[hiker1]

CNET article and comments from readers about ways to convert film negatives to digital.

[SlingShot]

Film Scanners I own one like this, red in color but otherwise the same. I've been happy with the results. Having a stand alone unit that uses removable memory is very convenient. Scanning can be monotints, But often needs to be done.

[mike]

It depends upon what you want to do with the photos. A good dedicated film scanner gives excellent results suitable for printing fairly large. It takes good software and lots of time and produces huge files. Has an IR channel for dust removal. Expensive. A cheap film scanner likes DITG's gives results suitable for a web page but is faster and the files are much smaller. Another option is a flatbed scanner with a film scanning tray. Excellent results and faster than a dedicated film scanner (unless you get a bulk loader for the Nikon, $$$) The flatbed scanner is also useful for other things including scanning prints. Whichever scanner you choose consider good software like VueScan. You can set up to copy with a digital camera and a macro lens. Decent results for most uses. I have one of these for slides, quick and dirty. If you only have a few to do just take them to Costco or other copy service.

[Dalekz]

At some time you will probably want to have a slide show on your TV so I would go with that for your optimal DPI rather than the video screen. If you really want to blow one up then take the time and really scan it. I do mine into TIF files to do the photoshop part (crop, lighten parts, etc) then convert it to JPEG files for storage. I have found that most TV's will only take JPEG files, unless the newer ones can do both. Also really get a good soft brush to get rid of the dust and use it. Dust is the biggest problem. Get rid of it first or else you will be spending a lot of time using the cloning tool to get rid of the dot disease.

[hiker1]

In another thread here I read:

[Cyclopath]

If you project the slide and then photograph it, make sure to get the camera exactly parallel with the wall so you don't introduce perspective distortion.

[joker]

Shooting off a projector screen is not going to get you anywhere near as good an image as you'll get from any of the scanning approaches that Mike mentions.

[chickentender]

I've a couple film scanners - a PrimeFilm XA and a Pakon f135. The Pakon is a glorious thing... runs through an entire roll in under 5 minutes. The colors are almost always spot-on and there's a huge support group on Facebook of lovers of this old mini-lab scanner. Rarely use anything else. The smallest strip you can run though is a 3-image strip, but it really shines with an entire uncut roll. It's nicknamed the packman cuz it eats your film and spits out lovely scans. http://www.aaaimaging.com/kodak-pakon-f135-film-scanner.html https://www.facebook.com/groups/PakonF135/?fref=ts

[Adohrn]

It used to be that around $2000 got you in the door to do professional level scans at home. A Nikon Coolscan 5000 and assorted fine art paint brushes, film cleaner solution, pads, bulk slide loader ect... Sell it on ebay after your done and recoup most of the money. Nikon has discontinued all the Coolscans. After the Coolscans discontinued their price on ebay skyrocked, but looked again and they have fallen so I would say its an option again. Buying a used unit instead of new and taking some risk that will not break during your run. The bulk slide feeder units were always glitchy, but they definitely were a time saver. There are some work arounds that make them more reliable. It also depends on the mounts and condition. Certain plastic ones and warped paper were always a hassle. Better if you had an old but fast dedicated xp machine or created a dual boot system. Nikon scan used for the bulk slide loaders only works under xp. Vuescan last I looked does not support the bulk loader. As for lower level consumer film scanners. For the web or small prints they are acceptable. In comparison to a Coolscan though its a very fuzzy, inferior scan. The devices are also a lot slower, I mean a lot slower. If you plan on doing a few hundred scans no big deal if doing thousands that's something else. The consumer scanners also don't have ICE. They may say ICE, but its not really ice its some sort of software not hardware trick. The software trick is basically worthless. ICE is a infrared beam that maps all the dust particles on the film. Software then uses a cloning tool to fill in these blank spaces on the scan. Print out a scan from these consumer level scanners and they are full of white dots. Plan on spending significant time in Photoshop using the cloning tool. Getting good scans is kind of an art. There is a lot to consider. What dpi do I scan in, Color space, 8 bit or 16 bit, save in what file type, cleaning the negatives before scanning without destroying, Correct while scanning or do it in post processing ect.... All of which will affect the results. Example scan at 4000dpi, srgb colorspace, 8 bit and save as jpg. Then spend the rest of your life unsuccessfully in photoshop trying to correct for the weird colors your film degraded into. Magenta, Yellow tints ect.... Do the same scan at 4000dpi, Adobe RGB colorspace, 16 bit and save as tiff, and its a 1 minute operation. The problem is there is no one way to do it. Some say do it quick and dirty others say record perfect scans for everything so you don't have to go back and redo everything at a later date. The more you read the more confused you will get. Expect the info you find to be way to complex or to simple to do you much good. Expect on spending significant time, and a steep learning curve. Also plan on rescanning as you learn. Not to intimidate you, but scanning is like a boat. It will eat time and money. It also depends greatly on the quality of output you will be happy with. It can be expensive or really expensive. How much patience do you have. Scanning is hours of a relatively boring repetitive task. You will need to spend some real time thinking on this before jumping in. I scanned some huge family collections and can't say I regret it, but that's me. It took me years. Mike does a good overview of the different methods of scanning. One thing that isn't discussed is outsourcing. If you don't have the time, patience or money there a few reputable companies that are run by Americans, and do the work in India. ScanCafe is the one I know about offhand. No association and not trying to push them specifically as there are a couple others. They do the job relatively inexpensively. If you do the job quick and dirty you might also send the negatives you want rescanned with a coolscan to them. http://www.scancafe.com/image-preservation/image-preservation-overview However you do it get some Print File negatative preservers to organize things. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=42988&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhberz25-_DRTj_7ahCBY_s1wwn5U-UYwxpmTn7IoOfOx_xoCQZnw_wcB&Q=&is=REG&A=details Pec-12 archival Photographic emulsion cleaner, http://www.tristatecamera.com/product/Photographic_Solutions_Inc_Pec-12_Photographic_Emulsion_Cleaner_32_Oz_Refill_Bottle_PECQT.html?refid=279&KPID=PSIPECQT&mkwid=bQeOXoJR&pcrid=47357506605&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhberqD-9mk9aV4MUlnyXDGs7s3wzkKu73dvJ4eTGVgY-CxoCMjLw_wcB Pec cleaning pads http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=71154&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhber8qfit4b98Bi4iIHvvW49XYULAQKPQu41sBZ_3tsj4RoCeX7w_wcB&is=REG&Q=&A=details Quality super soft paint brush from art store. I like the fan like ones. Practice cleaning on some worthless negatives. Its a super light touch no rubbing or scrubbing. While the pec 12 is the best and safest cleaning solution it will still destroy some old negatives. Always carefully test each roll of film. photo.net Go to their digital dark room forum. Lots of good info there especially as you get higher on the learning curve. http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/ Definitely get that old Kodak projector working if you have a lot of slides. Its is by far the easiest way to sort and find the slides you want to scan. One problem with old Kodak projectors is that they have a plastic solonoid that degrades with time. You will know its toast if when you try to advance the slides and sounds are made, parts move but nothing advances. It is a cheap part under $10, but will take an hour or more to install. Having it professionally done costs upward of 100-150. Here are some pics of the install book if you want to attempt to fix your unit.

[Chico]

[ranger rock]

Go to photoland at the Evergreen State college and use their special negative scanners.

[Chico]

[ranger rock]

[bshaver]

I went in with 3 others and bought a Nikon Coolscan 4000, and a slide feeder. It cost $1200. We each had it for 3 months, and I went first. I scanned about 8,000 slides. the 3 others then had it for 3 months each and scanned exactly zero slides. Then I had it for a year, and scanned a total of maybe 16000 slides and negatives. Another guy has had it for about 3 years, and I don't know how many he has scanned, but I bet zero. The slide feeder holds 50 slides, and is kind of automatic. A slide will stick on neighboring slides once in a while, and you have to be sitting there watching it to free it up. It has dust removal software, color and tone correction, and scans at 4000 dpi. If you don't scan your old slides and negatives, you might as well throw them away.

[joker]