Recommend film scanner quick and under $600 USD?

[scphoto]

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

Thank you ...

[Moderator note: moved to more appropriate subforum]

--
- Simon

 

[Ex-Leper]

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

Thank you ...

Money budget is easy. $400 tops for all. Learning, not so cheap. Here's a free year of experience. Caveat: Don't be in a hurry.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Negative-Document-Scanner/dp/B002OEBMRU

2. https://www.hamrick.com/purchase-vuescan.html

Highly recommend VueScan Pro

3. http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/models/v500.html

You want it right? Use these.

4. IT8 Targets http://www.targets.coloraid.de/

Worth the time and trouble for color.

 

[GreatWhiteWing]

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

Thank you ...

I have an older Canon 8800 that I scanned a lot of slides and negatives with. Not a particularly fast option but did a nice job. I have to use a third party scanner program (now) called vuescan since there are no win 10 drivers I could find. My point being a used flatbed with the right film holders can be a good inexpensive option.

BTW Vuescan is a very nice scanner interface.

 

[scphoto]

Money budget is easy. $400 tops for all. Learning, not so cheap. Here's a free year of experience. Caveat: Don't be in a hurry.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Negative-Document-Scanner/dp/B002OEBMRU

2. https://www.hamrick.com/purchase-vuescan.html

Highly recommend VueScan Pro

3. http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/models/v500.html

You want it right? Use these.

4. IT8 Targets http://www.targets.coloraid.de/

Worth the time and trouble for color.

Thanks for sharing your experience and advice with me.

 

[scphoto]

I have an older Canon 8800 that I scanned a lot of slides and negatives with. Not a particularly fast option but did a nice job. I have to use a third party scanner program (now) called vuescan since there are no win 10 drivers I could find. My point being a used flatbed with the right film holders can be a good inexpensive option.

BTW Vuescan is a very nice scanner interface.

Good idea! I'll look at used scanners that vuescan will support. My only concern is that used scanners may have scratches on the glass??? I generally don't buy used items because of the difficulty of returning them if I don't like them for some reason. Any advice on which websites make returns of used items easy ... ebay, bhphoto, etc.?

Thanks,

 

[GreatWhiteWing]

I have an older Canon 8800 that I scanned a lot of slides and negatives with. Not a particularly fast option but did a nice job. I have to use a third party scanner program (now) called vuescan since there are no win 10 drivers I could find. My point being a used flatbed with the right film holders can be a good inexpensive option.

BTW Vuescan is a very nice scanner interface.

Good idea! I'll look at used scanners that vuescan will support. My only concern is that used scanners may have scratches on the glass??? I generally don't buy used items because of the difficulty of returning them if I don't like them for some reason. Any advice on which websites make returns of used items easy ... ebay, bhphoto, etc.?

Thanks,

Not sure but B&H, keh.com, adorama have good reps.

Also ebay is not a bad place with buyer protections. Just make sure you read carefully and ask the seller questions looking at their ratings.

You can also resell item on ebay when done your scanning.

Newer scanner models may not NEED vuescan with OEM drivers and apps for your OS but it is a good program.

 

[sybersitizen]

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep ...

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments ...

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

There are such devices, sort of. I have good scanners, but I also have a cheapy like this:

View attachment 2715510

Several variations of such things exist. Every type that has a built-in screen can display negatives with the colors inverted (or can also display slides). Looking through a whole roll of negatives is fast and easy. The resolution is very low, though, so you can't evaluate small details or check for precise focus.

Or, you can actually scan the frames to an SD card and look at the files later for close evaluation. Each scan takes just a few seconds.

If you're interested, it's not hard to find used ones on eBay for $40-$50.

Another option is to lay your negatives out on a good flatbed scanner with a large transparency window, scan them all at once, then examine the result for the ones you want to work on further.

 

[Overrank]

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

Thank you ...

[Moderator note: moved to more appropriate subforum]

When you want to digitise at high quality, what sort of resolution are you looking for ? A V600 will give you a output image of somewhere around 4MP. A dedicated film scanner would give you upwards of 13MP, but at less than $600 would require hand feeding,

A V600 is around £200, I would use the EpsonScan software and supplied negative holders. IT-8 targets are useful for colour slides, but not negatives. Once you see how that goes you can then decide if you need additional holders, software etc.

An alternative to a V600 might be a film scanner like a Plustek and also a cheap light box to determine the images to scan. Lay the negatives on the light box, take a photograph and then invert it to quickly decide which ones to scan. That would be more like £450 though.



You could also use a camera to scan the negatives, but unless you already have the kit you will need a macro lens, light box, stand and software to invert the negatives. Quality is similar to a dedicated film scanner.

 

[Overrank]

I have an older Canon 8800 that I scanned a lot of slides and negatives with. Not a particularly fast option but did a nice job. I have to use a third party scanner program (now) called vuescan since there are no win 10 drivers I could find. My point being a used flatbed with the right film holders can be a good inexpensive option.

BTW Vuescan is a very nice scanner interface.

Good idea! I'll look at used scanners that vuescan will support. My only concern is that used scanners may have scratches on the glass??? I generally don't buy used items because of the difficulty of returning them if I don't like them for some reason. Any advice on which websites make returns of used items easy ... ebay, bhphoto, etc.?

Thanks,

eBay allows you to return items if they’re not as described. Whether you can return something because you don’t like them depends on the seller, but you normally would have to pay return shipping, and possibly a restocking fee in that case.

 

[smithim]

There are such devices, sort of. I have good scanners, but I also have a cheapy like this:

View attachment 2715510

Several variations of such things exist. Every type that has a built-in screen can display negatives with the colors inverted (or can also display slides).

I have something similar, without the built in screen - you view the image on the PC screen.

I find it very useful for negs, as not only can you see what it is and make a value judgment, but it also inverts the colours. AFAIR it has a built in 5Mp camera, but the output from this is poor.

Useful for sorting out the negs worth scanning.

 

[Mr Giggles]

what ever you do - dont buy a flat bed to scan 35mm film

get a dedicated scanner like a plustec

the results will be extremely better

 

[sybersitizen]

There are such devices, sort of. I have good scanners, but I also have a cheapy like this:

View attachment 2715510

Several variations of such things exist. Every type that has a built-in screen can display negatives with the colors inverted (or can also display slides).

I have something similar, without the built in screen - you view the image on the PC screen.

Yeah, mine has a TV output on the back for an RCA-type connector, which I just tried for the first time using my computer and monitor. The display is low res, but otherwise not bad.

I find it very useful for negs, as not only can you see what it is and make a value judgment, but it also inverts the colours. AFAIR it has a built in 5Mp camera, but the output from this is poor.

Mine has a 14MP sensor. The output still can't compete with a real scanner, though.

Useful for sorting out the negs worth scanning.

Yep.

 

[scphoto]

To all who responded to my request for advice ... THANK YOU! This is what I really like about the dpreview forums ... fellow photographers who are both knowledgeable and helpful.

Based on the comments I received, I think my best plan is the following:

Buy a new Epson V600 for $230 USD on Amazon (free shipping and returns) and buy at least one additional set of plastic trays ($30 each). I would then load up 1 sets of 6-shot negative strips and while it is scanning, load up the next, and so on.

I think this is the best strategy for my particular situation because:

1. I may have hundreds of 6-shot negative strips BW & color, but because the film is very old (taken in the late 60s thru the early 2000's - before I went digital) I don't care about most of them. My keep rate will probably be considerably less than 1%.

2. If I only want to keep <1%, my workflow bottle neck is scanning the negatives and then, most likely, discarding almost all that I just scanned.

3. If the above plan doesn't work ... most likely because I get frustrated with the process taking too much time, I can return the scanner.

4. Some of you have advised me against getting a flatbed scanner because the image qualify isn't the best. Maybe my standards are too low, but I think that OK image quality is better than no image at all???

I look forward to you responding to the above plan. Again, thanks to all who responded to my question.

 

[mamallama]

To all who responded to my request for advice ... THANK YOU! This is what I really like about the dpreview forums ... fellow photographers who are both knowledgeable and helpful.

Based on the comments I received, I think my best plan is the following:

Buy a new Epson V600 for $230 USD on Amazon (free shipping and returns) and buy at least one additional set of plastic trays ($30 each). I would then load up 1 sets of 6-shot negative strips and while it is scanning, load up the next, and so on.

I think this is the best strategy for my particular situation because:

1. I may have hundreds of 6-shot negative strips BW & color, but because the film is very old (taken in the late 60s thru the early 2000's - before I went digital) I don't care about most of them. My keep rate will probably be considerably less than 1%.

2. If I only want to keep <1%, my workflow bottle neck is scanning the negatives and then, most likely, discarding almost all that I just scanned.

I don't know exactly what you mean by "I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution".

If you anticipate that you will only keep less than 1% of the negatives your approach above seems overly laborious. You might consider scanning a contact sheet of the negatives to just get a feel of which 1% is worth keeping. See this thread about scanning contact sheets using a flatbed.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64828257

3. If the above plan doesn't work ... most likely because I get frustrated with the process taking too much time, I can return the scanner.

4. Some of you have advised me against getting a flatbed scanner because the image qualify isn't the best. Maybe my standards are too low, but I think that OK image quality is better than no image at all???

I look forward to you responding to the above plan. Again, thanks to all who responded to my question.

 

[sybersitizen]

... I think my best plan is the following:

Buy a new Epson V600 for $230 USD on Amazon (free shipping and returns) and buy at least one additional set of plastic trays ($30 each). I would then load up 1 sets of 6-shot negative strips and while it is scanning, load up the next, and so on.

The 35mm film holder accommodates 2 strips of 6 negatives or one group of 4 slides at a time, so you'd need only one extra holder. Since slides just drop into open holes, you won't even need the extra holder for those. I do find it rather fiddly to load and unload negatives in the holder, so a second one will be useful for negatives. Could be kind of a grueling process if you don't plan to actually save more than a tiny percentage of your scans, but maybe worth a try. As mentioned, there are also other approaches to consider.

Some of you have advised me against getting a flatbed scanner because the image qualify isn't the best. Maybe my standards are too low, but I think that OK image quality is better than no image at all???

In terms of color and dynamic range, Epson flatbeds are fine. The only quality drawback of a flatbed is the resolution. You generally get lower resolution from a mainstream flatbed than you would from a mainstream film scanner. The difference is roughly the same as a 5MP image vs. a 14MP image. That sounds like a lot, but in many cases it can be fairly minor, depending on how much detail the shot actually contains.

 

[Overrank]

To all who responded to my request for advice ... THANK YOU! This is what I really like about the dpreview forums ... fellow photographers who are both knowledgeable and helpful.

Based on the comments I received, I think my best plan is the following:

Buy a new Epson V600 for $230 USD on Amazon (free shipping and returns) and buy at least one additional set of plastic trays ($30 each). I would then load up 1 sets of 6-shot negative strips and while it is scanning, load up the next, and so on.

I think this is the best strategy for my particular situation because:

1. I may have hundreds of 6-shot negative strips BW & color, but because the film is very old (taken in the late 60s thru the early 2000's - before I went digital) I don't care about most of them. My keep rate will probably be considerably less than 1%.

If your keep rate is genuinely 1:100 then as mamallama says photographing on a lightbox (an iPad displaying a white page for example) and doing a quick inversion might cut down your loading / scanning time.

Alternatively EpsonScan does a quick preview scan as part of its workflow and you can then select which of the 12 images you want to scan at a higher resolution. Once you’ve selected the images and asked it to scan at higher res it doesn’t take any more intervention

2. If I only want to keep <1%, my workflow bottle neck is scanning the negatives and then, most likely, discarding almost all that I just scanned.

That would only be the time for previewing on a light box or the preview scan on the V600

3. If the above plan doesn't work ... most likely because I get frustrated with the process taking too much time, I can return the scanner.

That would depend on the shops Ts & Cs, but at the end of the scanning you can always sell the scanner. Second hand V600s are selling for £100 - £200 in the U.K. vs £270 new

4. Some of you have advised me against getting a flatbed scanner because the image qualify isn't the best. Maybe my standards are too low, but I think that OK image quality is better than no image at all???

As sybersitizen says the resolution of a V600 vs a dedicated film scanner is something like 5MP to 14MP. But 5MP is easily enough for a 6” x 4” print, and probably up to 12” x 8”. Many film labs provide lab scans to their customers which are 4 - 6MP.

One other worry with a flatbed is keeping the platen glass free of dust, however that can be done by cleaning with glass cleaner and allowing it to evaporate. It’s not normally as much an issue as dust on the negatives.

I look forward to you responding to the above plan. Again, thanks to all who responded to my question.

 

[Mike Engles]

There is no point in doing the job twice. It is quicker to scan the lot at say 2400 dpi or even 3200 dpi.. and 48 bit.

I am scanning my family archive with a V800, the successor to the V700.

I imagine that it is more than 600 dollars, but not a great deal more.

I scan with conservative settings and process in Lightroom

It is excellent and very quick. will do 18 at a time if your negatives are in 6 frames strips. It also has a way of reducing the effects of dust and scratches. If you can find older 4780 scanner frames, they will take 24 negatives, but they do not have the glass of the V800 , to hold the negatives flat. In any case it is worth buying an extra set of holders, so you an load whilst a set are being scanned.

Whatever you do it is tedious, but does stir the memories of happy times.

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

Thank you ...

[Moderator note: moved to more appropriate subforum]

 

[Bob Janes]

Hi. This is the first time that I have posted on this forum. I usually participate in the panasonic and M4/3 forums.

I have a lot of old negatives (BW & Color) in boxes and I want to scan them primarily to identify which shots I want to keep. My guess is that I'll keep (i.e. digitize) about 1 out of 100. In other words, I want something that is fast on two counts: 1. quick to load film. 2. scan quickly at (initially) a low resolution. Importantly ... I don't want to spend much more than $600 USD. I live in the USA.

Once I find a shot that I really like, I would then spend time scanning at a higher resolution and making adjustments.

Most of the scanners which I've researched online require loading the film into plastic trays (I don't think that this can avoided) and then load or feed the trays into the scanner. The problem is that the number of trays that can be scanned at one time is very limited. In the flatbed scanner, the Epson V600 looks like just what I need, but it only handles 12 shots (two 6-shot negative strips) at one time. The V700 will handle double that, but it appears not to be available anymore.

I'd like it to color slides also, but it's much easier to put the slides in a viewer of some type and then select the ones I want. I can't do the same with BW and color negatives ... or ... maybe there is some (inexpensive?) device that does this???

I've never used a film scanner before, so any advice you can give me would be helpful.

There are a fair number of used options. People tend to buy a scanner, use it for a project and then sell it on. Your m43 kit might give you some decent options.

Pretty much everything I know was put into this 35mmc article:

Digitising Negatives and Slides - A Primer - By Bob Janes

This article seeks to inform about the digitising of analogue film, it discusses the issues involved, different approaches available to do it for yourself, and the hardware and software available. It is based on a thread of posts which originated on Dyxum.com (many thanks to those who...

www.35mmc.com

Thank you ...

[Moderator note: moved to more appropriate subforum]

 

[Smaug01]

I read your original post, then I saw your post where you said you're leaning toward an Epson V700. For your stated purposes, the V700 is the wrong tool for the job.

It scans very slowly and takes up a ton of room on the desktop. There are many surfaces from which you'll have to wipe dust.

What you want is a decent desktop scanner for about $160. I bought the Kodak Slide N Scan. That will do 110, 126 and 135 negatives and slides, B&W or color. The beauty of this is that as you slide the negative strip through, it inverts and color-corrects REAL-TIME, as you watch on the screen. You don't even have to scan the bad ones. When you DO press the scan button, it takes 1-2 seconds for a 14 MP scan. (The flatbed scanners are not nearly that fast, even in low quality mode) These scans are good enough to view, as long as you don't zoom into them much, and they're plenty good enough for 4x6 prints.

You get done with that phase, then buy yourself a Nikon ES-2 digitizing set for your 55-60 mm (eq.) macro lens and use that rig to get the high quality scans. It just so happens that I scan with µ4/3 and FF. For µ4/3, I use the inexpensive but super-sharp Olympus 30 mm f/3.5 macro lens. I got it like new on ebay for $100. You already have the µ4/3 body. The ES-2 was about $130, last I checked.

For a total of $290, you will have your fast scanner AND your high quality scanner.

For a sample scan from the Slide N Scan vs. digital camera scan, look here , where I compare a scan from the Slide N Scan vs. a digital camera scan. (I never did bother with flatbed scanners, except that I use one of the all-in-one printer/scanners for scanning prints and documents.)

--
-Jeremy
*********
"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."
-Eric Hoffer
Opinions expressed are mine and not necessarily DPR's

 

[scphoto]

Mike -

Thanks for suggesting the v800. FYI ... it's been replaced with the V850 and is over $1,000 USD new. Used V800 seem to vary been $400 - $1,000 on ebay. I prefer new, but used in almost new condition would be acceptable. I'll look into the used ones.