[jibra]

I have been thinking about getting manual 35mm and film scanner and bought Nikon MF with 50mm (general pictures) and 100mm (I love to picture people.) from ebay. For a while I probably take some not-that-great pictures (I have some experience with 35 mm but it was all automatic. But I need to see how they work out.)

So my question is

1. Is the idea of develp the film and scan it to see the pics before I enlarge or print workable? My idea is to save some money associated with print every pictures I take and only enlarge the ones I like.

2. Any recommendation for the affordable film scanner? For a while I think I will stick to the 35 mm format not larger formats. I don't think I can stretch more than $500 for the film scanner. My quick search gave me some articles about DiMAGE Scan Dual III and II.


I don't have any plan to be dead serious about photography. I just want to have some memorable scenes on papers.

Thanks for every opinion in advance.

Sam

 

[wallijonn]

i thought most scanner (flatbed) do negative scanning. hmmm.

 

[jibra]

Should we add some kind of lamp thing for the flatbed scanner to scan the negative?

 

[chillysalsa]

Well, I've tried this before while borrowing a friend's scanner.

You can use almost any graphics editing program to just invert the colors and get your positive image picture, though you will almost always end up with a weird colour balance that will need further correction & tweaking, which was a nightmare.

The scanner I was using had really CRAP resolution. I think newer scanners may be better, but remember you're still trying to exctract A LOT of resolution, from a negative that's only about 1.5 square inches! The optical resolution of the scanner just wasn't enough to get an even reasonable image, so I had to use the software enhancement to get it up to 4800 dpi: this took a horrible period of time, and still ended up with terrible image quality, but I guess it was good enough to tell me whether it was a garbage picture or a keeper...

If you want to do this with high quality, you need >2000dpi of OPTICAL resolution for scanning negatives. Nikon makes these puppies for the $800-2000 range, and are quite nice:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=227756

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=227756

 

[wallijonn]

did a google search for photo AND scanner

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...ct_code=287747 you can probably find abetter price.

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...ct_code=286671 $80, 4x6" prints

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...ct_code=296543 this one uses the lighted adapter.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...834906-4915024 1200x2400dpi resolution for under $100

*** http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=C125-1250%20P ****usb2.0 if you have it.***

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?sku=P147-1012

http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/h...me=product.cgi (i always preferr HP products because of driver support. units like the microtek tend to not have drivers for OS's that are 2 generations away, ie., if you have a w95/w98 scanner it won't work with w2k/wxp).

*** read as many user reviews as you can before buying a scanner. ****

heck, there should be a scanner forum somewhere. google search for scanner AND forum produced:

http://www.onlyscanners.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.shtml

http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/Digital_Imaging/

http://www.wugnet.com/compuserve/int...printscan.html

and there has to be more.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

When I did professinal photography, the only thing that gave decent, workable results was a dedicated negative scanner. Go to someplace like B&H and see what they have available in your price range, then try to find it on eBay or some other place like the newsgroups to get it cheaper!! Flatbed scanners are alright for tight budgets and ok quality scans, but I find that the software and detail pulling work is done from dedicated neg scanners.

If you only plan to do scans to see what you took a photo of and see if it is worth spending the time and money to print/enlarge it, you may choose the flatbed scanner route. Quality may suck, but you're looking to just see roughly what it looks like before printing/enlarging it.

If you're serious about checking out the details of your photo, color quality, exposure accuracy, etc. you may want to look at spending the money to get the dedicated neg scanner. Or if you just have the money to burn and want to have fun!!

 

[wallijonn]

find a film processor that does contact sheets.

 

[grancasa]

The Dimage Dual Scan is a great negative scanner. You do NOT want to use a flatbed scanner for this, as the resolution and optics are just not up to snuff.

What I would do (and did for a little while) is this. Shoot black and white film, develop yourself, scan on your scanner, and print using a photo printer.

You've already got a great little camera (although I like the Canon MF system since you can find lenses cheaper. The Nikon MF lenses can be used on the new AF bodies and so are still desireable). So go get 4 rolls Illford Delta 400 and shoot a ton of different things. People, landscapes, portraits, still lifes, photo journalistic, etc. Go to your local library and check out black and white photography books, and try to copy the different styles you see.

Then develop your film. If you have access to a school lab, you could do it there, but it's probably best to get your own equipment and just do it at home. This way you control the chemicals you use and get to experiment with different techniques. You'll need the chemicals, some graduated cylinders, film spools and canisters, a thermometer, and a place to let you negatives hang to dry where they won't get dirty. The stuff should only cost you about $50, and you'll be able to do your own developing whenever you want. Don't worry about not having a darkroom to work in; my first photo teacher shot in Vietnam, and he would develop out in the field under enemy fire! Just get a dark bag/tent, and you'll be all set.

Then scan your negs using a Dimage Dual Scan II, which should run around $250, play around in photoshop, and get ready to print.

Epson printers are pretty much the defacto standard, if I remember. You should be able to find a 880 for around $100, and there are different ink systems out there that can really cut down on ink costs. Don't skimp on paper though; good quality paper can cost almost $.50 per 8.5x11.

This should only run you about $400, and it would be a killer system. And, your long term costs would be kept very low, as you would only need to buy film (about $2.50 per 36 roll), chemicals (ave. maybe $.25 per roll), paper (about $.50 per 8x10) and ink (maybe .25 per 8x10). Compare that with spending $8 a roll getting a decent B & W lab to develop and print a roll of 36 and you've got some serious savings. Shows us your shots once you get this system up and running.

 

[Ari]

Ditto Grancasa !!! Good point. I agree 100%.

And more. The prints Jibra like most, he can photoshop then and make a file and print in photographic paper at his preferred shop. I do this here. The shop I use has Fuji minilabs and the photo prints are stunning great. I'm doing this using a Sony DSC 707.

I gonna grab a film scanner for me and put my loved M6 Leica to work again....back in business...


Best

Ari

 

[aeberbach]

I have only tried to scan negatives with a flatbed scanner once, and although I spent a lot of time messing with it I could not make it work well enough. There is _always_ some dust, somewhere.

I'm a big fan of the Nikon Coolpix 4000 negative scanner. I use a Contax T3 as a point & shoot and get the photos developed normally with prints because I like to be able to pass around a pack of pictures. It's not the same getting all the relatives together in front of the computer or TV.

Results from the scanner are absolutely amazing. It has software to remove scractches and dust that works incredibly well. The automatic gamma and color correction is not so hot but there are times when it can save your pictures - in May this year I went diving at Lizard Island with a disposable underwater camera. The weak flash made most of the pictures too dark, but the Nikon software turned them into usable pictures, although there was not much to be done about the plastic lens and dodgy film.

First pic - feeding potato cod off Lizard Island.

This barely looked like a picture at all in the print. The tank and the sand were just about visible. Bad printing perhaps but the scanner saved some good pictures.

If you really want to see a big scan, go here:
http://homepage.mac.com/aeberbach/PhotoAlbum10.html

The only thing is I really wish I had bought the 8000 model so I could scan my medium format negatives and slides too.

 

[jibra]

Thanks for all insghtful and experienced suggestions.

I read many good things about Nikon Coolpix 4000 but it is really out of my reach. I am seriously considering Dimage Dual Scan II which is sold around $250 online.

Printer is my next concern. I first need a way to check my photos on screen.

During weekend I went to Meyer (grocery chain in midwest) for some grocery and checked out their D&P service. They charge something like $5.5 for a role of 24 for development only. I read somewhere that Osco only charge something like a dollar for development (I am not sure whether the price was for 24 or 36.). Meyer seems to charge more for B&W development. If that is the case, I need to serioulsy consider the path of development myself approach.

grancasa!

Will you give me a bit mroe details for the things I need.

"the chemicals, some graduated cylinders, film spools and canisters, a thermometer, and a place to let you negatives hang to dry where they won't get dirty"

1. How long should I let my negatives hang?

2. I believe at least when I take out the film out of my camera and put it into some kind of liquid chemical, the room or whatever place should be dark. How long does it take? The only place I can do that kind of work is the restroom of my small apartment. I don't have this apartment by myself so I need to consider the other people.


Again thanks for all postings.

Sam

 

[wallijonn]

there's a nice Kodak book on photography that you find usefull. library is best. has a nice setup on bathroom film developing.

as to hanging, i first used the square plastic clothes "hangers" that went for $5.99 at kmart / walmart / caldors. it had a zipper all the way to the bottom. it was about 72" long. the problem was the lack of air circulation. took forever to dry.

as to the scanner - somewhere someone is selling one used

 

[eric343]

Save up for a Nikon dedicated film scanner. We've got one and it's worth every penny...

 

[ServinginEcuador]

If this is something you will be doing lots of, buy a scanner!! If you will only do a couple of hundred scans, pay to have it done at some cheapo store for you!!!

With your budget, I would recommend anything by Minolta that you can afford!! And if you can't afford the one that's about $700, save up and buy that if you can!! Their Scan Elite II is really good!! I used to use a medium format scanner by Minolta and absolutely loved it. When compared to Nikon these Minoltas have a much, much higher dynamic range, 3.6 for Nikon, 4.6 for Minolta Scan Elite II. That means much brighter brights and dynamic contrasts.

 

[eric343]

It definitely helps to use some third-party drivers. The dynamics SUCK using the stock drivers, using a piece of software that I've forgotten the name of, they ROCK.