What do I do getting digital images from negatives?

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Richard - 24 Dec 2005 18:50 GMT

Okay, I could buy a device for scanning negatives, but I've only got say
about 400 negatives. So, I don't think buying a dedicated negative
scanner is necessarily economic.

Next, I could find a friend who has a scanner.

Okay, but say I have no friend with a scanner, how do I get my negatives
scanned? Who will do this as a service? (I'm just wondering to myself,
does ASDA do it, or Boots).

Anyway, any recommendations? Do I have to send off my negatives, or can
I take them into some shop? Any idea of cost if I wanted say 400
negatives scanning? TIA.

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Trev - 24 Dec 2005 19:02 GMT

> Okay, I could buy a device for scanning negatives, but I've only got say
> about 400 negatives. So, I don't think buying a dedicated negative
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> I take them into some shop? Any idea of cost if I wanted say 400
> negatives scanning? TIA.

Heck you could buy one and sell it again if you wanted be less than .50P a
slide I bet any Photo lad would charge more

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Richard - 24 Dec 2005 20:21 GMT

> > Okay, I could buy a device for scanning negatives, but I've only got say
> > about 400 negatives. So, I don't think buying a dedicated negative
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Heck you could buy one and sell it again if you wanted be less than .50P a
> slide I bet any Photo lad would charge more

Actually maybe it's best one is bought.

If I've got say 450 negatives (I mean individual frames), (actually I
think I've probably nearer 600) and my brother has well, he might have
nearer 1000 frames, then I suspect buying one is quite alright. Yea, I
bet it's best to just but one of these things. Actually, I'll get my
brother to buy one, he's got the money.

So, any recommendations on scanners?

I've got three types of negatives. I think the first are Agfa ones. They
produced square prints. Popular in the 1960's.

The second set are regular 35mm colour negatives.

The third set I think are negatives for 110 film. I think it was called
110 film. Certainly much smaller than 35mm.

I suppose any scanner could cope with all three?

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Trev - 24 Dec 2005 21:56 GMT

>> > Okay, I could buy a device for scanning negatives, but I've only got
> say
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
>
> I suppose any scanner could cope with all three?

The first Agfa ones are the problem as to what size 126 instamatic are
Square and might fit a 35 mm scanner I dont know as I have not tried. The
bigger range are 35 mm designed to take a strip of negs or slides in there
mounts and the Minolta's are very good and inexpensive. But If they can not
take the Square negs you may have to get one of the flat beds with a light
built in to the lid. Not as fast and can be lower Res depending on model I
use a Canon 8000 f for 6 cm x 6 cm negs and slides. but a 35 mm scanner for
the 35 mm stuff

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Alan Holmes - 25 Dec 2005 19:18 GMT

>> > Okay, I could buy a device for scanning negatives, but I've only got
> say
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> bet it's best to just but one of these things. Actually, I'll get my
> brother to buy one, he's got the money.

You wouldn't care to let me have your email address, so we could discuss
sharing the cost and use?

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Alan

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Richard - 25 Dec 2005 23:31 GMT

> > Actually maybe it's best one is bought.
> >
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> You wouldn't care to let me have your email address, so we could discuss
> sharing the cost and use?

I dunno. I'll have to talk to my brother.

I suspect that lots of amateur photographers would like to get their old
negatives electronically digitised, then once done have no more use of
the scanner. There are perhaps a few ways to enable persons to get
their negatives scanned cheap[ly. When I think about it photograph clubs
would come in handy, but I think you might have to be a member of the
club, unless the club offered a service of use at really cheap prices. I
wonder if any club has thought of doing this.

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Trev - 25 Dec 2005 23:45 GMT

>> > Actually maybe it's best one is bought.
>> >
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> club, unless the club offered a service of use at really cheap prices. I
> wonder if any club has thought of doing this.

I am sure they have just the same way as many had their own darkroom
facilities. When I got my first computer a film scanner was £500 minimum and
I did think of doing scans for other folks to help pay for one. The current
ranges have been getting better and less expensive with each new model.

Indecently Its not so much the cost of the scanner as the time involved.
Bring back bob a job

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Geoff Berrow - 26 Dec 2005 11:42 GMT

Message-ID: <418odrF1c8cdjU1@individual.net> from Richard contained the
following:

>I suspect that lots of amateur photographers would like to get their old
>negatives electronically digitised, then once done have no more use of
>the scanner.

Buy it, use it then flog it on Ebay.

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Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
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My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
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Liz - 26 Dec 2005 12:26 GMT

> I suspect that lots of amateur photographers would like to get their old
> negatives electronically digitised, then once done have no more use of
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> club, unless the club offered a service of use at really cheap prices. I
> wonder if any club has thought of doing this.

There might be insurance implications if it was opened to the 'general
public' (I know, what's the 'actual' difference between the 'general
public' enlisting as members...) . In any case, it would probably be
cheaper to join for a year or whatever: we had a couple who joined for
a couple of years, presumably only for this purpose, as they only
entered one competition and came to two meetings, but used the scanner
and printer regularly. That was OK, they paid their dues ... (printing
costs were extra, of course).
It can be a pain, though. I used to do my scanning there, but opening
times, booking systems etc were inconvenient, so I bought my own
scanner in the end.

Slainte

Liz

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Trev - 26 Dec 2005 15:49 GMT

>> I suspect that lots of amateur photographers would like to get their old
>> negatives electronically digitised, then once done have no more use of
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> Liz

You would need to join for the year to do that many scans

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Eric - 26 Dec 2005 22:24 GMT

hi

As others have said, either
a) buy a scanner from ebay or similar and scan yourself and then resell
possibily losing a few quid on the scanner, or
b) pay for a service to do it for you. people need to be paid for their
time.

Its not that difficult a decision really. At even .50p per scan, 400
negs/slides starts to cost real money.

Cheapest is to buy one and do it yourself over a week end

Eric

>>> I suspect that lots of amateur photographers would like to get their old
>>> negatives electronically digitised, then once done have no more use of
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>>
> You would need to join for the year to do that many scans

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Michael J Davis - 29 Dec 2005 11:12 GMT

Eric <nosp@mblueyonder.co.uk> observed

>hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>Cheapest is to buy one and do it yourself over a week end

IME the worst part of the job is getting the negs/slides as dust free as
possible - otherwise the time is spent retouching..... ;-6

Mike

[The reply-to address is valid for 30 days from this posting]

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Michael J Davis
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Justin C - 24 Dec 2005 23:50 GMT

Getting it done "properly" is very expensive... IIRC cheapest I found
was about £3 per image. The problem is, even if you just want the image
scanned and you're prepared to go through them all and mess around with
colour balances and stuff, not to mention remove dust, there are just
too many small fiddly bits of film for someone to handle.

I multiplied up the cost of scanning and the number of images I have and
found I would save many thousands of pounds getting a scanner... so I
got a Minolti Dimage something or other. It's such a chore scanning
images, I've done one roll of film, can't see me doing anymore.

My intended solution is to get a slide copier (one that can take a neg
strip, not just individual slides). Then, with a flash gun (cotrollable
source of light) and the camera controlled from the PC (if possible - so
I don't have to mess around transfering, save straight to HD)just bang
through strip after strip - much faster than scanning... though,
admittedly less detail (I can always scan an image if I need it higher
res). At least then, when I'm spending hours in front of the computer I
will actually be *doing* something, rather than spending most of the
time *waiting* for the scanner to do it's thing.

Round tuits, that's what I'm short of... hope I get one for Christmas.

Justin.

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Justin C, by the sea.

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