them.
dpc
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by dpc »

It would be helpful if you posted an image containing the mystery "line reflection". My guess from looking at your previously posted photos of your partially completed scanner is that you're seeing a reflection of the gray USB cable going to that right-side camera.

Also a final picture of your scanner would be good in order to fully understand the phone camera mount problem if anything has changed since you posted your previous photo. Maybe putting a strip of double-stick tape on your phone case where the camera mount grips it would keep it from slipping/sagging?

You might want to start a post in the ScanTailor forum here asking about a User Guide. I think there was a video on YouTube showing how to use the older (DPI-based) versions of ScanTailor. I don't know if that was ever updated to support the newer versions though.

I've never heard of a facial reflection to be a problem with DIY book scanners. There must be something different about your positioning (or large platen glass size?) that's causing this. You could always get one of these and start referring to yourself the "Ninja Bookscanner". :)
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Konos93a »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wxUJFEZLI after 5 min check it with subs

use a black fabric or a paper from box between you and the light source so you don't see it.

also upload capture photos from the book you scan.

use the trick with the mirror
Doranwen
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Doranwen »

I've been swamped so couldn't update.

Latest things:

- The mystery line reflection was the edge of the cameras, which I attacked tiny strips of the nonslip drawer liner to - it did the trick. Those reflections are gone.

- I bought a longer cable for the right smartphone because every time I had to disconnect to scan and then reconnect to the computer to copy scans off, it forgot to connect via file transfer, and I had to go into the settings to do that. Now it can stay connected.

- I had to rig up black cords to loop around one corner of each smartphone and attach to something up high to hold it up right, as they sagged too much to get them to stay parallel to the glass. (That I did yesterday.)

Last night I scanned a book, and the general shape of the scans looks good (meaning they're parallel to the glass), but I found there's still a small bit of glare I need to sort out somewhere. I'm thinking possibly one of the wingnuts holding the camera mounts; I didn't spray paint those the flat black. May have to put some electrical tape on them or wrap them in tiny scraps of dark fabric or something… To test tonight when it's dark again. (I can't eliminate outside light from my room during the day.)

I'll see if I can't get a pic of the scanner with my jury-rigged cord setup for keeping the smartphones parallel to the platen. Had to look up how to tie some knots, so I have a figure-of-eight loop creating the loops that go around the smartphones, and a couple half hitches in tandem on each side attaching the other end to a stick up high.
dpc
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by dpc »

Had to look up how to tie some knots, so I have a figure-of-eight loop creating the loops that go around the smartphones, and a couple half hitches in tandem on each side attaching the other end to a stick up high.

LOL. I've been a member of these forums for 10 years and while there are a number of different technical disciplines required to design a DIY bookscanner (optics, mechanics, electronics, software, ergonomics, etc.), I don't recall ever reading of a builder needing to acquire the skills of tying knots. Dr. Seuss had it right - "Oh, the Places You'll Go!", even when building a bookscanner!

Please do post a photo of your completed scanner. This cable routing sounds intriguing and a photo would be beneficial And it might be helpful, after having completed your build, if you posted a paragraph or two looking back and describing what you would have done differently.
Doranwen
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Re: PVC pipe scanner with 100 degree platen

Post by Doranwen »

I'd intended to reply last summer, but I was frantically trying to prep for school, and then teaching kept me SUPER busy this year. I finally have some time to deal with loose ends, and can respond regarding the final product.

I've attached a picture of the scanner as complete. The black cloth behind works great to block reflections from the walls, and while the white metal bar (I'm not sure what it's from, some long bracket-like thing we had lying around) looks like it would reflect, it's actually just far enough back on the middle shelf that it doesn't (it keeps the cloth from billowing out over and blocking the light). It's very precarious but as long as no one else messes with things, it works. The blue cloth you see is the dust protection so the platen doesn't get covered with dust when I'm not using it. (It's obviously whisked away when I go to use it.)

I've still got some issues with post-processing, but that's a matter for a different thread entirely, as it's not something to do with how the scanner was set up.

As far as what I'd have done differently, well, if I had more space (oh how I wish), I would've had it designed proper with the arms and cameras like they normally are so it can lift off a lot easier. (My brother had to do a lot of compromises to get it to fit the little spot I had and still be able to scan large books like I needed.) The platen does not lift very high so the page has to be turned with the platen somewhat in the way. It works, but it's not fast the way some of the best ones are.
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