negative scanner

[johnny_smoke]

so i've been getting some negatives scanned and man is it expensive. i figure i should just

buy one. this isn't to print them, it more to send to folks and that. does anyone know of a

decent scanner?

 

thanks.

[tim_bradshaw1]

MF scanners are not cheap in my experience. I've seen only two at prices which don't make me quake with fear:

 

In the UK, Morgan computers are selling the Minolta Dimage scan multi (or Multi II) for somewhere around 599 (pounds). In fact, I just checked, and they have the older one (same resolution but less features I think) for 299 ex vat which is very good. Probably not useful if you are in the US though. They also need SCSI.

 

You can also get Epson flatbed scanners which do medium format, and are pretty cheap - the Epson perfection 4180 looks really pretty affordable. These, I guess, are lower quality (although there are some siugnificantly more expensive ones in the range which look really quite good).

 

If anyone knows of any other options, I'd be interested to know - I suspect I will end up getting one of the Epson things at some point.

[joe_miller2]

I have the Epson 4870 flatbed and it does a pretty good job considering the price. A newer version (4990?) is just out and the major difference seems to be its speed. There is a list devoted to the 4870. For more information go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/epson4870

[cosmo_genovese]

Here's what I do because the MF scanners are so out-of-reach: I had a local frame shop cut windows slightly larger than 6x6 and 6x7 in separate 4-ply black mat boards. Then, I place the negatives I want to "scan" on a light box and frame them with the mat board. Using a 6-MP digital camera (Casio EX-P600) on a copy stand, I photograph the negative either as a 6-MP jpeg or 14-MP TIFF file. I download the negatives to my computer and then invert the negatives in Photoshop Elements, crop them, manipulate them, etc. All in all, a very acceptable remedy since there are never that many negatives to scan anyway. Give it a whirl. You don't necessarily need a 6-MP digital camera; a 3- or 4-MP camera would suffice.

[dave_cheng1]

From time to time on eBay there are Minolta Dimage Multi and Minolta

Dimage Multi-ii for sale for around $300 - $500. These are MF film

scanners you will not regret for getting it at this price level.

 

Although it will only give your 6x7 scan to 8x10 300 dpi print size

that's pleanty of resolution for you to print to 16x20 (if you have

a printer that can print at that size). If you print at 8x10 you

will be very happy for the print quality it produces.

 

These scanners are very reliable, well built and quality wise very

consistent. They use CCFL light source which has a 50% brightness

lifespan of 500,000 hours. If you use it a few hours a day everyday

365 days a year it will take 10 years to lose half of its brightness.

In reality you would probably use it of a total of 100 hours a year.

 

In the worst case if you decide to toss it you can still sell it

back to eBay for almost no loss. It's the way to go you won't regret it.<div></div>

[sheremey]

I am considering Dimage Scan Multi as well. I am fed up with flatbed scanners! Epson 4870 was my hope but frankly, I cannot get the same amount of information from 6x7 slide with it which I easily got from 35 mm slide using dedicated film scanner @2820 dpi!!! Even after multistep application of unsharp mask. This is unacceptable. 1100+ dpi of Dimage Scan Multi, I am sure, will give more information in the final file than so called 4800 dpi of flatbeds.