ldmelsa
Executive Member
Hope you know where the winners are!
http://www.nikoncoolpix.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Film-Scanners/index.page
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Negative and slide scanning
- Thread starter ldmelsa
- Start date
Hope you know where the winners are!
http://www.nikoncoolpix.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Film-Scanners/index.page
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
Hope you know where the winners are!
http://www.nikoncoolpix.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Film-Scanners/index.page
I would love one of those, but damn, the price! I can buy some nice glass for that kind of money...
ldmelsa
Executive Member
just send it to a good lab
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
I did start looking into scanning some slides recently, which was one of the reasons why I've gone over tto Linux. I have an old Epson Filmscan 200 which is SCSI based. The only SCSI card I have is ISA, so had to use an old PC to drive it. XP doesn't work too wonderfully well with ISA devices, and Windows 98 breaks too easily, hence Linux. I even went and bought Vuescan to drive the scanner. However, I've canned that project until I can get a decent scanner (the Filmscan 200 is only 1200x1200dpiHope you know where the winners are!
http://www.nikoncoolpix.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Film-Scanners/index.page
) and of course time to haul out the lightbox or the projector to select those worth scanning. From those that I have scanned, I'm not too impressed with the quality of my film efforts:Birds
Animals
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
What's Vuescan like for doing film? I have heard nothing but good things about it. Bought it for my Canon 4400F in the hopes that I might get better output (Canon's software really sucks) but it wouldn't pick up the scanner, despite being listed as "supported."
My dad had an idea. He has an old slide copier - you know the type that you put on the camera instead of the lens. I thought that's a pretty elegant solution, but this was before I actually tried to scan an image and saw all the dust/scratches that show, and before we knew that DSLRs have smaller sensors
Vuescan is pretty good for film, the only problem is there are so many options that you need to know about to get it right. It does work with the 4400F under XP. My neighbour has one, and I ran a test on it with Vuescan (from a flash disk nogal - just patched the registry with my particulars) to compare results from my Filmscan 200. The 4400F's results looked much better because of the higher resolution.What's Vuescan like for doing film? I have heard nothing but good things about it. Bought it for my Canon 4400F in the hopes that I might get better output (Canon's software really sucks) but it wouldn't pick up the scanner, despite being listed as "supported."
[edit]If you have a legal copy of Vuescan, Ed Hamrick is *very* good with support.[/edit]
Those copiers can work, you just need a lens that will pick up the whole frame with distorting the image. You also need a very consistent light source to make it work.My dad had an idea. He has an old slide copier - you know the type that you put on the camera instead of the lens. I thought that's a pretty elegant solution, but this was before I actually tried to scan an image and saw all the dust/scratches that show, and before we knew that DSLRs have smaller sensors
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koffiejunkie
Executive Member
This is one I did just for a test:
Took the picture with the K1000 with ordinary Kodak 200 ISO colour negative film. In fact, this was the first roll, just to see if the camera works. I scanned this over and over with every possible combination of options. After seeing how the scan came out, I took the negative back to have it printed - thought the camera was busted.
Well he's got all the bits - used to make copies of slides like that. But I imagine you need a full frame body to not lose half the image? I haven't worked with this thing myself, so my understanding is a bit limited. He spent a great deal of time in lesser traveled parts of the world, and has wonderful pictures on slides that I think he might just be able to make some money off. Hence my interest in a decent film scanner. My own film collection doesn't justify it. Most were taken with cheap point&shoots and is entirely of sentimental value.
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
@ldmelsa: now you know why I'm not exactly enthusiastic about sharing my film pictures yet.
All I can say is that negative is unbelievably dirty
[snip pic]
Took the picture with the K1000 with ordinary Kodak 200 ISO colour negative film. In fact, this was the first roll, just to see if the camera works. I scanned this over and over with every possible combination of options. After seeing how the scan came out, I took the negative back to have it printed - thought the camera was busted.
Seriously though, there are all kinds of settings for the choice of negative film (not too many for slide). Did you try those too?
WRT cleaning, I normally use a blower (or canned air such as Dust Off) to get rid of the loose bits. I know some guys wash their slides/negatives before scanning (however, be careful with that as the stuffies in the water can make a bigger mess when it dries).
You should be ok with a crop sensor, providing you can get a lens which can capture the whole frame (my reason for the comment on distortion - you will need a widish lens).
I think we have well and truly derailed this thread
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
All I can say is that negative is unbelievably dirty
I did try blowing it - seems it's scratched rather. I think I have to find a more professional place to develop my films. Or just take the plunge and buy the goodies to do it myself.
I tried every possible setting in the Canon software. Scratches aside, the colour and detail on that scan is just horrible. I scanned at the maximum resolution, which is higher than 10mp, but I'm sure I could have retained more detail with a 6MP DSLR.
How wide? Would 28mm do? I think that's the widest he has.
I think we have well and truly derailed this thread
True - he he.
ldmelsa
Executive Member
@ldmelsa: now you know why I'm not exactly enthusiastic about sharing my film pictures yet.
My 8800f is fine for medium format slides & has IR(hardware) dust&scratch removal
scanner was dirty for this one (my first try & with the IR off)
35mm = minilab
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The twisty bits are definitely fluff or hairs (seen it often enough). There are two vague lines to the left of the tower, those could be scratches, caused either by grit in the canister slot or your lab. ld maybe onto something with dirt on the scanner itself.
OIC, I thought this was where you decided Vuescan was not working. I didn't realise you were talking about the Canon s/w.
It maybe too wide, I would have thought somewhere in the region of 35mm maybe enough - wish I could get my hands on one to test. Does the gadgets he have also include some kind of macro filter? As far as I remember, with those adaptors the slides were only about 50mm from the front of the lens.
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
No, this picture is why I bought Vuescan. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to see the scanner. It requires Canon's software to be installed, and then it *should* see it. Thinking about it now, the Canon software has that OS9 look about it and its CPU usage makes me think it's PPC software. That might explain why it doesn't pick it up - there's no way in hell an x86 binary is going to link against a PPC library. Pity I never tried it when I had the Mini (was a 1.3GHz G4).
I have no idea - will ask. I know he has/had bellows though.
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
I've been saving up for the Plustek 7500i Ai. From everything I've read that's the next best thing after the Nikon ones.
ldmelsa
Executive Member
yeah it's good, but the Minolta 5400II is the best (I hear)
how many slides/neg do you have? Are they all 35mm?
how many slides/neg do you have? Are they all 35mm?
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
I'll look that one up. I have a lever arch file full of 35mm negs, and maybe 10 or so 110mm negs (these that much of a concern to me). I'm not sure how many slides I have - it's in a box in JHB 
Not that many though, I only ever bought slide film a few times - it was a bit too expensive to print. My dad a crate full of slides - thousands.
Not that many though, I only ever bought slide film a few times - it was a bit too expensive to print. My dad a crate full of slides - thousands.ldmelsa
Executive Member
slides they can scan at the minilab
with negs those idiots get the colour all wrong
they just love blowing out the colours
it's their job to piss you off
I have the Epson 200, the only scanner I could get to work with MacOS X 10.5.5
I have all the sharpening, dust removal and colour corrections settings to OFF
and use Photoshop CS4 to do all of that including scratch removal and restoration.
Most of the negatives are from the 1940s-60s and some have been destroyed quite badly
but the results have been quite good thus far. I also have a Canon 4400f but it won't work with MacOS X.
Use histogram adjustments to correct colour.
Surely automatic cc and contrast enhancement is not as good.
I've looked at the Nikon but it's simply not available in a B&M store and the SACamera price is
double that this thing sells in the US for.
BTW what do you chaps think of this Hasselblad Drum scanner:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/463799-REG/Hasselblad_70380201_Flextight_X1_Drum_Scanner.html
$12.000 hehe....
Lynda.com has some great tutorial videos on PS CS4.
I have all the sharpening, dust removal and colour corrections settings to OFF
and use Photoshop CS4 to do all of that including scratch removal and restoration.
Most of the negatives are from the 1940s-60s and some have been destroyed quite badly
but the results have been quite good thus far. I also have a Canon 4400f but it won't work with MacOS X.
Use histogram adjustments to correct colour.
Surely automatic cc and contrast enhancement is not as good.
I've looked at the Nikon but it's simply not available in a B&M store and the SACamera price is
double that this thing sells in the US for.
BTW what do you chaps think of this Hasselblad Drum scanner:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/463799-REG/Hasselblad_70380201_Flextight_X1_Drum_Scanner.html
$12.000 hehe....
Lynda.com has some great tutorial videos on PS CS4.
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koffiejunkie
Executive Member
Now that you mention it, there's a shoebox full of negatives floating around in the family somewhere. Many of those, if not most, are not 35mm. 110 and 130 (I think - weird kodak format) mostly.
@PeterCH, the Canon 4400F does work with OSX - both 10.4 and 10.5. I've had it since early last year, and used it both on the Mac Mini (PPC, 1.4) and on my MacBook (1.5). It's just fine for documents and scanning printed photos, but for film is rubbish.
How much time do you spend per photo in Photoshop?
@PeterCH, the Canon 4400F does work with OSX - both 10.4 and 10.5. I've had it since early last year, and used it both on the Mac Mini (PPC, 1.4) and on my MacBook (1.5). It's just fine for documents and scanning printed photos, but for film is rubbish.
How much time do you spend per photo in Photoshop?