Buy scanner or send out old negs to be scanned?

I'm using digital now, and have no intention of ever shooting more

film, but I have a few dozen rolls worth of 35mm color negative strips

from some years ago that I would like to convert to bits. What are

the tradeoffs involved in finding someone else to scan it vs buying a

scanner myself, and what type of scanner would be appropriate for

this? I have a flatbed that's ok for scanning prints but probably not

so good for negs. This is mostly ISO 400, shot with a cheap consumer

zoom, if that makes a difference to the quality of scan I should seek.

 

From an earlier posting on this forum I found a reference to

http://www.dirtcheapscans.com/ which offers $5/strip scanning (with

various charges for add-on services). I'm guessing that if I scanned

all my old film at that rate, it would be at least $1000 -- at that

rate I could buy a good scanner myself, and be more selective about

what I scan, but it seems a shame to do so for a one-time use.

If you're going to spend more than $300 in having the film scanned, I'd suggest a Canon FS2710 or Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II. Both of which can be had for usually $300 max.

 

Since you are saying you'll be scanning enough film to go up to almost $1000, a scanner with dust removal would be convenient. Minolta has a Dimage Scan Elite II for about $650 to $670 with ICE. If you want 4000 dpi the Canon FS4000 is a sure bet.

<blockquote><i>If you're going to spend more than $300 in having the film scanned, I'd suggest a Canon FS2710 or Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II. Both of which can be had for usually $300 max.</i></blockquote>

 

<p>Thanks. I wasn't intending to spend $1000 on having the film scanned, that was just my estimate of how much it would cost. $300 for a scanner sounds much more reasonable.</p>

If it's ISO400 from a mediocre zoom, then a scanner beyond 2700 dpi is probably overkill, and scaners in this range are only about US$300 or less if you hunt around, I think. But then there's the cost of your time to not only do the scanning, but to learn how to do it *properly* (and this is not trivial)..

 

What about asking your local 1-hour lab about Kodak PhotoCD or equivalent services? The quality may only be sufficient for up to 7x5 prints, so it all depends on what your expectations are, I guess.

 

You might even just consider getting them printed as 6x4's then scanning on pretty well any flatbed..

 

mt

Good point. What film are you scanning and what condition is it in? You may or may not need 4000 dpi. Your need for 4000 dpi will also depend on what you're outputting to or how you intend to use it in the long run. A 2700-2900 dpi scanner will also need half the storage space on your hard drive per scan that a 4000dpi scanner will demand. That alone might be important to you. If you scan at 16 bit, a 4000 dpi scan is about 120-130 mb. An 8bit at the same resolution is in the 60-65 range usually. So for the same bit depths at the lower resolution you can fit twice as many images.

 

If one of the older scanner models like the Canon and Minolta I mentioned is suitable, then keep the scanner around. Who knows when you'll need it. If you end up buying a nicer scanner it might be worth your while to look in to what you'd get selling it. Some go for fairly good prices as long as nothing stupid has been done to them.

If you only have color negs. (as you seem to imply), a relatively cheap scanner would do. Slides and B&W negs are more demanding and could require one of the 4000 dpi scanners available to non-pro. If you have mostly color negs. and a few slides, you could still get the 'cheap' scanner and have the slides processed by a lab.

One point worth making is that if you buy a scanner, then you will be able to correct for colour casts and underexposure at the scanning stage, rather than in Photoshop. This will give you significantly better results. You will need a film sanner. 2700 DPI is good. 4000 dpi does not get all of the detail from Kodachrome 64 though it comes close. Assuming a sharp picture taken with a good lens and no vibration of course.

It primarily depends on the amount of effort you are willing to make.

 

It sounds like these are snapshot quality images. I'd just have someone scan them for you at 1500 to 2900 dpi and put them on CDs. Otherwise, you have to buy a scanner + software, learn how to use it all, spend hours scanning the film, then when it's all over you sell the scanner and no longer use the knowledge you gained from the experience.

 

And when it comes to price, remember that you will have to spend many hours setting up and scanning the film. If you spend a mere 15 minutes per frame, it will take 72 hours to scan in 12 rolls of 24 neg's. With a cheap scanner, you'll probably have to spend even more time than that with each one. Granted you can be more chosey and spend time on the better shots.

Could always consider getting the scanner and then hitting ebay to sell it used.