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  #1  
Old 08-30-2007, 07:41 AM
Pete Geither's Avatar
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Need advice on buying scanner

I have, literally, tons of old pictures, slides, and negatives I want to scan and convert to digital this winter. Can anyone guide me as to the best scanner I should get for a quality transition ? I would probably be willing to spend in the neighborhood of $800 to $1000. Or am I being naieve, and it will take a LOT more than that. Any imput will be greatly appreciated.

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  #2  
Old 08-30-2007, 10:41 AM
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Scanner

You will most likely spend 150.00 for one that does negatives
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  #3  
Old 08-30-2007, 10:55 AM
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Pete, the Nikon Coolscan V will do 35mm slides and negs. It comes with some nice software to get rid of scratches, dust, and other unwanted stuff. I believe it will also apply some color correction, too. You have to hand-feed it, but it works well. It costs somewhere in the nighborhood of $550-$600. There's also a more automated version the CoolScan 5000. It has an automated slide feeder as an accessory and runs about $1800 plus the feeder.

There are some flatbed scanners which do a decent job on film as well as scanning prints.

Mistress has one of these scanners. Since she actually uses it, she could tell you more than I can. I just sell them.
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Old 08-31-2007, 12:11 AM
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You would have to be clear of what kind of scanner you are looking for.
A flatbed document scanner with negative attachment or a film scanner which are mostly drum scanners.

If you really want to get into film scanning, which can be considered a semi pro operation you'd have to spend from $500 upward for a new instrument. Minolta has good products, there used to be one for $400 or so, working well for negatives on a home use level.

Keep in mind a film scanner will not scan paper documents.

My recommendation, if you just want to use it for archiving and/or converting images into digital data and save it on the computer or CD/DVD ROM, slideshow etc. a flatbed scanner will do it for prints.

Scan your foto prints. If you have negatives for which you don't have a print, get one and scan the print.

I am still working with a HP scanjet, which I bought several years ago for $50 on clearance. It works like a charm.

Here is a USPS stamp I recently scanned:
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Need advice on buying scanner-rightwing-eagle.jpg  
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  #5  
Old 08-31-2007, 05:32 AM
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I for some reason, maybe incorrect, that to get the very best images, you had to copy from a negative or slide. But I also want to be able to scan prints. I have also heard that the smaller negatives are VERY hard to scan on most machines, since they have a curve to them and they have to be perfectly flat to scan correctly. There are tons of variables out there I guess.
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  #6  
Old 08-31-2007, 05:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Geither View Post
I for some reason, maybe incorrect, that to get the very best images, you had to copy from a negative or slide. But I also want to be able to scan prints. I have also heard that the smaller negatives are VERY hard to scan on most machines, since they have a curve to them and they have to be perfectly flat to scan correctly. There are tons of variables out there I guess.
It is correct, to get the best image quality, you will have to scan the negative or slide directly.
Some flatbed scanners deliver fair quality. The issue is the orange masking on negatives and neg/pos conversion. In order to handle these a film scanner is required.

Scanning prints on a flatbed results usually in better quality than scanning a negative on a flatbed scanner, but I may not be on top of the latest technologies.

Now, the quality downfall from scanning a print is visible, some detail may get lost in either the bright areas or the dark areas of the image. Yet, you would have to have a skilled eye.
Further you would want to put your investment/return relation into satisfying proprotion.
For home use archiving, family albums the quality standard of a flatbed scanner is usually enough.
I know a number of 'low budget' photo freaks here in the surfer community who even publish scanned prints. The shot is what counts.

If you intent to pursue semi pro photography on negative or reversal material and like to convert it into digital data you may wish for a film scanner. Just be aware that most film scanners produce large image files in MegaBite dimensions, meaning you'd have to have a very spacious hard drive on your computer or maybe an external hard drive or move those image files directly onto DVD ROMs.

Arizona Highways Magazine is known to only accept original images submitted on film, they then go to great lengths in digital processesing and printing.

http://www.arizonahighways.com/page.cfm?name=Photo_&nav=photo



Ps. You may also want to engage in a forum similar to this, finding plenty of expertise at: www.photo.net
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Last edited by LaRondo; 08-31-2007 at 06:27 AM.
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  #7  
Old 08-31-2007, 07:12 AM
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Instead of buying a scanner go to a drug store like Longs, they will put them all on a CD for an obscenely low price... I can't remember how much it cost my dad but it was probably under 20 bucks for god knows how many hundreds of pictures.

Or who knows, maybe after that, they raised the prices!
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  #8  
Old 08-31-2007, 07:33 AM
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Lottsa food for thought. Thanks for the replys !
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  #9  
Old 08-31-2007, 09:57 AM
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Hope you don't get indigestion . . . .

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