How to digitise 35mm negatives

[mattpope]

I'm interested to look into digitising my 35mm film negatives. I've always been put off by the cost and time associated with the hardware plus I've just not had the time. What are the current "best" options? Storage is now cheap enough, hopefully the hardware and software is more affordable and gives the right results.....

It seems like the kind of gear that you buy, use and then sell on. Any ideas much appreciated. What has everyone else done with their negatives and slides?

Cheers.

Matt

[Rebaseonu]

Doing it well by yourself is a lot of work, I mean A LOT. There are many variables, like what quality do you expect, what size/resolution etc. If you want to have full control over the process and know how to tweak images then you can do it yourself.
It is also possible to scan all your stuff in lab, the same small digital/film minilabs that are everywhere can basically also scan your film in bulk, without making prints. From there you'll get auto-adjusted images (even film scratches and dust is removed), similar to prints from film.
I scan with my own Nikon Coolscan V film scanner, but it is slow process.

[Rebaseonu]

Although too cheap ($150) to be good, there is interesting new device available:

Wolverine F2D Film Scanner

The concept is very interesting but I doubt it will deliver good results. But perhaps for mainstream customers the quality of scanned images is acceptable. I have not had a chance to see any scans from it.

[AliBaba]

To get decent quality you have to use a dedicated film-scanner.
As Rebaseonu says it’s a lot of work, I have scanned 2000+ negatives and dias and it took quite some time.

If you use a good scanner and learn the basics you can get great results. I have prints in 50*75 cm and they look great!

One tip is to learn the basics before you start volume-scanning.

If you choose to do it in a shop check quality and picture-size.

BTW: I used Minolta Elite 5400

[Linzi]

Hi, can I ask which should be used if scanning is to be done followed my sending digital images to editor? Negative film or positive? I want to buy a used, quality film SLR camera for the first few jobs. Linzi.

[AliBaba]

With a quality scanner (high dynamic range) you can get best results with negative film, but sadly negative film is more difficult to scan so in the end the quality depends on the operator.

I have used mostly positive film so maybe that’s the reason why I struggle with negative film.

Some types of film are more difficult then other, personally I like Fuji Sensia or Fuji Velvia 50, both are positive film.

[Linzi]

Thanks, it's down to me now to get good shots for the scanner. Linzi.

[teflon]

Originally Posted by Linzi

Hi, can I ask which should be used if scanning is to be done followed my sending digital images to editor? Negative film or positive? I want to buy a used, quality film SLR camera for the first few jobs. Linzi.

You can get a professional spec slr for about £50 on ebay - most of them amateur used.

Film is best chosen for the subject, not the actual scanner. Just use something you know.

Good luck.

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by Linzi

Hi, can I ask which should be used if scanning is to be done followed my sending digital images to editor? Negative film or positive? I want to buy a used, quality film SLR camera for the first few jobs. Linzi.

If you're really going to go down this route don't even think about using neg film. Slide film is hard enough to digitise to acceptable standards but you'll tear your hair out trying to do the same with neg film.
Most of the diy film scanners don't really have a good enough d max for contrasty film like Velvia. They're ok for personal use but I've had pre press guys telling editors that images are not good enough for publication in the past. If you only have a few to do you'd be better off farming it out to a bureau to scan on a drum scanner.

For the cost of a good film SLR and a reasonable scanner you could probably buy a good secondhand digital SLR - Nikon D200 for example and bypass all of these problems.

[AliBaba]

A few years ago I used a company which had a drum-scanner. The result was very good but it was expensive.
If you have a quality scanner and do your tweaking right the result is as good as most dSLRs.

Velvia is difficult to scan and it’s easy to loose details in the dark areas, especially if the exposure is not 100%.
It might be an idea to test your setup before you leave.

Now I use a dSLR and I would not say that all the “problems” are gone. You don’t have to scan anymore but the tweaking is still there. You also have to pay for backup-solutions, memory-cards++ and the camera itself is more fragile.
It’s also more expensive to get a decent wide angle (for most cameras).