Film and scanner

Hello. I am considering purchasing a film camera (I do not know why). But have a couple of queries for now which I am hoping forum members will have a some answers to .

I will want the film developed so I can then scan the images to my computer device.but no prints.

Where is the best and lowest cost place to have film developed. I enquirer at jessops who quoted around $5 asda quoted around $2 seems like quiete a difference . Did they misunderstand the query.

Does anyone have experience of a fast and inexpensive scanner ,I am looking at one from 7day shop around $40 if anyone has experience with this brand.

Regards

Nadeem

It's a difficult one to answer. We usually go back to film for a specific reason, be it quality (medium format perhaps), experimentation, or some specific characteristic that we can only achieve on film.

As you don't know why you want to do it, it's tricky to advise. However, it is very unlikely you will get quality using a $40 scanner. Proper film scanning is a slow and expensive business. Likewise processing. The negative is the most vital component and if it's processed badly then all else is to little avail.

I would start off by using a service that provides processing plus a small print for reference and a scan of the negatives on CD. You will get what you pay for, so if you want high resolution scans then it won't be cheap.

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Best regards, John

If your Asda is as good as mine then £2 is money well spent for developing and scanning to CD with an index print as well. If you use the 1800 x 1200 scans to decide what you might like to scan at a higher resolution. I have an Epson 4490 and scan @ 2400 dpi to give 3400 x 2200 images (approx)

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David

I'm lazy and I got stung a few times. I found cheap processing was exactly that, cheap and generally nasty (although some people luckily still have cheap labs nearby, it is generally the exception not the rule). Hefty, an ex-member here, did recommend a good dev only lab but you'd have to dig through his old posts on here to find it.

Once I decided I liked shooting film more than digital, I also decided that one has to pay for ones quirks. I therefore get my film developed by "The Darkroom UK" or "Peak Imaging" and pay for low-resolution scans. Both provide an excellent but not cheap service. The scans are generally big enough for the web but the whole cost is painful. If I want higher resolution scans I have a Minolta Scan Dual II for 35mm or an Epson V750 Pro for medium and large format.

Best wishes, Kris.

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Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
My website

Its worth doing your own scanning, but not on a cheap scanner. Software matters as well, as there are a number of key things that are better to get right at the scan 'capture' stage rather than editing a digital file later, namely exposure, sharpness, contrast, colour temp and any grain reduction needed.

A good mid range way to go would be to try one of the Epson flatbeds - I've got the 500, with a holder for slides and negs. This is versatile for photography & document scanning also. It comes with quite good software for controlling the scan also, and built in grain and spot reduction.

Assuming you want to do this for the fun, and enjoyment of using a film camera and handling the film and all that, then it surely is worth doing it well - I can't see the point of going back to film just to do it cheaply and produce average results that a mobilephone now could probably do better.

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My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver

I would suggest looking out for a s/h Minolta Dimage.

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Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

Sadly the cost of good quality processing and my lack of space for a darkroom is why I sold my film gear. My camera was great....a Nikon FE....and I also loved using a Pentax MX. For occasional fun I'd suggest looking into medium format...and you could do worse than a Lubtel. That way you get something that's very different to what up can do with digital.

I've managed to take some very nice images with my old Lubitel 2 and my 50s Agfa Silette II. Not bad for a grand total of £12.50 worth of cameras!

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Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
My website

Thanks to all who posted .

I use a plustek 7500i with vuescan software. I scan at 3600 to 16bit TIFF

Works a treat

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[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283

$30-$60 is not a bad price for full frame camera ,film can be purchased for a reasonable price the scanner may be the most expensive purchase. I was looking at 7day shop scanner which seems to have a decent speed. Although I may just be complicating matters as I find the controls on a dslr challenging regards

Getting film processed and digitized is best to look for a local place.
I have looked at new scanners and you either get cheap(and not so cheerful) or very expensive. The Plustek is a good option, as is the Nikon Coolscan. Then again the Nikon is rare now, I should have bought one years ago.
Even now, I either rely on my HP printer/scanner which had a dedicated film scan, or pop over to a couple of places in Manchester. Actually I think one of the places I used do have a web service. Try DC Colour Labs in Didsbury.

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Some Cameras

Can recommend http://www.snapsphotoservices.com/ for a good postal service with very high res scans at a reasonable price.

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[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

The best results I've had for 'scanning' negatives was to use a light box (eBay for about £10) and a decent SLR on a tripod. Once it's set up it's quick too.

If you have a decent quality digital SLR, then buy a small light box from ebay, about £12 to £15, mount the camera on a tripod and with a bit of fiddling you will get excellent digital images. The right size UV filter laid on the negative will stop the negative curling. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty quick too. A friend digitized about 500 slides in what he described as very short order and was delighted with the results. Certainly better quality than any inexpensive scanner.