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Where’s the best place to Develop & Scan Film in Dublin?
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Where’s the best place to Develop & Scan Film in Dublin?… maybe I should say where’s the cheapest place? :)
I’ve used both Conns and Gunns before but only to get negs done and then scanned them myself, but I’ve got a bit of a backlog of 35mm colour film to get done and the thought of manually scanning with fills me with dread.
Any recommendations much appreciated.
Re: Scanning: Any commercial place is likely to be uneconomical once you get into large quantities, but you could just call into some shops and ask for a bulk deal…
Alternatives that spring to mind are community, or colleges, or some AV department at a university if you’re lucky. I used to scan large quantities of color film for work (I think I scanned, adjusted and batch-converted about 15.000 35mm transparencies over 3 months, about 10 years ago for “Corals of the World” and a marine science database and it wasn’t that bad). You should get the best (and fastest) scanner you can afford, s/h and when you’re done, just sell it on.
Another really good option however is to use a DSLR and macro lens on a repro stand with a light tablet behind the film. No “scanning”, just single, quick shots and VERY acceptable image quality; mask the tablet and work in a darkened room for best results. I did a fair few rolls of film worth in less than an hour not long ago.Thanks – I do have a semi-decent film scanner but I wouldn’t mind just getting a disk with the images when I get them developed, mainly to help me edit the keepers from the crap, whenever I start scanning film I end up spending hours and hours! I was just wondering if any readers know who does a cheap develop and disk?
i get to do all mine in college, if only i could keep repeating just to use the facilities :D
just an anecdote, which may, or may not help your decision-making process. A couple of times now I have asked to get image files on CD when I got film developed. In one case ,when asking, they didn’t even know what ppi they were scanning at. In both labs, file output equalled (wait for it) 1.5MP (good enough for a 4×6″ 250 dpi actually). So, very basic (and rather expensive); plus they’re jpgs, i.e. fairly useless to manipulating without further quality loss, but if you just need quick proofs, they’re fine.
In comparison: A decent 4000ppi scan would give you 21.4MP out of a 24x36mm film allowing in theory for good quality enlargements on 16×20″.I tried some commercials, also, for film development and scanning with really poor results (and high money spent), I couldn’t recommend any. Can anybody suggest where to find a decent film scanner for a reasonable price in Dublin? Also a used one would suit…
maxcope wrote:
I tried some commercials, also, for film development and scanning with really poor results (and high money spent), I couldn’t recommend any. Can anybody suggest where to find a decent film scanner for a reasonable price in Dublin? Also a used one would suit…
Borrowed a Plustek 7600 from a user here who was kind enough to lend it to me to try it out for a few scans, and must say I found it very impressive. Of what’s in production, nearly all flatbeds will give you an effective 1600dpi, the Epson V700/750 will give you 2400dpi, the Plustek’s 3300dpi, and the older Nikon and Minolta scanners will give you 3800- 4000dpi. These numbers were pulled off filmscannerinfo.com who do a good job of putting real numbers to the manufacturers claimed dpi figures.
Effectively, these will give you scans of the following resolution for 35mm: 2400x 1600 pixels, 3200x 2400 pixels, 4950x 3300 pixels and 5700x 3900 pixels, respectively, from the above scanners. Basically any flatbed for web scans, or a V700/750 or dedicated 35mm scanner for print-capable scans. All this is predicated on scanning 35mm negatives, as for 120, most photo flatbeds will give you good results of 4000x 4000 pixels at 1600 dpi for 6×6, for example.
Bottom line, if I was picking up a 35mm negative scanner in the morning, I would pick up either a Plustek 7400 for b&w only, or a Plustek 7600 for b&w and colour. The difference between the two being the 7600 has infrared dust removal that works on C41 negatives and E6 slides. The 8100 and 8200 are the updated versions of the 7400 and 7600, giving you Silverfast 8 out of the box, as opposed to Silverfast 6.6 with the 7400 & 7600 (which I believe you may be able to update to Silverfast 8 up to a limited time). Re: SIlverfast, it comes in 2 flavours; Se & Ai, the former giving restricted functionality including 8-bit scans only, with the latter having no such restrictions. I use Vuescan myself (which will give me 16 bit scans).
So, in a slightly longwinded way, those are the options that emerged when I researched buying a scanner a while back. The only option I have not mentioned is the new Plustek 120 scanner, which will set you back about €2500, but will give you an effective dpi of 5300 apparently.
Hi Murchu,
thanks for your extensive buying guide, packed of useful information, at least I have a better idea of makes and models. Do you happen to know a store where I can buy them in Dublin? I tried a couple of cameras /electronic stores, but the internet seems the only option. An option I don’t like, though, no chance of seeing the scanner working before you buy it. Any other suggestion? Thanks
maxcope wrote:
Hi Murchu,
thanks for your extensive buying guide, packed of useful information, at least I have a better idea of makes and models. Do you happen to know a store where I can buy them in Dublin? I tried a couple of cameras /electronic stores, but the internet seems the only option. An option I don’t like, though, no chance of seeing the scanner working before you buy it. Any other suggestion? Thanks
Unfortunately, it does not seem so. Was looking for an answer to that question a while ago, and it did not seem there is anywhere to buy a negative scanner locally. Flatbeds like the Canon 8800F/ 9000F & Epsons V500/ V600, V700 & V750, you may have better luck with. Whatever you do decide, keep us updated here on PI, info on scanners can be thin on the ground :)
NO WHERE!
I started to look for the scan and Develop around Dublin and I was not happy, The BEST I ever did was to sent to Richard Labs in the USA. They are one of the best in the world. I got afew back (around 80 photos) and I was really happy with those, I have another 10 rolls of films here ready to sent those off again later! (You can tell them to hold the negative Film till the end of the year, but they do sent you a FTP link to get all your images)For an sample here how I got.
There is also Peak Imaging in the UK.
In Ireland, I’ve heard great things about Gunns in Dublin tbh…
If you anybody still want to scan your 35mm positives/negatives/slides on high quality, let me know. I’m located in Swords. Price is negotiable depend film condition (worse condition mean more time for correction and cleaning scratches and faults) and total number of pictures in whole order. Let’s say that price range can start from 2 euro per shot to 0.5 euro in case of ideal conditions and huge order.
Scanning transparent material going 3600 dpi real optic nominal resolution
Please note I do not dealing with flatbed scanners or hugely interpolated resolution (4800x9600dpi from flatbed scanners have only 1200-1700 dpi REAL optic resolution) provides unnecessary and extremely inflated image files.Each film/slide is cleaned and washed with special liquid before scanning to achieve best result.
Unfortunately, at this moment I have only 35mm scanner, but later getting medium format (6×6 or bigger) HQ scanner. Once I buy it, you’ll see it in my signature and I make announcement about it.
Please note, I do not doing cheap sh*t work, or charge high amount of money just because I should. Everything is matter of deal, but be reasonable and don’t expect high sophisticated work for free (or close to free).I also can scan your film at home with max resolution 9600×9600 dpi
35 mm, 120 mm or slidesPrice depends on film condition and number of films and resolution.
3 EUR per film in case of ideal conditions and and huge order with resolution 2400×2400I’m located in Dublin 8
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