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Film Negative Scanner - Recommendations

AndrewA
Posted 01/01/2013 - 18:49 Link
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
Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:09 - Helpful Comment Link
I use an Epson perfection V600, and I think it is excellent.

Cheers
Mat W

My Flickr: link
szgabor
Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:37 - Helpful Comment Link
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
My website
Mannesty
Posted 01/01/2013 - 19:59 - Helpful Comment Link
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 - flickr Photostream
Edited by Mannesty: 01/01/2013 - 20:00
duncanM
Posted 01/01/2013 - 20:28 - Helpful Comment Link
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
Edited by duncanM: 01/01/2013 - 20:28
wasleys
Posted 01/01/2013 - 21:12 - Helpful Comment Link
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.
giofi
Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:04 Link
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,
giofi
Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:06 Link
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.
Mannesty
Posted 01/01/2013 - 22:57 Link
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 - flickr Photostream
Jonathan-Mac
Posted 02/01/2013 - 08:12 - Helpful Comment Link
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
AndrewA
Posted 02/01/2013 - 14:53 Link
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

PPG link
Flickr link
Mal
Posted 02/01/2013 - 14:59 Link
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/
Edited by Mal: 02/01/2013 - 15:00
aliengrove
Posted 02/01/2013 - 19:25 Link
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.
Edited by aliengrove: 02/01/2013 - 19:26
Mannesty
Posted 02/01/2013 - 22:25 Link
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 - flickr Photostream
cabstar
Posted 02/01/2013 - 23:30 Link
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...
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Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released

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