Advice please - I want to scan photographic negatives.

[james]

I have a lot of negatives from taking pictures with a 35mm SLR camera over the years. I would like to scan them (and maybe some prints where I can't find the negatives).

Can anyone advise on what to look for in a scanner and/or maybe suggest some suitable models. Not sure how much I need to spen to get decent results.

I am thinking of something to attach to a Windows computer rather than a stand-alone model.

Thanks.

[hudo]

Seems there are plenty of scanners on Amazon, starting from 60£ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGITNOW-Resol ... B01HZQZLXW), you can always order one, try it, and if scan quality is really bad, ask for a refund?

[Adrian]

All depends on how many is a lot of negatives? 300, 800, 2500+?

I think Conns Cameras in Dublin offer scanning of negatives to CD, their website might list prices.

But if you are going to do it yourself then a starting point might be an Epson V series scanner. Negatives would be clean and mounted into a tray.

It’s a rather time consuming & boring process. High res scans can take a lot of time, dust control programs can also slow down the entire process.

However if you are prepared to dedicate 1hour / night for a year you can get through the batch. Perhaps get some listening in as well!

Negatives can be prescanned, and software can manipulate the image so that it’s not back to front / upside down etc.

Investing in a good scanner is recommended and it can also be used for other documents etc.

[Fran]

Some things to be aware of:

1. What expectation do you have for the scans - do you want archive quality scans, or just lower resolution ones that preserve the pics for the future?
2. Colour or B&W?
3. How much time can you dedicate to it?
4. How many have you go to do?


Reason I pose those questions - if you just want a quick scan that you can share with family etc, and dust specs, or colour being off a bit doesn't matter.... well that's a very different proposition to the cleaning, dust free, dust removal process you might need to get to archival level.

If you buy a cheap scanner from Amazon etc, then its one at a time at low resolution - fine for snaps etc. and of course lower money. If you buy a higher end machine (epson V750, v850 etc) and generally they have holders that can scan a whole roll at a time. They will also have a backing plate to allow you to scan prints as well. I had a V450 for a while, but it didn't quite suit what I wanted (large format negs) , and ended up buying an older (but better I think) Epson 4990. I'd say have a look around on german ebay to see if you can get a secondhand one of those. There are a few on ebay in the USA, and the cheapest way to get one of those over here would be via addresspal.

They are older now, so there is a little bit of faffing around to get the software to run on Windows 10 etc, but it does work.

[Ivor]

What kept ye Fran!

[james]

Thanks Fran.
Will investigate

[james]

Naim website discussion about this ..

[url] https://community.naimaudio.com/t/digit ... s/32079/11
/url]

[james]

https://community.naimaudio.com/t/sc ... des/1154

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