Negative conversion

B

bad Bob

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Name
Bob
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I have a large number of old negatives of various sizes.
I would like to digitise them.
I have a printer with a scanner.
What is the best way to achieve this?

E.g.
Use scanner and negative inversion software.
Buy a negative scanner.

Or

Some other method.

Can anyone recommend method, equipment and approximate cost?

Thanks
 
A one off job I'd send them off, get a quote first as negatice scans more expensive than print scans and time is money

If you go the DIY route then any epson scanner 4490, 700 series, 800 series that can handle all the neg sizes you have, you can always re sell it after you are done
 
Standard office type scanners don't work with negatives. If you have digital camera and macro lens you could use that
 
BTW, welcome to TalkPhotography, have a look around, there is plenty to enjoy and learn on here
 
acrobatic_Citron said:
A one off job I'd send them off, get a quote first as negatice scans more expensive than print scans and time is money

If you go the DIY route then any epson scanner 4490, 700 series, 800 series that can handle all the neg sizes you have, you can always re sell it after you are done
Click to expand...
I had a quote for over £300.
Do these scanners have the ability to produce a file with a print rather than a negative?
 
bad Bob said:
I had a quote for over £300.
Do these scanners have the ability to produce a file with a print rather than a negative?
Click to expand...
Yeah this flatbed scanners can do prints and negatives, I picked up a 4490 for £50 on ebay which does prints, 35 and 120, the 4990 does 5x4 if I rememeber correctly. This does a great job of back ups and preservation for my use, You can always spend more for something better quality - depends how you will view them in the future

Its very very time consuming though, £300 isnt terrible for a one off, think about how much youd want to be paid an hr to do it and how long itll take
 
Ha
acrobatic_Citron said:
Yeah this flatbed scanners can do prints and negatives, I picked up a 4490 for £50 on ebay which does prints, 35 and 120, the 4990 does 5x4 if I rememeber correctly. This does a great job of back ups and preservation for my use, You can always spend more for something better quality - depends how you will view them in the future

Its very very time consuming though, £300 isnt terrible for a one off, think about how much youd want to be paid an hr to do it and how long itll take
Click to expand...
I was really looking for a scanner which will process a number of negatives at a time.
 
bad Bob said:
Ha

I was really looking for a scanner which will process a number of negatives at a time.
Click to expand...
Sorry if I wasnt clear, the epsons will do this, they come with scanning masks that hold 4-6 negs at a time
 
I think you can get apps for your smartphone now. Quality will be less than stellar, but very cheap (if you have a smartphone!) and if, as David mentions, you can get a quick workflow going.

If you're doing it for web display (F-book, Insta etc) or printing small, it should be fine.

Edit to add a link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/filmbox-by-photomyne/id1495155880 Not tried it, but seems straightforward.
 
I'm in the same boat - a suitcase full of older 35mm prints, negatives and even a cardboard box of boxes of slides somewhere in the attic :)

I've been looking on the Net for solutions and found many crazy devices and phone apps, but it's challenging to know which is best. I read the reviews, but often find too much negativity (no pun intended) to part with my cash.

I tried an app or two that digitises a print. These are just about reasonable (my print originals aren't that good).
 
Just thought I'd throw this in as I was so proud of it...

From 2010:

4913712132_9081b5e9e3.jpg

Standard 50mm prime with a 20mm extension tube. A normal toilet roll inner puts the perfect distance between lens & subject. Just need to improve on the neg carrier which is pants in anyone's eyes. If it goes on a tripod, you could probably rattle through neg strips quite quickly. Slides would need a bit of jiggery pokery. Always assuming you have a digital camera and an appropriate lens though.

Downside is the need to batch process all the files to reverse them which will depend on what you have available.
 
I have an Epson Perfection V600 Photo, which is an affordable flatbed scanner with film scanning capacity. It comes with two film holders which are placed over the bed and then in software you make the proper settings for the type of film, resolution, etc., and scan. I have had very good results with the free Epson software, but there is also dedicated 3rd party scanning software available that is compatible. The holders will take two 35 mm strips of up 6 frames each, or medium format up to 4 frames. The software is easy to learn and includes color and tonal adjustments to get a good basic scan which can then be touched up in your photo editing program.
 
Has anyone tried putting the negatives on a light box and taking a picture with a Mobile 'phone?
 
The Big Film Scanner thread might be helpful...

www.talkphotography.co.uk

A big film scanner thread

Version 1.1 We don’t seem to have a resource on film scanners, so I thought I’d give one a go. Comments, suggestion, improvements welcome. 1 Introduction A “scanner” is a device that will convert your film photographs into digital form. There are two main approaches: the traditional scanner...
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk

(IF you find anything wrong or some useful new info, please do post on there!)
 
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