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Thread ID: 121200 2011-10-15 22:44:00 Film/Negative Scanning maccrazy (6741) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1237795 2011-10-15 22:44:00 Hi guys,

I've recently organized all of my digital photos and now want to get all the old ones on film into my library as well. I've got a scanner that has a negative/slide capability, but was thinking it might be worthwhile to have them professionally scanned. I came across two companies with a quick Google search:

http://www.filmscan.co.nz/
http://www.photofresh.co.nz/

Has anyone used either, or have any other recommendations?

Thanks! :cool:
maccrazy (6741)
1237796 2011-10-15 23:24:00 What are films and negatives? Are they those plastic strips I saw in the museum? :P

Seriously, what resolutions is your negative scanner capable of and how does that compare to the professional service - taking into account price of course.
Disco_Dan (16576)
1237797 2011-10-16 04:07:00 I originally scanned slides and negatives at 4000 dpi but after a few hundred dropped down to 2000 dpi because there wasn't enough (or any?) information in the extra pixels BBCmicro (15761)
1237798 2011-10-16 06:21:00 comes down to how much you value your time. I have a flatbed scanner $700 and a Nikon dedicated rrp $2000. yeah real 4000 dpi on that. But what you going to do with it? Print a3 or just store on hard drive? Note that 4000 dpi picture takes 50mb or 100mb 16 or 32 bit. Most commercial places probably scan in auto with anti dust feature turned on which does robb some sharpness. they probably won't edit the pictures one by one. many labs charge a hourly photoshop fee for that. You'll also might see the odd speckle of dust, picture not so straight and that the auto detection may crop more of the frame. Nomad (952)
1237799 2011-10-16 07:59:00 Why not get one or two of your slides done professionally scanned and then take them home and compare them with yours to see if it is worth while having them done.
:)
Trev (427)
1237800 2011-10-16 18:32:00 I know that some of the Canon standalone scanners can scan negatives and slides, cant remember the exact models but im sure it would be easy to find out. nedkelly (9059)
1237801 2011-10-16 20:42:00 I know that some of the Canon standalone scanners can scan negatives and slides, cant remember the exact models but im sure it would be easy to find out.

The Canon 9000 series has that capability.

I have a huge number of old negatives and slides that I want to archive digitally so I bought a 9000F (one or two steps down from their 'top of the line' model) and although I haven't started on the slides etc yet, I am mightily impressed by the scan speed and quality on documents and incidental photos. My decision to buy Canon (and the 9000F) was based primarily on the professional reviews, but also because they have a history in cameras/optics.

I have also had great service from Canon printers.

Cheers

Billy 8-{)
Billy T (70)
1237802 2011-10-16 23:25:00 Interesting. A friend of mine wants to scan his father's glass plate negatives so he can share them digitally around the family. The Epsom scanner he has is clever but only takes slides and 35mm negatives. He's scanned a few by doing the scan in two parts and then stitching together in Photoshop - but that takes a lot of time and mucking around.

Any suggestions?
Winston001 (3612)
1237803 2011-10-16 23:36:00 reasonable quality and speed can be achieved by projecting the slides and the re photographing with a digital camera on a tripod, a friend did this and I was surprised at how good the results were gary67 (56)
1237804 2011-10-17 01:10:00 You could just scan the plates under a lightbox with a camera lens . . . .

With the scanners, there are higher models that can do larger sizes and even 4x5" or 8x10" like a Epson V700 .
Nomad (952)
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