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Advice/Recommendations for negative scanner.
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Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has any previous experience with or advice
on buying a scanner for photo negatives. If you could recommend some
models/brands it would be great.
I have some old negatives that I would like to digitise in my own time.
I know there are companies that offer this service but don’t really want
to go down this road.Any/all help appreciated.
Martin.Hi Martin,
Depends on how large the negatives you want to scan are, whether they’re 35mm, medium format or larger. Whether they’re B&W negatives, colour negatives or slides will make a difference, as well as your intended output, and whether the scans are intended solely for the web, or for prints.
Depending on the above, you basically have 2 options, providing your budget isn’t into the thousands.
Option 1 is a flatbed scanner, that also offers the ability to scan negatives/ slide. This is a good one for one main reason, namely the ability to scan a range of neagtives, from 35mm to large format, depending on the position of the model in the range. The two drawbacks are softer scans, and also increased issues with dust given the scanning surface is more open than a dedicated scanner. Still, you gain the ability to use the scanner for more normal purposes also, namely document/ image scanning, so a flatbed is an option with great flexibility. Epson and Canon are two of the main manufacturers, and prices range from about €130 to about €800, depending on how high end you want to go.
Option 2 is a dedicated negative scanner. Unless you have several thousands to spend, this option is really for dedicated 35mm scanning, and offers many improvements in this regard over flatbed scanning, namely sharper scans and often less dust issues. A dedicated scanner can sometimes be faster too, but not always. The main manufacturer in this range (for new scanners) is Plustek, and the 7600 will do all your b&w and colour negatives, as well as slides, offering dust and scratch removal built into the hardware. The 7400 model comes without the dust and scratch removal, making it cheaper if its just b&w you intend to use it for, as dust and scratch removal does not work on any scanner on b&w negatives. A 7600 will set you back between €250- €400 (depending on bundled software), or about €200 for a 7400.
Hope this helps, I know a few people here have some of the Epson model scanners, and perhaps they’ll chime in with their experiences
i have a v750 pro, it rocks
but if you want better scans plump for a nikon coolscan 9000, but they are big money
the other thing is rua red in tallaght have a hassleblad scanner in their multimedia room thats not to expensive to rent, actually its stupidly cheap
Thanks Steve and Damian for your replies, some food for thought there for sure. I think I will investigate
this a bit further based on what you have said. Thanks again.
Martin.I too have an Epson, the V700. I figured I did not need the wet scan option and the software differences were not enough for me to pay up for the 750. I shoot film exclusively and scan everything. It is a great, reliable workhorse, and good for old print scanning too. I have scanned old prints and made digital negs for alternative process printing and they have turned out great! It’s especially nice if you are going to be printing on Epson printers too, they all speak the same language!
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