a_e_daly Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi all, I have a beginner's question. I'm thinking of starting to process my own B&W film at home. I don't plan to do serious printing at home (printer not up to the job) but if possible I'd like to be able to scan the negatives into Photoshop just to see what I've got (sort of equivalent to a contact print). I see a lot of specialised film scanners for sale, but for occasional use of this kind, could I get by just putting the negatives in my usual flatbed scanner (max. 300 dpi)? All advice gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu dall Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 www.scantips.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mag_miksch Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 from 8x10 film you get a lot with 300 DPI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 With a scanner that has a light in the lid, not just a document scanner, you can see a good representation on the computer. Can you make a quality print from the scan. Up to 8x10 from the better ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_ellis19 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 What size film? If it's 35mm and a maximum 300 ppi on your scanner I'm not sure how much detail you'll be able to see on a monitor. I've never scanned 35mm film (4x5 and 8x10 only), nor have I ever used a really inexpensive scanner so I can't speak from experience but if you're scanning 35mm at 300 ppi you're looking at a very small file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_e_daly Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Thanks for the replies, everyone. To answer a couple of your questions, it's mainly 35mm but occasionally 120 negs I'd be scanning. I'm not looking for quality large prints to come of this, just the chance to evaluate the negatives and choose which ones I'll take to print in a darkroom - so the small file size isn't necessarily a problem, provided I can get a reasonable sense of the image sharpness etc. My concern was partly whether I need special accessories for the scanner - are there any risks to the negatives of just placing them directly on the plate (making sure the glass & cover are fairly clean and dust-free)? Another really silly question - I am assuming here that what you do is scan the negs into Photoshop and then select "Invert Colours" or whatever to see the positive image. Is that right? Thanks for the help. This is all new stuff to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_e_daly Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Oops. Ignore the "invert colour" thing... I just thought it through and realised it was a REALLY silly question. Note to self, do not post before 2nd cup of coffee :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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