Film to digital - recommendations

herion

Hi all,

I'm about 85% of the way to pure digital, but there are times/events/reasons when I still use my Elan 7E. Can anyone recommend a service that will develop film and transfer it (240-300 dpi or better) to CD or DVD?


Thanks!

mercphoto

herion wrote:

I'm about 85% of the way to pure digital, but there are times/events/reasons when I still use my Elan 7E. Can anyone recommend a service that will develop film and transfer it (240-300 dpi or better) to CD or DVD?

I beleive Wolf Camera will do this, but I admit I don't know at what resolution they do it. Oh, and by the way, 300 dpi scans of 35mm film is AWFUL. Think about it... a negative is approximately 1.5 by 1 inches. At 300 dpi that results in a scan that is only 450 by 300 pixels. You want AT LEAST a 2,000 dpi scan. That gets you approximately 6 million pixels total.

Also, any high end camers store should also be able to do this. Here in Austin, Precision Camera offers that service. They offer pricing at three resolutions. The higher the resolution the scan, the more expensive it is. Hi-res scans, done properly, take some time to do. I have a friend with a Nikon 35mm slide scanner that can do over 3000 dpi. A hi-res scan from that takes minutes per slide and multiple passes.

BigAl

herion wrote:

Hi all,

I'm about 85% of the way to pure digital, but there are times/events/reasons when I still use my Elan 7E. Can anyone recommend a service that will develop film and transfer it (240-300 dpi or better) to CD or DVD?


Thanks!

Can't offer you advice on service providers, but suggest you look into getting your own scanner if you do a fair amount of film photography. Nikon and Minolta make good film scanners, and the top-end Epson flatbeds do very reasonable scans of film. At least you have control over all parameters if you do it yourself. I've never been impressed with in-store scans.

hth

regards
alan

Higgmeister

Hi Herion,
Doing it yourself is the best bet as Alan mentioned. It does take time, but for quality, time is required. I use a Canon Canoscan 4000us, but I guess they no longer make them. I last saw one for around US$500. It works great and can scan up to 4000dpi in 48 seconds. You might want to look around for a used one or get one of the Minolta's. It's like working in RAW, complete control over the scan (digital imaging). Well worth it if you have a lot of film and slides.
And as Bill mentioned, if you have a service do this, then go for a minimum of 2000dpi. I just had some 120 scanned and it cost me $25 for medium res with 12 photos. Not very cost efficient.

Just my .02,
Chris