Convert old negatives to digital.

Jay Dee

Hi,
I'm looking for something to convert my old negatives to a digital format.
I remember seeing a device on an old Late Late Christmas programme, but can't remember any more.
Anyone have any ideas on what is available or remember what this was.
It was somewhere about € 50.00 - 70.00

Otherwise what is available or if anyone has done this before, how did you do it.
I do not want a company that will convert for me, as I want to pick and choose what is converted.
All ideas are welcome,

thanks

Jay

amdgilmore

Jay Dee wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking for something to convert my old negatives to a digital format.
I remember seeing a device on an old Late Late Christmas programme, but can't remember any more.
Anyone have any ideas on what is available or remember what this was.
It was somewhere about € 50.00 - 70.00

Otherwise what is available or if anyone has done this before, how did you do it.
I do not want a company that will convert for me, as I want to pick and choose what is converted.
All ideas are welcome,

thanks

Jay

You won't get any kind of respectable quality out of a €50 negative scanner. The good dedicated scanners cost a few thousand. A semi-decent flatbed will set you back about 250.

If you don't feel like buying one, Rua Red have a hasselblad negative scanner, which can be booked on an hourly basis. I think there's a relatively small fee involved.

magicbastarder

what do you want to scan for? facebook? print?

Jay Dee

Hi,

Thanks for the info lads.
What I want to do is take a load of old negatives, sort through them and collect one file of the best.
Then copy that to a few usb sticks and distribute them to family members.

The device I'm thinking of was about a 4" cube.
You fed the negative strips in on a " ladder " at the bottom,
they were scanned one by one and you could view / keep / discard each one.
It was usb connected.

I'm not interested in a high quality scanner ( Thanks for the info though ) as this is a one off job,
But can be done over a period at my leisure.

Thanks

Jay

magicbastarder

amdgilmore wrote: »

If you don't feel like buying one, Rua Red have a hasselblad negative scanner, which can be booked on an hourly basis. I think there's a relatively small fee involved.

i vaguely remember an old poster here commenting that there is another scanner there that is much quicker and easier to use, and which offers excellent quality as well.

Jay Dee

Hi,

I think that may be what I'm looking for.
Now all I have to do is find someone who either has one, and can tell me the name of the device, or
who knows where you get one ????
Hopefully !!!!!

Thanks

Jay

DaireQuinlan

Jay Dee wrote: »

Hi,

I think that may be what I'm looking for.
Now all I have to do is find someone who either has one, and can tell me the name of the device, or
who knows where you get one ????
Hopefully !!!!!

Thanks

Jay

AFAIK all the scanners in RuaRed are €++ , there's the hasselblad/imacon one and maybe an Epson 700/750 or something, I don't know. Either which way, you're not going to pick one up for €100

If you were originally talking about something like this http://www.mydigitallife.info/digital-film-scanner-to-convert-analog-negative-films-to-digital-photos/ or one of the hundreds of variants, I'd not bother. The quality is absolutely appalling. Completely unacceptable. I'd get the cheapest flatbed canon or epson scanner that can do strips of film, shouldn't cost terribly much more, and the scans will be at least reasonably quality for emailing to people and maybe 6x4 prints or whatever.

magicbastarder

yep, the hasselblad one is probably around €10k in price; they can be used for a small fee, but if you're new to scanning, steer well clear because i suspect the software is not designed for people new to scanning concepts.
the epson v500 will scan 35mm negs:
http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product/zkb-04rand/10017033/epson-perfection-v500/details.aspx

amdgilmore

You can also pick up a Canoscan 9000f MKI for less than 200 quid. It's pretty good for the price. It's reduced now because the MKII just came out, but the only difference between the two is the software.

DannyBuoy

+1 for the Canon 9000, does 35mm film and slides, and 120 film. Gives perfectly good results for the majority of needs imo.

magicbastarder

hopefully the canon software has improved - the stuff that i used which was bundled with the 8400f and 9900f was appalling.

Red Nissan

http://www.pixmania.fr/scanner-de-film/plustek-scanner-opticfilm-8100-passe-vues-kit-film-holder/21472307-a.html

I've the 7100 version of this for about the same money.

It works well but I downloaded a FREE software to actually run it, the SilverFast software provided is pants and as others have said, useless and they want you to register for about €50 too.

This is about the minimum I'd recommend, Aldi and Lidl have €70 versions but they are a real waste of time TBH. Don't get a flat-bed for negatives or slides, you'd need something really, really good in around the €600 range or better.

When a few posters are warning about poor quality, they really, really mean it.

stcstc

i use an epson v750 pro, it comes with the full version of silverlight which produces better scans than the epson software

takes a little getting used to but once you have it right produces great scans

magicbastarder

Red Nissan wrote: »

It works well but I downloaded a FREE software to actually run it, the SilverFast software provided is pants and as others have said, useless and they want you to register for about €50 too.

what version of silverfast came with it? it has a good rep.

Jay Dee

Hi,

Thanks for all the info / options.
For the amount of money available, I think the Epson Perfection V500, seeks to be the best available.
Before I buy, are there any last comments ???
Thanks

Jay

Red Nissan

magicbastarder wrote: »

what version of silverfast came with it? it has a good rep.

I'd have to find the disk again to check but memory says SilverFast 7 Lite. Technically a superior software but advanced features are unavailable which makes it a clunker IMO.

SilverFast is extremely fussy about it's working environment and won't multitask easily, it likes to be the only programme running.

stcstc

the version you have is a cut down version

it generally is bundles with lower end scanners

the full version does more than most other bits of software, things like multiexposure etc

as for multitasking, seems ok for me, runs on win 7 in a stable way

cnocbui

OP, I don't think you need the top model scanner on offer, from the sounds of it, so it might be worth looking at something like the Canon 700F, one model down from their top end 9000F. The scanning resolution and specs are the same so you are likely getting near enough the same scanner engine and quality without the bells and whistles. £79 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-9600dpi-Advanced-technology-document/dp/B001TTLM6W/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1378637126&sr=8-5&keywords=canon+negative+scanner

TTWNF

http://www.darkroomservice.ie

this guy is really good....

Jay Dee

@cnocbui,

Thanks for the comment,
I think you are correct.
I do need something that will do presentable results,
but at the same time does not have to be top quality.

Will check it out,

Thanks

Jay