Scanning Negatives

hammer73

I have a stack of old negatives that i want to scan and was looking for some advise.

Is a flat bed scanner thats capable of scanning negatives up to the job, and if so what models do you recommend.

If its not up to the job whats the best way of scanning them in.

Thanks

AnCatDubh

I'm glad you asked this question as I was getting around to it myself. While I can't help you with your question (there should be many that do), can I add a question to the forum -

what is the process when you've scanned your negative and have a tiff or jpeg???

DaireQuinlan

OP wise, this has been discussed quite often. The most recent thread from yesterday or the day before has has links to a bunch of other threads on the subject. Its also impossible to suggest anything without firstly some notion of what you want to do with the scans (web/small prints/gallery size prints etc etc) and secondly what your price range is. It would also be useful to know whether they're mostly slide or print.
In short though, for most uses the mid range to expensive flatbeds do a reasonable job. For big prints or archival work, or for getting the most out of transparency film, a dedicated film scanner is probably the best bet.

Simplicius

I agree with what Daragh said ..........

DaireQuinlan

AnCatDubh wrote: »

what is the process when you've scanned your negative and have a tiff or jpeg???

I use vuescan for all my scanning. I batch scan initially to 16 bit 4 channel raw. This is a similar deal to dslr raws, its the uncorrected data from the scanner. The 4th channel is the IR channel for dust removal (ICE). These files are typically around 150mb in size.
when thats done for the roll the scans get another run through vuescan. This time I'll apply whatever IR dust removal is appropriate, crop to the frame, discard all the total loser shots, and do a rough levels. If they're negatives vuescan inverts them and compensates for the magenta mask.
THEN they get loaded up into PS where I do proper colour balancing and some levels if neccessary. Thats where I leave most of them. Sometimes I'll use a gradient map or something to selectively dodge or burn some large bit of the image, but thats about the most sophisticated thing that ever happens to any of my shots.

AnCatDubh

^^^^^^^^ Wow!

Many thanks.

hammer73

its old film that i want to scan in so i can have to look through the images on the computer and will print out the better ones, nothing bigger than 5x7.

budget is around 150 euro

cnocbui

5x7 rules dedicated film scanners out then as they are usually 'quite' expensive.

I think your only option is to look for a Epson 4870 flatbed on ebay given your budget and the large negative size requirement.

The 4870 will do larger negs than any currently available scanners that I have seen.

CabanSail

I think 5x7 is the Print Size rather than the Neg Size.

DaireQuinlan

cnocbui wrote: »

5x7 rules dedicated film scanners out then as they are usually 'quite' expensive.

I think your only option is to look for a Epson 4870 flatbed on ebay given your budget and the large negative size requirement.

The 4870 will do larger negs than any currently available scanners that I have seen.

I think the OP is suggesting that he'll print them out no bigger than 5x7, as opposed to the negatives being 5x7 :-)

hammer73

yes, 5x7 is the print size. all the negatives i have are 35mm

Simplicius

I have an Epson 750 Pro, great machine. I do none of that convoluted stuff like digital ICE, colour shift and all, it's there but that would entail reading the manual. It autoscans for me, I select the DPI to my requirements and patience and sometimes have to select the negs from the film as it doesn't auto indentify the edges ( this is mainly with older 120 cameras where frame overlap can occur)

The Light Exchange Studio in rathmines, have one of these machines in Rathmines and you could rent time on it from them ..dunno how much/hour but at least that way you'd get a feel for the whole process.

Freddie59

I got THIS as a birthday present. In the middle of moving house so haven't got to use it yet. But from reading on here it's one of the best.

DaireQuinlan

Freddie59 wrote: »

I got THIS as a birthday present. In the middle of moving house so haven't got to use it yet. But from reading on here it's one of the best.

Yeah, for the price and for what the OP was looking for, that or the earlier 8600 are probably the best bet. I have an 8600 for doing 120 (medium format) film. It suffers a bit on dense slides, and I wouldn't use it for 35mm because I have a coolscan, but it's probably the best bang for the buck. Next up would be the epson 700/750's that everyone seems quite enthusiastic about, but they're probably out of the price range.

hammer73

what about the canon 5600, the next model below the 8800? is this up to the job or will the scan quality suffer by going for the cheaper model.

Mr. Grieves

I'm not certain, but I think the difference between those two is just the film size - the 8800 can do medium format as well as 35mm. Same max dpi I'd imagine.