Negative Scanning
De-lurking...
I did a search of the archives but I didn't find anything recent
(unless I did a bad search).
I have some, not a ton, of negatives from years ago that I am looking
to get scanned so I can have digital images instead of the old prints
in albums.
I don't think it's worth getting a $300-400 dedicated scanner (plus my
time) but if getting them done from a service is the same cost, maybe
it's an option.
Thanks!
Ed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkeeney
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ridgewood_photog
Instagram: @ridgewood.photog
Am 24.07.26 um 15:41 schrieb Ed Keeney:
I did a search of the archives but I didn't find anything recent
(unless I did a bad search).
I have some, not a ton, of negatives from years ago that I am looking
to get scanned so I can have digital images instead of the old prints
in albums.
I don't think it's worth getting a $300-400 dedicated scanner (plus my
time) but if getting them done from a service is the same cost, maybe
it's an option.
The answer depends on a number of factors.
How many negatives? Dozens, hundreds, thousands? What's their condition
(scratches, mould,,,)?
What for? Screen display, prints (if so, how big)?
I still use a classic 35 mm film scanner, a Minolta 5400. It delivers
high quality scans fit for every purpose and can automagically feed
itself film strips of 6 negs. So, you do a prescan of a strip, make the
necessary corrections and let it do the scans while you can do other
things. It also removes dust and scratches to some extent. Get one used,
do your scanning and sell it on. There's always a demand for those, so
your loss wil be negligible, if any.
Many people now 'scan' their negs using their digital camera with a
macro lens and a film holder. I have no experience with this. Others may
know more.
Or have them scanned. Prices and quality vary a lot. Shop around what's
available in your area.
Ralf
--
Ralf R. Radermacher - Köln/Cologne, Germany
Blog :http://the-real-fotoralf.blogspot.com
Audio :http://aporee.org/maps/projects/fotoralf
Fotos :https://www.fotocommunity.de/user_photos/770012
I had the same project come up a year ago. I wanted to scan multiple
formats, 35mm neg, 35mm slide, 6x7 & 4x5.
I ended up building my own "scanner" around a Fuji X-T5 (I could have
built it around any camera but I chose it for it's pixel shift).
The entire build took a few days and some scraps of plywood I had
sitting around plus a few negative masks that another PDML member was
able to locate for me and part of an old copy stand that had been idle
for half a century.
This is what I came up with. It uses a 6" high CRI LED puck as the light
source and 4 layers of sign plastic for the diffuser.
It works very well.
Shot with a Pentax 6x7 and digitized to a ~124MP file.
I was willing to trade money for time, it takes me about 5 minutes to
scan a 24 exposure roll of 35mm film (I'm not using pixel shift for the
little negs).
bill
On 7/24/2026 7:41 AM, Ed Keeney wrote:
De-lurking...
I did a search of the archives but I didn't find anything recent
(unless I did a bad search).
I have some, not a ton, of negatives from years ago that I am looking
to get scanned so I can have digital images instead of the old prints
in albums.
I don't think it's worth getting a $300-400 dedicated scanner (plus my
time) but if getting them done from a service is the same cost, maybe
it's an option.
Thanks!
Ed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkeeney
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ridgewood_photog
Instagram: @ridgewood.photog
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