Film Negative Scanner - Recommendations


AndrewA

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 18:49
Hi all, am looking for a film negative scanner and am after some recommendations please?

Thanks,
Andrew

"I'm here because the whiskey is free" - Tyla

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matwhittington

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:09
I use an Epson perfection V600, and I think it is excellent.

Cheers
Mat W

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szgabor

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:37
It depends on that where would you like to use the scanned pictures. The OpticFilm series of the Plustek is the best in the resolution (7200dpi/48bit), it's perfect for print. But it isn't too cheap.
Regards,
Gábor
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Mannesty

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:59
Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV and Vuescan are what I use.

If you can find a used one at a reasonable price, go for it. but make sure you get both the neg and slide carriers.

They are a bit long in the tooth now, but it's still a good dedicated scanner.
Peter E Smith

My flickr Photostream
Last Edited by Mannesty on 01/01/2013 - 20:00

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duncanM

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 20:28
Mannesty wrote:
Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV .. a bit long in the tooth now...

I have had an even older (mark 2) version for several years, and fully agree that, despite being relatively old, they remain among the best available, apart from the Nikon alternative.
Mine runs on an old XP computer- I have not tried installing it on a more modern computer and wonder whether the drivers will have been updated to suit later operating systems
Last Edited by duncanM on 01/01/2013 - 20:28

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wasleys

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 21:12
For serious work something like one of the Dimage Scan Duals (I have the II and it's good but the process is slow). If there's a problem with old drivers VueScan will probably provide an answer.

For less critical work I have been surprised by how good my Epson Perfection V600 Photo is.

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giofi

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:04
AndrewA wrote:
Hi all, am looking for a film negative scanner and am after some recommendations please?

Thanks,

Hi Andrew,

How much will you using the scanner and how many negatives will you be scanning? Budget?

The Nikon coolscan V is very highly regarded, only available used and still pricey because of the demand. That is what I would go for if you want top quality and have a lot of negatives to scan,
Giorgio

Pentax Photo Gallery

giofi

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:06
duncanM wrote:
Mannesty wrote:
Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV .. a bit long in the tooth now...

I have had an even older (mark 2) version for several years, and fully agree that, despite being relatively old, they remain among the best available, apart from the Nikon alternative.
Mine runs on an old XP computer- I have not tried installing it on a more modern computer and wonder whether the drivers will have been updated to suit later operating systems

Old drivers are often a problem (also with the Nikon), but you can use Vuescan which can work with old scanners with excellent results.
Giorgio

Pentax Photo Gallery

Mannesty

Link Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:57
giofi wrote:
duncanM wrote:
Quote:
Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV .. a bit long in the tooth now...

I have had an even older (mark 2) version for several years, and fully agree that, despite being relatively old, they remain among the best available, apart from the Nikon alternative.
Mine runs on an old XP computer- I have not tried installing it on a more modern computer and wonder whether the drivers will have been updated to suit later operating systems

Old drivers are often a problem (also with the Nikon), but you can use Vuescan which can work with old scanners with excellent results.

I totally agree. I use mine with Vuescan (Hamrick Software Vuescan Driver version 1.0.0.1 dated 2009)on a Windows 7 64 bit OS system with no problems.
Peter E Smith

My flickr Photostream

Jonathan-Mac

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 08:12
I have a V500 and it performs well enough, medium format (645) scans come out much better than 35mm. The software is not very intuitive and has some bugs though.

You haven't specified what format of film you'll be scanning?

I understand that if you want good resolution you'll need a dedicated film scanner, not a flatbed. So that depends on what you're going to use the output for.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses

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AndrewA

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 14:53
I haven't really got a budget, any money will need to be eeked out of the man-drawer sales so to speak!

I have statred re-using my ME Super (an hopefully will soon have a Spotmatic) so want to just get my films developed so I can scan them and then process my shots myself.

I think I would also like to start scaning my parents slide collection for them too.
Andrew

"I'm here because the whiskey is free" - Tyla

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Mal

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 14:59
AndrewA wrote:
I haven't really got a budget, any money will need to be eeked out of the man-drawer sales so to speak!

I have statred re-using my ME Super (an hopefully will soon have a Spotmatic) so want to just get my films developed so I can scan them and then process my shots myself.

I think I would also like to start scaning my parents slide collection for them too.

Until you get the cash together for something to do a proper job , why not try using your camera , not tried it myself but Ive seen people getting pretty good results http://www.petapixel.com/2012/05/18/how-to-scan-film-negatives-with-a-dslr/
Last Edited by Mal on 02/01/2013 - 15:00

aliengrove

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 19:25
I was looking for a scanner until I read an interesting article about photographing negatives using a 1:1 macro lens, taking several shots (6 or more for a 120 negative) and combining them as a panorama. Not tried it yet but will be as soon as I have made a decent light-table.
Flurble

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Last Edited by aliengrove on 02/01/2013 - 19:26

Mannesty

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 22:25
aliengrove wrote:
... taking several shots (6 or more for a 120 negative) and combining them as a panorama.

That has got to be an extremely impractical method for dealing with many hundreds, in my case thousands, of negatives.
Peter E Smith

My flickr Photostream

cabstar

Link Posted 02/01/2013 - 23:30
For 35mm negatives why not just get them scanned at a local photo shop? Won't cost much as all they do is feed them into their huge printer and then put them on a cd. A lot better than doing it yourself. Not sure about slides though...
PPG Wedding photography Flickr
Concert photography

Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released
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