negative scanners

[Pitbullgrin]

I have several thousand negatives and i want to scan them so i can organize my images and see what i have again. Any ideas on what scanner to get? About 95% are 35mm some are medium format and few are slides. Price range is flex. but not much more than $500, give of take a lil. Also what kind of software do i need as well. I want to print some of them so i guess i want most of my money for the scanner to go to good rendering! Help anyone

 

[Sim]

The problem with regular scanners that you can buy to scan negatives is they make scanning a very time consuming process. If this is a one-time job, one option worth considering is going to your local photography shop and seeing if they rent pro photo scanners... something like this: http://vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoScanners/214846/nikon-super-coolscan-9000-ed.aspx

For $100, you could be done in no time.

 

[djacobox372]

If you're going to scan THAT many negatives, stay away from the hand fed dedicated 35mm scanners.

The epson v700 will allow you to scan 24 negatives at a time. It gets a bad rap from many because they don't understand how important it is to calibrate the negative carrier height--once you have it dialed in it produces excellent results.

 

[Pitbullgrin]

Thanks for the responses.
I guess my main concern is quality. If i cant get good quality within my price range then i need to think about putting more money into the scanner :/

The flat bed scanner that can scan 24 neg's at once - is it as good for the price? I assume that some of the price is for the quantity of neg's being done vs the quality they scan? No?

 

[soylentgreen]

I use the Nikon Coolscan 5000 for my film scans. It is pricey, but worth it IMO. I was able to save quite a bit of old film that I thought was toast. It is on the high-end of slide/negative scanners; but produces excellent results. For 120, you are better off going to specialty shop that can scan them in at high res without compression. Many print shops can scan 120, but usually at a JPEG compression.

 

[lomomagix]

I'll be getting the Epson V500 simply because I can't afford the V700 (and more so the V750). It can scan 35mm and 120 films. However, I don't have the problem of having to scan thousands of slides/negatives since I just came back to film (from a five-year affair with digital) two months ago and I only have a few rolls to scan (the hundreds of rolls I had in the past, sadly, I was not able to bring to the US when I migrated a few years ago).

BTW, does anybody know if I can make the V500 scan 4x5 film by using a fabricated film holder for that size? Or is the size of the scanning field for negs/transparencies limited to 120 by the scanning software or some other hardware limitations? Not that I'm shooting 4x5 now, I'm just thinking of the possibilities in the future.

 

[djacobox372]

You can't scan 4x5 with the V500... that's the only difference between it an the v700--the maximum width of the scan. Quality-wise the v500 and v700 are identical. Just make sure you dial in your scanning height just right.. the negative holders have adjustable feet which can raise and lower the holder by a couple of milimeters, each scanner is a little different--mine actually scanned sharper when I raised it all the way AND put three layers of masking tape on the feet to raise it a bit more.

Also, before buying take a good look at your negatives... unless their nice and flat you may not get the results you desire.

I imagine you could scan 4x5 film directly on the scanning bed in two passes and then stitch them together.

 

[Pitbullgrin]

Ok so i got
Feed scanners vs flat bed scanners.
Time is really not a factor for me, although i got a lot of negs to scan. If i have a limited budget i'd rather spend the money on scanning quality vs ease of being able to scan more at once.

See the problem is i stopped shooting a couple of years ago and i have so many good negs in boxes. I want to be able to look at them and evaluate whether i want to print some again for personal use and/or get some money with them from a stock agency or show them. Which by the way will be another question for another day.
The thought of having someone else do it crossed my mind but got shot down quickly because im sure most of you feel the same way-i dont want someone screwing around with my negs. Not to mention i'd put more TLC in doing it.
I dont know. Im going to look at the prices of the suggestions you guys and/or gals have given me. Oh yeah thank you again for your time and advice.

 

[Pitbullgrin]

Plustek Technology Inc. OpticFilm 7500i AI Film Scanner
or
Epson Perfection V700 Photo Flatbed Scanner

Both are in the low end of my price range (around $550). Anyone got any comments about these choices. I know ppl have been talking about the second one but how bout the first?

 

[Helen B]

There's also the Microtek M1 and M1 Pro. I have an M1 Pro, along with a variety of other scanners, and I have used the V-700. For scanning old film I'd recommend the V-700 because of the inclusion of ICE, but for film in good condition I'd recommend the M1. The M1 has a slightly higher true resolution than the V-700, and a glassless film holder. Where the M1 is sold as the F1 the story is different, because the F1 has a better feature set than the M1. I can explain more if you wish.

Have you seen this review of the Plustek: link. It looks like it is very good value for the money if you only need to scan 35 mm film, and you can handle the file sizes that result from aiming for the best resolution: "In order to receive the maximum effective resolution of our measured 3500 dpi, one must scan with the highest resolution of 7200 dpi."

Best,
Helen

 

[usayit]

I purchased the V700 a while back and I've been happy. The only thing that I don't like are the negative holders. A bit difficult to use and flimsy. I do believe there is a company that makes high quality film holders for the V700 but I have yet to justify the cost.

My first impressions of the unit were posted here:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62119

 

[lomomagix]

You can't scan 4x5 with the V500... that's the only difference between it an the v700--the maximum width of the scan. Quality-wise the v500 and v700 are identical. Just make sure you dial in your scanning height just right.. the negative holders have adjustable feet which can raise and lower the holder by a couple of milimeters, each scanner is a little different--mine actually scanned sharper when I raised it all the way AND put three layers of masking tape on the feet to raise it a bit more.

Also, before buying take a good look at your negatives... unless their nice and flat you may not get the results you desire.

I imagine you could scan 4x5 film directly on the scanning bed in two passes and then stitch them together.

Interesting! Would it be possible to scan the 4x5 directly on the scanning bed and not have a problem with the scanning height as you said?

 

[tsaraleksi]

If you are determined to get these images scanned then more power to you, but I want to emphasize just how long it takes to scan an individual neg on a dedicated scanner (in my case the Nikon cool scan IV). Each neg is probably anywhere from 2-5 minutes from start to finish. In your case I would suggest investigation into hiring the job out, I have no idea how much it will cost but it might be worth considering for the sake of your sanity.

 

[usayit]

I agree... scanning does take a bit of time. If this is a one time only scanning, you might be better looking towards some service to do the scanning for you.

In my case, I scan as I shoot film... so the hassle is no more than spending time in the darkroom.

 

[Tasos]

I have several hundred negatives that are about 2"x2", of photos taken in the early 1940's, I think from a fold out Kodak Camera (along with other newer 35mm negatives etc). Can someone please steer me toward a good quality negative scanner I can use with the 2" negatives. I cant locate anything on line, for sale, that will accommodate them. Seems it would have to be some kind of 'adjustable' scanner.