Negative film scanners

[doga_d]

<p>Rather than paying for get my negatives printed out, I thought it would be much more economical. So, started to looking for negative scanners. Most of them are around 40-60 dollars. And almost all of those price range has 5mp resolution. I'm not familiar with those devices at all. So, is 5 mp enough ? What do you think ? I'm not a kind of person looking for too much MP but not sure if 5 mp is enough to be satisfied ?<br>

Also is there any product you may suggest ?</p>

[ronhartman]

<p>I'm not familiar with scanner resolution being measured in mp. It's usually dpi, such as 3600 dpi.</p>

<p>I have the Plustex 7600i, which does a good job. Scans of 35mm film are 40-50 mp. Price range is $300+. I doubt that you would get a quality scan with a $60 scanner. Maybe okay for web/email use.</p>

[SCL]

<p>New negative scanners worth their salt for 35mm aren't produced any more and haven't been for some time. Prices on used ones have therefore been driven up, so it is a tough time to get your hands on a good 35mm film scanner which both works and is reasonably priced. Generally you will have to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a good scanner. Some people have reported success with flat bed scanners which have transparency units for 35mm film, but I think most have been pretty disappointed with the results. I tried a popular one a couple of months ago, and it really fell far short of expectations. One thought for you, particularly if you are only putting your shots on your computer or the web for viewing, is rather than have your shots printed out, have your photofinisher scan them to a CD for you. Some will give you a choice of scanning resolution, although most drug store based chains, these days, only produce a relative low res scan, but it is ok for setting up a catalog of shots on your pc, or for some web sites, depending on the subject matter.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Minolta Dual IV -- nice little unit with manual override on the focus, 16 bit color depth, and quite a bit of resolution. It's also pretty inexpensive on the used market. I really like mine.</p>

[pbalko]

<blockquote>

<p>New negative scanners worth their salt for 35mm aren't produced any more and haven't been for some time.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Thanks for the tip Stephen. I was close to pushing the button on a new Plustek. Can you provide a little detail on why it's "not worth its salt?" Thanks.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>Maybe he's referring to the fact that the big photo companies like Nikon and Minolta don't make film scanners anymore, or even support them. I have a Nikon Coolscan and I've had to go to Vuescan (bless them) in order to keep using it with modern computers. Maybe he doesn't think companies who aren't dedicated to photography can produce great machines. I'd love to know how good that plustek is.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Most of the purported "film scanners" since the demise of the higher end ones have played to big hype, but haven't delivered the goods to many film afficianados; I haven't seen the latest Plustek in action, so I can't specifically comment on it specifically, although if it is only going for $60, I would have serious doubts about its 35mm film capabilities, perhaps better for 120 or larger sizes, I don't know. I too have had to shift to Vuescan (which I like much better than Silverfast or the Epson software packaged with my scanners) in order to use my film scanners with my somewhat more modern (5 yr old) computer. You might check around the web a bit to see how actual users of the new Plustek rate its performance for a wide range of 35mm negatives and transparencies....it may suit your needs.</p>

[ronhartman]

<p>I don't know where some people get the idea that the current Plustec film scanners don't do a good job. The output of the 7600i is close to that of the Nikon Coolscan V I used to own, and better then the Epson V700 flatbed scanner I also have now.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>I think the OP might be referring to those "takes a crappy picture" type scanners. <br>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/FS9000-Digital-Negative-Slides-Scanner/dp/B0062RW8I2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_52">http://www.amazon.com/FS9000-Digital-Negative-Slides-Scanner/dp/B0062RW8I2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_52</a></p>

<p>If so, you'll be much better off with any flatbed scanner with an adapter. </p>

[mattb1]

Depends on what you want to do, but any scanning is expensive in terms of time. The better the scanner the less time in

the digital darkroom.

 

List what you want to do besides save money. Do you want to print? How big? Do you want web only?

[chrisnielsen]

<blockquote>

<p> Most of them are around 40-60 dollars. And almost all of those price range has 5mp resolution</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

Those are awful, they are basically a digital camera that shoots your neg. I have not heard good things about them</p>

[jeff_brown6]

<p>I own the Dimage Multi Scanner Pro that I have not used since I went digital back when Minolta died and I had to switch to Canon when my Maxxum 9 was stolen along with all lenses. <br>

I have lost the 35mm tray and slide tray. I reall want to rescan old negatives (lost everything in a crash - learned my lesson).<br>

I would like to buy the trays from someone who may have a on working Scan Multi Pro.</p>