Negative scanning help Please

Roadkill

I’ve delved into the prospect of digitizing all of my B/W stuff (negatives) from 1978-86 ish…. And quickly discovered that it is not as cheap as I thought it might be. For quality its was like .39 and up each to send them out.

So I’m thinking… buy a scanner, but I’m not sure really what I need and trying to keep both arms and legs. I read about possible copy rigs for the lens/camera as well.

I have 1000’s if I did them all, so I may need to pick and choose through them.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Wil Davis

I'm gradually scanning all my B&W 35mm negs (taken from early 1970s to late 1990s). All the film (both colour & B&W) posted in my SmugMug galleries were all scanned in using a Nikon Super CoolScan 4000 ED. I scanned them using PhotoShop (with the appropriate plug-in) and Digital ICE³ (dust/scratch removal) at 4000dpi.

There are some threads around dealing with how to digitize B&W negs; I think Ziggy made a rig using a slide copier and he uses a flash-gun for illumination.

…ah, here's the thread!

Good Luck!

- Wil

ziggy53

Wil Davis wrote:

... There are some threads around dealing with how to digitize B&W negs; I think Ziggy made a rig using a slide copier and he uses a flash-gun for illumination.

…ah, here's the thread!

Good Luck!

- Wil

My rig works best for slides and I never finished the construction of a "changer" which would have made it somewhat practical.

In 2008 I purchased an Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner which is a flatbed scanner that includes a transparency/negative capability up to medium format. It also has Digital ICE and the quality is certainly enough for sorting/selection and snapshot sized prints to around 5" x 7" prints.

Scanning speed is quite good compared to the Minolta Scan Dual IV that I also have.

A remarkable value at around $200USD or so.

The V700 and V750M are also available with more capabilities and (reportedly) higher scan quality, but considerably higher cost.

The Canon CanoScan 8800F Color Film/Negative/Photo Scanner also gets good reviews and is rated at slightly higher capture resolution than the Epson V500. It has Canon's FARE Level 3 technology which is similar to Digital ICE in reducing dust and scratches. It's also a little less expensive than the Epson V500.

Roadkill

Thanks for the replies..

Ziggy I saw that set up you have... very interesting indeed.

I am leaning towards the canoscan 8800F because it will batch scan. My only concern is the resolution, 4800x9600 at 48 bit, I would like to go as large as 16x20 on some of my stuff and I don't know what the limits are.

ziggy53

A 16" x 20" is pushing it from 35mm film. Some subjects look great while others are not so good. An 8" x 10/12" is about as much as I regularly recommend from scans of 35mm originals and those have to be very good originals.

Typically, a 35mm scan will look no better than a 5-6 MPix digital image. If you have truly exquisite stuff then you might consider having those scanned via a wet scan process, preferably a drum scanner. It's pricey but gets you the best results.

Scanning resolution has less impact than image resolution, but at least B&W images tend to have better potential for detail. The problem with B&W (IMO) is capturing all of the available dynamic range of the original. You may find that multiple scans are required for capturing the best highlights and best shadows, to be combined later in software.

Wicked_Dark

I've been happy with my Nikon Coolscan IV for a while now. Yes, there is some loss, but the tools that ship w/the software can help ameliorate a lot of it. Digital Ice is a great help with color negs, but b&w is another story.

Dan7312

Do you have some references for scanning services?

Thanks,
Dan

ziggy53 wrote:

A 16" x 20" is pushing it from 35mm film......uring the best highlights and best shadows, to be combined later in software.

Simo70

I was considering to buy a scanner as well and I bought the Epson Perfection 3170. The result wasn't great so I decided to use a scanning service. I have used ScanCafe (http://www.scancafe.com/), they offer great service, pretty good price, and also provide pro-scanning (TIFF @ 4000dpi) using the Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED. I did scan lots of my slides and BW negatives with them and I am happy with the result.
The down side is that it can take few months before you get back your negative and DVD.

Roadkill

Simo70 wrote:

I was considering to buy a scanner as well and I bought the Epson Perfection 3170. The result wasn't great so I decided to use a scanning service. I have used ScanCafe (http://www.scancafe.com/), they offer great service, pretty good price, and also provide pro-scanning (TIFF @ 4000dpi) using the Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED. I did scan lots of my slides and BW negatives with them and I am happy with the result.
The down side is that it can take few months before you get back your negative and DVD.

I talked with them and even with a discount it would be crazy expensive if I did them all. Justifying the expense if a decent scanner and some time.

Simo70

Roadkill wrote:

I talked with them and even with a discount it would be crazy expensive if I did them all. Justifying the expense if a decent scanner and some time.

Time was an issue for me. I would have taken forever to scan my slides and negative, thus I decided to use them. What you get back is ready to go, but I hear you, if you have many photos it can cost you a fortune and you can invest on buying a good scanner. Good Luck.

colourbox

Simo70 wrote:

Time was an issue for me. I would have taken forever to scan my slides and negative, thus I decided to use them. What you get back is ready to go, but I hear you, if you have many photos it can cost you a fortune and you can invest on buying a good scanner. Good Luck.

This is so true and often not accounted for in the "cost" analysis. If you have a film archive of any significant size, and you multiply the time to get a good scan times the number of frames you are thinking of scanning, you usually find yourself facing a span of time that would remove a fair chunk of your total waking hours (like weeks or even months out of your life) if you were to try and complete the project within a year or two.

Roadkill

True and understandable if I were to look at it from a business point of view. But when funds are limited, time is not. I will probably give them a go for a few strips and just see how it goes.

promoguy

Scanning a multitude of negatives and slides became a subject on a BBQ Forum of all places that I subscribe to. Someone today mentioned photosolve.com. I've sent a couple of emails back and forth and may try what he offers. Good email communications with the owner of the site.