Transferring Photos onto CD/DVD Scanner

[grall1126]

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can provide me with some info before I go out and make a big purchase. My family has a load of old photos (not digital) like all families and we would like to transfer these photos either onto a cd//dvd. Currently, none of us own a scanner and my computer is the best one with a dvd drive. My mom got a quote from a shop about them transferring them over but with that price I mine as well buy a scanner myself.

Could someone possibly provide me with a solid solution about transferring the photos and what type of scanner if used would be the best one or brand and I can look at the different economic aspects of that brand.

Thanks for your help and any info is greatly appreciated.

[Big Mike]

Welcome aboard.

Many people have this exact same dilemma. It will probably be cheaper to scan them yourself, but it's not as simple as that.

First of all, are you talking about prints or actual pieces if film (negatives or slides)?
If you have prints, you will probably want a flat bed scanner. They aren't too expensive and are fairly straight forward.

If you have film, you might want to consider a film scanner. This allows you to scan the film itself. This method can give you better results than using a flatbed...but it can have drawbacks as well.

Of course, it really depends on your expectations. Do you want high-resolution files and the ability to make large prints from all the files? Or would you be happy to have them on a disc so that people could view them on a computer or maybe on a DVD player?

One big factor might be time. Film scanning especially can take a long time...and you might be tied to your computer for weeks or month, scanning and adjusting images...(that's why it's so expensive to have someone else do it).

[joconn]

First, I want to apologise for hijacking this thread. I have another topic going in this section, (Canon 4400 scanner) with a couple of good replys from Earl. Would that scanner give me decent 8X10`s? That is probably the largest I would go. I would scan maybe one roll every couple of weeks or so. I am not a high volumn shooter. My preference is b&w. The Canon is priced at $149.99 in my area.

[Big Mike]

I don't know about that scanner in particular.
Scanning film (with the adaptor) should allow you to make 8x10 prints. You may have to clean up some of the dust spots (which you enevitably get when scanning film) but it shouldn't be a problem.

As for scanning prints...I think that you could get 8x10 prints from a scanned 4x6...but the results might not be spectacular. Your post processing skills may have to play a factor as well.

[rfulmer]

My dad bought a file scanner and used it to scan all of his slides and negatives. Once he was done he resold it on eBay and actually made money on the scanner. So that might be an option as well.