Photo Scanner

dahn8

Hi all!

I have a bunch of old 4x6 photographs that I want to scan and digitize. They are mostly family snapshots from the past 20-30 years that I'd like to digitize and preserve. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of photos to go through! :help

Obviously, the easiest way to digitize them would be to send it off to a lab and get the photos scanned. However, I'm on a little bit of a money crunch right now and scanning in all those photos will cost me a small fortune!

I was hoping to buy a scanner with some sort of automator so I can scan in the photos at home (while not having to scan everything one at a time....which would be horrible). Do any of you have any recommendations on what to buy, preferably something that is reasonably priced (if they exist)?

Thanks in advance!

ziggy53

I moved this to the Digital Darkroom Gear forum where we discuss scanners and such.

Your best bet is to sort the images first, and scan just the most important images. Discard any duplicates and outtakes. Then just buckle down and do it.

You can gang scan many images at a time to split later but that (later) almost never happens.

I know you can get feeders to automate common documents but I wouldn't trust them for any serious images that you want to keep. All feeders can scuff prints or miss-feed the prints. The last thing you want is to damage or skip images only to discover the problem later.

colourbox

Some affordable flatbed scanners have software that can let you place multiple prints on the scanner and it will split them up for you, even if they are slightly rotated. If the scanner software doesn't do it, there is a little-known corner of Photoshop that can do the same thing (File/Automate/Crop and Straighten Photos).

MarkR

I have a Canon 8800f and can confirm that it can scan and crop multiple photos at a time, either through the native software or through Vuescan. (www.hamrick.com).

If you are scanning prints, you probably don't need to scan them at more than 300dpi. Actually, scanning them at higher resolution will often tend to emphasize scratches or flaws (which can have its uses if you are doing heavy editing because it is easier to make a mask when the flaws are clearer.)

If you are scanning any negatives or transparencies, make sure you get a scanner that has an infrared lamp. This is very useful for scratch and dust removal through Digital ICE (Canon's version is called FARE.) An LED lamp reduces startup time, which is a huge timesaver.

Make sure you keep your scanner bed clean, and gently blow/dust your prints before scanning them-- it's easier than photoshopping out hairs and dust later. Good luck!

Newsy

Some old threads on scanners with useful info.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=174472

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=187971

I've recently seen Epson V500's being discounted well below $200 which is the price level around which the Canon 8800F, 9000F, and Epson V600 have been hovering locally.


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