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Scanning very old negatives
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Jul 9, 2019 20:03:09   #
lewjp
 
I came across some old B&W negatives, probably from grandparents or older. The largest I found was 2.5" X 4". Can anyone recommend equipment for scanning such negatives -- without totally braking the budget?

Lew

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Jul 9, 2019 21:37:30   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
Epson V600 Photo Scanner - $190.
https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Negative-Document-Scanner/dp/B002OEBMRU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3IIF3CC5GFAUQ&keywords=epson+600+photo+scanner&qid=1562722592&s=gateway&sprefix=epson+600%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-3

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Jul 10, 2019 05:53:53   #
chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA
 
I use a lightbox and a dslr

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Jul 10, 2019 06:14:49   #
domcomm Loc: Denver, CO
 
I have my father's old glass plate negs from WW! I used my Epson V500 scanner with great results. I've used a lightbox and camera in years past, but didn't get nearly the quality results of the scanner.

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Jul 10, 2019 07:40:46   #
Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.
 
lewjp wrote:
I came across some old B&W negatives, probably from grandparents or older. The largest I found was 2.5" X 4". Can anyone recommend equipment for scanning such negatives -- without totally braking the budget?

Lew


Since they are old negatives: have they curled at all? That's the problem I had with B/W negatives I was given some years ago: The ones that had been stored in envelopes were still perfectly flat, the ones in a box were all curled.
To keep them flat for scanning, I bought a piece of non-glare glass from a framing shop, a bit smaller than the glass plate of my scanner. Placed the negatives on the scanner, this piece of glass over top, then closed the lid. Worked perfectly.
Because this extra piece of glass is handled much more than the glass of the scanner, I wiped both sides of it with an anti-static cloth between scans.

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Jul 10, 2019 07:53:43   #
abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois
 
Buying a scanner just for these negatives will probably cost more than sending the out to a service. It will also take less time than researching, buying and learning the scanner. You can concoct some homemade apparatus but remember that even if you can focus close enough, your lens is not a flat-field lens designed for this work.

Better to spend your time post-processing and enjoying the results.

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Jul 10, 2019 08:11:34   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 




That's a very good product that is often recommended. I've made thousands of scans with mine. The only problem was the external power supply "brick" that died. Replacing it was a minor expense.

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Jul 10, 2019 09:17:22   #
richardsaccount
 
lewjp wrote:
I came across some old B&W negatives, probably from grandparents or older. The largest I found was 2.5" X 4". Can anyone recommend equipment for scanning such negatives -- without totally braking the budget?

Lew

Could some of those vintage negatives be on a nitrate base?. Those were very unstable. They are flammable. In the twenties there was a fire at the Cleveland Clinic. X-Ray nitrate bases films. Some of those people got toxic gases in there blood and they appeared to be OK. The next day they were found dead. I'm not trying to scare you. But that incident ushered in "Safety Film". Acetate base film.
Nitrate negatives will deteriorate and look like they are melting and have an odor.

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Jul 10, 2019 10:01:19   #
mitchumky
 
Almost any flat-bed scanner will work. If your printer has a flatbed scanner, you are set to go. it’s all in the settings.
Set the resolution to at least 800dpi and the scan depth for “0”. Emulsion side of the negative facing the glass. Wear cotton gloves to keep the oils from your skin off the negative.

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Jul 10, 2019 10:20:04   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
lewjp wrote:
I came across some old B&W negatives, probably from grandparents or older. The largest I found was 2.5" X 4". Can anyone recommend equipment for scanning such negatives -- without totally braking the budget?

Lew


Really depends on your budget. A scanner will cost a couple hundred.

If you only have a few negatives, you might try building your own negative holder. A couple pieces of glass with the negative sandwiched between them. A couple potato
chip bag clips to hold the glass together. A piece of white paper placed far enough behind the glass so you can be sure that any structure on the paper will be out of focus. Shine a light onto the paper and not the glass, put your camera in position so it's looking through the negative at the paper. Take a digital photo with your camera.

Of course you get a negative image, but it's pretty easy to find a free editing program that will invert the picture into a positive image. For Windows, IrfanView is free and fairly useful as an image viewer. Many people use FastStone but I don't know much about that one. I also can't recommend any Mac software because I don't use a Mac. I suspect the free software your camera manufacturer will have an inversion feature. You can download the manufacturer's software from their website.

The advantage to the above is that it's cheap. The disadvantage is that it's clumsy and dependent on how you set it up. A scanner costs some money but it is there for you if you need something like that later. I got a scanner years ago, did what I needed to do, then it sat around for years. But I still have an occasional use for it. Scanning documents is more convenient with the scanner because it has a flat plate and a backing to keep the document flat. Loose documents with any curl or wrinkling need something to hold them flat if you're using your camera, and you have to avoid light reflections from whatever you're using to flatten things.

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Jul 10, 2019 10:46:35   #
Abo
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
Really depends on your budget. A scanner will cost a couple hundred.

If you only have a few negatives, you might try building your own negative holder. A couple pieces of glass with the negative sandwiched between them. A couple potato
chip bag clips to hold the glass together. A piece of white paper placed far enough behind the glass so you can be sure that any structure on the paper will be out of focus. Shine a light onto the paper and not the glass, put your camera in position so it's looking through the negative at the paper. Take a digital photo with your camera.

Of course you get a negative image, but it's pretty easy to find a free editing program that will invert the picture into a positive image. For Windows, IrfanView is free and fairly useful as an image viewer. Many people use FastStone but I don't know much about that one. I also can't recommend any Mac software because I don't use a Mac. I suspect the free software your camera manufacturer will have an inversion feature. You can download the manufacturer's software from their website.

The advantage to the above is that it's cheap. The disadvantage is that it's clumsy and dependent on how you set it up. A scanner costs some money but it is there for you if you need something like that later. I got a scanner years ago, did what I needed to do, then it sat around for years. But I still have an occasional use for it. Scanning documents is more convenient with the scanner because it has a flat plate and a backing to keep the document flat. Loose documents with any curl or wrinkling need something to hold them flat if you're using your camera, and you have to avoid light reflections from whatever you're using to flatten things.
Really depends on your budget. A scanner will cost... (show quote)


"MS Paint" on all windows platforms converts neg to pos.

Open MSPaint and then open the picture you want to convert to a negative/positive.
In the toolbar at the top, click the Select button, then select the Select all option.
Right-click on the image and select the Invert color option.

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Jul 10, 2019 11:21:11   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
lewjp wrote:
I came across some old B&W negatives, probably from grandparents or older. The largest I found was 2.5" X 4". Can anyone recommend equipment for scanning such negatives -- without totally braking the budget?

Lew


Sounds like size 616 negatives. That's actually 70mm film. So you need a scanner that can handle that width, or you need a way to re-photograph the negative with a macro lens on a digital camera.

Some will recommend an Epson V600 scanner. It's a great machine, but it only handles film up to 6x22 cm (120/620 size). That's 2.362 by 8.66 inches. Epson's V700/750 will do it. Those scanners are available on eBay, but they're discontinued. New ones can be hard to find.

Either way, 70mm/616 negatives are a rare size in the world of scanners, so there won't be many film holders for them. But here's one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/616-116-film-holder-and-adapter-made-for-Epson-Perfection-V700-V750-Scanners/273873382014?hash=item3fc4202a7e:g:gmYAAOSwCZ5VfN5j

If I were to digitize my old 616 negatives from the 1930s on, I'd use a copy stand, color correct light table (for color negatives and transparencies; for B&W, any well-diffused light source will do), film holder, and my digital camera with macro lens.

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Jul 10, 2019 12:24:47   #
Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area
 
abc1234 wrote:
Buying a scanner just for these negatives will probably cost more than sending the out to a service. It will also take less time than researching, buying and learning the scanner. You can concoct some homemade apparatus but remember that even if you can focus close enough, your lens is not a flat-field lens designed for this work.

Better to spend your time post-processing and enjoying the results.


Well, I also had old negatives that I brought to two different stores. Had about 100 of them. They both wanted $7-$8 a piece to scan ... the price of a new lens! Blasphemy!

I went on Amazon and for about $20 I bought slide and negative holders that I had lost for my Epson V500 Perfection that you can also buy on Amazon or eBay for less than $150.

They came out absolutely beautiful. Then I went out and bought a new lens. I’ll use any excuse to do that!

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Jul 10, 2019 14:29:56   #
Bill P
 
[quote=Fredrick]Well, I also had old negatives that I brought to two different stores. Had about 100 of them. They both wanted $7-$8 a piece to scan ... the price of a new lens! Blasphemy!

You have obviously never done any negative scanning. That's a bargain.There are some places in India that will do it cheaper, I think, but I've never heard anyone happy with the results.

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Jul 10, 2019 14:37:32   #
Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area
 
[quote=Bill P]
Fredrick wrote:
Well, I also had old negatives that I brought to two different stores. Had about 100 of them. They both wanted $7-$8 a piece to scan ... the price of a new lens! Blasphemy!

You have obviously never done any negative scanning. That's a bargain.There are some places in India that will do it cheaper, I think, but I've never heard anyone happy with the results.


I just said I did, Bill. Did you miss that? And they came out great. If you don’t believe me, then that’s your problem.

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