Negative/Slide scanner

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coolio

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Just wondering if anyone has any experience of purchasing a scanner for converting negatives/slides to photos on your pc. I have looked up a few one being the smart digital image copier film scanner on clevergadgets.co.uk (can't post url as I don't have 15 posts!!)

I have no experience of them and was hoping to buy one as a Christmas present. It would only be for home use and would need to be user friendly. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
I bought a scanner (http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/0961345/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/Trail/searchtext%3ESCANNER.htm (Canon LiDE 700F Scanner)) from Argos that has an attachment to scan negatives/slides.

It does the job fine. It's €159.99.
 
Thanks very much for the replies. Paddybloggit - yours seems to be the business for multi-use excellent scanner. However I'm looking for something as good (or as expensive!). I think something along the lines of what RMCF has will do the job. It a present for my Dad and might not see the light of day after Christmas Day!! Thanks again for your quick responses.

RMCF - Just wondering, do the negatives take long to convert to jpegs and what is the quality like? Thanks
 
coolio - You appear to overestimate the abilities of a scanner when converting hard-copy images to digital form on a computer. Whilst a scanner will allow these images to be edited easily on a computer, there is no similar way of converting photographic negatives to digital form which will allow the production of digital photographs (JPEGS or any other of the common digital image formats) on a computer using technology commonly available to the consumer. Certainly, you can use a scanner to transfer these photographic negatives to a computer, but this is pointless because all you get are images of these negatives which cannot be made into photographs using technology available to the consumer.

You may, of course, choose to transfer negatives to a computer in this way and then alter these images in any way your artistic imagination permits. But they never will resemble the images intended when the photograph was taken with the camera.
 
why not share info rather than going private with it?

tepid air said:
You may, of course, choose to transfer negatives to a computer in this way and then alter these images in any way your artistic imagination permits. But they never will resemble the images intended when the photograph was taken with the camera.
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why not? I've scanned in negatives and printed them out on photographic paper .... they're more than accepatable for the 'amateur' user. Going down the professional route will of course lead to better results.

As the OP says ... it's for his dad who may not even use it after Christmas ... so why complicate matters? ... scan in the negative, print it out and be happy with the result.
 
PaddyBloggit - To quote a well-known tennis player, you can naht be serious!

Whilst you certainly can scan photographic negatives into the computer, all you get are images of these negatives, albeit as JPEGs (or any other image format you care to choose). If you can come up with software to convert these images (which now are merely images of negatives and not actual photographic negatives) into JPEG images showing the photograph as intended when the camera shutter went 'click', you certainly have the means of becoming quite wealthy. Now, unless you can do this, what's the point of attempting it in the first place? If you can tell me, I certainly am listening.

To make these 'negatives' function as normal photographic negatives (now converted to a digital graphic image), you would need to also transfer the technology inherent in these negatives into the computer along with the negative image. This is what a scanner cannot do - yet.

It could be possible to select a negative, from one's shoe-box, which might be able to produce a vaguely acceptable image as a JPEG on the computer, this process is more than likely to be 'hit and miss'. If the negative is in colour, the colours will not be transferred as intended for the photograph, and, if it's in B&W, the light areas will be dark, while the dark areas will be light.

If you really need to have these negatives converted to photographs, the only way is to have them printed in the 'old fashioned' and then scan the photographs into the computer. And then buy a digital camera!
 
tepid air said:
If you really need to have these negatives converted to photographs, the only way is to have them printed in the 'old fashioned' and then scan the photographs into the computer. And then buy a digital camera!
Click to expand...

Tepid Air as you say you can naht be serious! I have an epson photo scanner and also a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual 11 and nobody has told these pieces of equipment that they are wasting their time scanning my large stock of negatives. Just as well as, in their ignorance, they produce excellent results.

The conversion of the negative image to a positive one is a function of software and the quality of the finished product is down to the quality and resolution of the scanner.

Coolio, as with most things you get what you pay for but, if your father does not intend to print large reproductions of his photographs, there is no reason as to why the scanners you have looked at will not give reasonably acceptable results.
 
I use a Canon Canoscan 8800f...it's a flat bed but has a tranny/neg adapter and it's the business. I've used minolta & nikon proper film scanners before and the Cano gives the best results...for tranny anyway.
Negs are always harder to scan, and take more time in PS after to get the colours right.
I'm scanning Xpan trannys at the moment with the Canoscan and they're fine for the net and lowres...but they really need a drum scanner if they're to be printed large.
 
The descriptions here of success in creating digital images from scanned photographic negatives are interesting. Whilst these commenter's may feel they've achieved a successful conversion of these incompatible formats, I must say that I have yet to see a digital image created in this way with software bundled with a scanner intended for the consumer market which also does not look like it's been created by someone without a degree of colour blindness.

Certainly, there are commercial software solutions available to do this conversion and which can produce an image which broadly follows the guidelines established in the original photographic negative. However, these commercial packages can cost several hundreds of Euros. This is not an acceptable solution for one wishing to put his or her precious negatives onto their computer at home, and who is not interested in wrestling with colour and tonal balance.

Under these circumstances, I repeat my original advice that the only certain way of transferring the intention of the original negative to digital form is firstly to have silver-based photographic prints or slides made of these negatives.
 
I have had an involvement in photography for nearly 40 years for both business and pleasure purposes. Over the years I have graduated from film, including processing to digital imaging. I am very satisfied with the results I have achieved in scanning good quality negatives and printing enlargements of the resulting images, nor have I received any complaints. Inevitably there will be a slight degradation of image quality but with care and appropriate post processing excellent results can be obtained.

As I said to the OP, reasonably acceptable results can be obtained for personal amateur use from using budget equipment. Acceptable is, of course, a matter of interpretation. As this is required as a present for coolio's father and 'might not see the light of day after Christmas Day' it would appear to me to be adequate for his purposes.

If his father becomes hooked then he will always be at liberty to invest himself in whatever it takes to provide the quality of result that meets his needs.
 
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