Scanning question

Nikolai

I have a simple flatbed HP ScanJet 5300C scanner.

My wife found some old color negatives and wanted to scan and enhance them.

I put them into the scanner, cranked up the resolution up to its max 1200 dpi, set it up for color pictures (the only other option was grayscale), but simply ended up with a few almost totally black rectangles (they were all individual frames). :cry

Is there anything I can do differently with this setup, or am I s.o.l.? :dunno

How do you scan your color negs? :scratch

TIA!

DavidTO

Nik,

Here's my understanding.

Flatbed scanners often come with slide/negative carriers for scanning transparencies.

But flatbed scanners are the wrong tool for the job. It's like using a kitchen knife as a screwdriver. It'll work sometimes, but never as it should. Might be OK for the occasional "My wife asked me...," but that's about it.

A dedicated slide/negative scanner is really what's needed for the job.

Nikolai

David,

DavidTO wrote:

Nik,

Here's my understanding.

Flatbed scanners often come with slide/negative carriers for scanning transparencies.

But flatbed scanners are the wrong tool for the job. It's like using a kitchen knife as a screwdriver. It'll work sometimes, but never as it should. Might be OK for the occasional "My wife asked me...," but that's about it.

A dedicated slide/negative scanner is really what's needed for the job.

Thanks!

After some more googling I figured out that I *am* s.o.l., at least fo now :cry
Need either special scanner or at least special light source.
Maybe I figure some DIY thing...

Cheers!

digismile

Scanners that scan negatives/transparencies essentially have to have a light source to shine through, rather than reflect off the item being scanned. My Microtek scanner does this.

I considered a dedicated Nikon slide/negative scanner. As David said, they certainly do a better job than a flatbed scanner. In the end, for me, I couldn't cost justify the purchase for the few pictures I had to scan. My scanner did a good enough job for what I needed.

If the pictures are important enough, there is probably a service bureau you could use, but again, it won't be cheap ...

What I can tell you is that to get a good scan, the negatives/slides need to be almost pristine. A good scanner can pick up all kinds of dust and scratches that your eye doesn't initially see.

Jane B.

Mine too happens to be a Microtek (a ScanMaker V6USL — one of the first USB ones Microtek made) and as an extra cost accessory a film/slide adapter was available. The adapter was just over $40.00 by the time they got shipping and sales tax added back in 1999. It has been great for casual use but not pro quality volume production.
Jane

colourbox

Nikolai wrote:

I have a simple flatbed HP ScanJet 5300C scanner...I put them into the scanner, cranked up the resolution up to its max 1200 dpi, set it up for color pictures (the only other option was grayscale), but simply ended up with a few almost totally black rectangles (they were all individual frames). :cry ...How do you scan your color negs?

I have a Nikon Coolscan, only because I'm trying to scan hundreds of rolls so it's worth it per frame. The scans are beautiful.

I looked at a spec sheet for that HP flatbed and it doesn't look like it has film capability, nothing to shine the light though from the back of the film.

But don't count flatbeds out. If you need acceptable quality for home use, the reputation of flatbeds that are designed to scan film is getting better all the time. A flatbed may not be the best choice, but it is no longer a bad choice. Check out this review of an Epson scanner costing under $200.

claudermilk

That 4990 is supposed to be a very good budget option. Then they have the V700/750 which is supposed to be even better at about $500. From there you're into dedicated film scanners at over $1000. Some of us don't have the budget for the dedicated film scanners & these Epsons are filling the gap. I've gotten decent results out of an old, borrowed 2450 (?) Epson on my first Mamiya shots. Just printed one at 20x30 & it looks great.

So, in a nutshell, don't believe those guys who keep with the "only a drum scanner or Nikon 9000 will work" mantra. They must have very deep pockets & better/pickier eyes than me.

Nikolai

Thanks guys!
Appreciate the feedback, info and advices!

keechi

Nikon Coolscan
[FONT=&quot]

colourbox wrote:

I have a Nikon Coolscan, only because I'm trying to scan hundreds of rolls so it's worth it per frame. The scans are beautiful.

For years I've used a Nikon LS-30 - now this pony won't ride for me anymore (either a drive or mechanical issue) and I must consider something new. My old Coolscan was 35mm dedicated - and I'm looking for something that can handle my 120 and 4x5 negs and slides. Anyone got suggestions?[/FONT]

Keechi

colourbox

keechi wrote:

[FONT=&quot]
For years I've used a Nikon LS-30 - now this pony won't ride for me anymore (either a drive or mechanical issue) and I must consider something new. My old Coolscan was 35mm dedicated - and I'm looking for something that can handle my 120 and 4x5 negs and slides. Anyone got suggestions?[/FONT]

Well, the linked review in my post that you quoted is for an Epson flatbed that does 35mm, 120, medium format, and large format with decent results. If you want a film-only scanner that supports bigger film I think you're talking about the Super Coolscan 9000 ($$$$) and it goes up from there. But some people who are fanatical about quality will decide that if they're going to throw down that much money they might as well pass the Nikon and head straight for an Imacon. So it kind of depends on what you want to spend.

dlscott56

Nik,

My HP flatbed scanner came with a slide adapter that looks like this :



Not the greatest results but it works ok. Images then need some adjusting in your editing software to clean them up. Not the best solution, but it will scan slides/negatives on your flatbed.

You can pick one up on Ebay here :
Adaptor on Ebay

dlscott56

dlscott56 wrote:

Not the best solution, but it will scan slides/negatives on your flatbed.

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if it will scan negatives. It does work for slides though.

LiquidAir

dlscott56 wrote:

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if it will scan negatives. It does work for slides though.

My understanding is that getting scanned negatives converted to positives is tricky and best done with specialized softward. I have a Coolscan 4000 and the supplied software does a reasonable job of converting. All of my scans have color casts and look flat out of the box require significant post in Photoshop before they look good.

pathfinder

Nik,

Converting color negatives to digital scans requires some information about the negative base that the color negative is on - as that has to be subtracted digitally from the image - otherwise you will get an orange or a purplish colored scan.

www.hamrick.com sells VueScan which is pretty good scanning software which does include the ability to scan color negatives as well as B&W and transparencies. It includes the color informaton about the many varieties of color negatives.

I have used it with Epson and HP flat bed scanners that are capable of scanning transparencies.

VueScan is not machine dependent, but can drive many flat bed and film scanners. I use it to run my CoolScan IV and my Epson V700 as well.