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Film and slide scanners
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Jun 29, 2022 12:48:17   #
dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.

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Jun 29, 2022 12:53:03   #
Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area
 
dbrugger25 wrote:
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.

Epson V600 scanner.

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Jun 29, 2022 13:02:44   #
dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
Thank you.

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Jun 29, 2022 15:52:30   #
MerleP Loc: USA - SW Michigan
 
Epson V600. Fast and works well. Only caveat--scan similarly exposed slides together, and if then doing a batch that is differently exposed be sure to preview them first.
MerleP

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Jun 30, 2022 01:55:35   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
dbrugger25 wrote:
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.


A flat bed scanner (like the Epson V600 or their more upscale models) can work well for 2-1/4 and larger slides and negs, or for prints.

However for the 35mm slides and film strips, a dedicated film scanner will do a much better job. Today there are essentially two companies making these: Plustek and Pacific Image. If you shop used you will also find Nikon, Minolta and Konica-Minolta that are darned good.

Here are four of the currently available DEDICATED FILM SCANNERS:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Pacific_Image_Prime_Film_XAs_vs_Plustek_8200i_Ai_vs_Plustek_8200i_SE_vs_Plustek_8100/BHitems/1434257-REG_883631-REG_980019-REG_894381-REG

Scanning SOFTWARE is very important. One of the very best is Silverfast. All four of the above come with one version or another of Silverfast. The Pacific image and the two lower priced Plustek all use Silverfast SE, which is a "lite" version of the software. The most expensive of the four, the Plustek 8200 AI, comes with Silverfast AI Studio, a more advanced "gold standard" of scanning software. (Just to put this in perspective, Silverfast AI can be purchased separately for use with a variety of scanners... that software alone typically sells for $249 to $399.)

There are currently only three FLAT BED SCANNERS optimized for use with film, by providing film holders, back lighting in the lid, etc. All three are from Epson.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/document-flatbed-scanners/ci/1152?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&filters=fct_film-negative-holder_5501%3A35mm-negative%7C35mm-slide%7C4-x-5in-film%7Cmedium-format-film%2Cfct_form-factor_2581%3Aflatbed

Of the above, the most expensive 12000XL comes with Silverfast AI Studio software, the Epson V850 comes with Silverfast SE s'ware, while the more affordable V600 comes with Epson's own proprietary software. Silverfast software can be bought for many scanners that don't come with it, like the V600. For example, depending upon the version of Silverfast for that particular scanner, for the V600 it can cost between $49 and $399.

There also have been an Epson V700-series of models, which you might find if you shop used.

Speaking of which, there is a fairly strong market for used dedicated film scanners, as well as reasonably good market for flat beds. Many people buy the dedicated film scanners, use them and then when the job is completed sell the scanner to recoup much of their cost. That's something you might consider doing yourself. People tend to keep flat beds for various future use, since they can be useful for stuff other than film and prints.

The dedicated film scanners listed above only handle one mounted 35mm slide at a time. There have been film scanners with slide feed mechanisms offered where you can put in a batch and let it run overnight. In most cases those are quite expensive and dedicated to 35mm slides only (cannot scan film strips)

If I recall correctly, the Epson V600 can handle 4 slides, the Epson V850 can handle 12 and the Epson 12000XL can handle 30 at a time. In all cases, I believe the number of negs in strips they can scan is slightly greater (assuming you actually want to scan every neg on every strip).

High quality scans take up a TON of storage space. For example, I use a twenty year old Nikon 4000 scanner with 35mm slides. It's 4000 ppi is relatively low by today's standards (the above dedicated film scanners do 7200 to 10,000 dpi!). When I make a 16 bit tiff file at maximum resolution, the result is 130MP! Files will be considerably larger than that, with those higher resolutions! Might want to be prepared with some extra hard drives!

One of the reasons I got the Nikon scanner was because it can optionally be fitted with a bulk slide feeder... up to 40 slides can be set up to run overnight.

Finally, one of the things to look for in scanners besides their resolution (and price, of course), is called "D-Max" this is their dynamic range. The best can do a D-Max of 4.0 or higher.

The shot of the jay below was scanned from slide film... I prints nicely to 11x14". That was with a 4000 ppi scanner. With a modern one that's 7200 or even 10,000 ppi might be able to print even larger.


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Jun 30, 2022 06:53:10   #
LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY
 
Epson V600. Currently $299.99 at B&H.

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Jun 30, 2022 07:31:45   #
Grey Ghost
 
I am selling my Plustek 7300 35 mm scanner in excellent condition. I no longer need the scanner. $75. PM me if interested.

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Jun 30, 2022 07:58:43   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Fredrick wrote:
Epson V600 scanner.


I've scanned thousands of things over the years. It's durable, versatile, and it scans beautifully.

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Jun 30, 2022 09:07:26   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
dbrugger25 wrote:
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.


The Epson V600 will please many people. Used with knowledge and care, it produces decent results ($300 or so).

But read this white paper and watch some of the linked videos in it before you order one. Depending upon both your quality expectations and what you already have on hand, it may be your best bet.

Camera Scanning.pdf opens in your favorite PDF reader.
Attached file:
(Download)

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Jun 30, 2022 09:11:29   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
burkphoto wrote:
The Epson V600 will please many people. Used with knowledge and care, it produces decent results ($250 or so).

But read this white paper and watch some of the linked videos in it before you order one. Depending upon both your quality expectations and what you already have on hand, it may be your best bet.


Thanks for that. I like the PVC setup.

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Jun 30, 2022 09:17:30   #
Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.
 
I have, and really like, the "Epson Perfection V700 Photo" scanner.
Many of my negatives were (and still are) curved and even putting them in the holder that came with the scanner, did not flatten them.
My solution: From a picture framing shop, I bought a piece of non-glare glass.
I still had some packing tape at home, the kind that looks like there are threads running through it, length-wise, and folded that over the edges of the glass. On two opposite sides I cut the tape even with the edge of the glass, on the other two sides I let it stick out about 1 1/2 inches, forming little "handles" to lift the glass up easily without getting finger prints all over.
Now I just place my negative-strips on the plate of the scanner, put the glass on top of them, and scan away.
With the size of glass I have, I can scan 4 or 5 strips of 35mm negatives together, each of them about 6 negatives long. It works equally well for colour and B/W negs, as well as for the older, much larger negatives, and also for colour positives like slides.
If you're lucky, the frame-shop will have some left-over pieces of non-glare glass and let you have it for free.
If I remember correctly, I got this packing tape from Home-Depot.

PS: Make sure the non-glare glass is a bit narrower and shorter than the plate of your scanner - you don't want it to rest on the "frame" of the plate as it then won't hold your negatives flat.

Esther

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Jun 30, 2022 09:30:03   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
I would enthusiastically recommend the Epson product line. Pick a model that suits the format of the film you are scanning. Two that come to mind are the V600 and the V850. I use the V850 due to the need to scan large format negatives.

Additionally, I recommend SilverFast software to drive the scanner.
--Bob
dbrugger25 wrote:
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.

Reply
Jun 30, 2022 09:33:32   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
jerryc41 wrote:
Thanks for that. I like the PVC setup.


It was cheap... If I had it to do over again, I'd probably buy a commercial copy stand with a column tall enough to enable my 30mm Micro 4/3 lens (60mm full frame equivalent) to cover at least 12"x16". The PVC rig takes a bit of futzing to get it aligned. Once set, it's fine.

I holed up in a condo in Orlando, FL, for a week in April, with this thing and a lot of slides and negatives from my college years on the kitchen table. The scans went into a 44-minute, 4K "Ken Burns Effect" slide show shown at my 45th year reunion of the class of 1977 at Davidson. It was a big hit. I put it on a private YouTube channel for my classmates.

Here are a couple of full resolution images from that show. The first is from a letter-boxed Kodachrome 64 slide. The second is from a Tri-X negative. View in download mode to see the detail. These are the 3840x2160 pixel files I prepared to be digitized in Final Cut Pro for the video.

The Chambermaids guard the facade of the main classroom/administration building at Davidson. Circa Fall, 1973.
The Chambermaids guard the facade of the main clas...
(Download)

Parents tour the campus with their student, Spring Break, 1976
Parents tour the campus with their student, Spring...
(Download)

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Jun 30, 2022 09:39:04   #
SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer
 
dbrugger25 wrote:
I know this has been discussed before but a long time ago. I have thousands of old 35mm color slides, strips of negatives and some 2-1/4 square negatives that I need to go through. I will want to scan many of them and create digital files. Can some of you suggest good quality scanners that produce acceptable image files. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money for a commercial grade device. I am retired and have time on my hands.


Check out refurbished Epson V600 on the Epson website ...., currently about $140.00. I've had one for over 5 years and it still works perfectly.

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Jun 30, 2022 09:41:32   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
rmalarz wrote:
I would enthusiastically recommend the Epson product line. Pick a model that suits the format of the film you are scanning. Two that come to mind are the V600 and the V850. I use the V850 due to the need to scan large format negatives.

Additionally, I recommend SilverFast software to drive the scanner.
--Bob


Especially if you scan to a recent Mac running exclusively 64-bit software, SilverFast is the best driver software to use with Epson scanners, because it takes advantage of the old Digital ICE hardware features in the scanner to remove dust and scratches. (Digital ICE was 32-bit only, and the company that wrote it died with Kodak's bankruptcy. It could not be updated for the Epson Scan 2 driver software used on new Macs.)

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