Scanning 35mm negatives flatbed or not?

[LexLuther]

I recently got married in Cuba, and was given about 100 photo's as part of the wedding package. I have photo's and all the negatives, and now I'm left with getting them into my computer so I can organize everything. I already have a decent scanner albeit really old, but I was hoping to be able to pick up a new scanner, and just scan in the negatives.

I was looking at the Canoscan 8000F or maybe even the LiDE80 because it's in my price range and allow me to scan more than just the 100 photo's I have, but do all the negatives that guests have given me.

Now I'm hearing the flatbed scanners are no good, and I should go with a Nikon CoolPix Neg. Scanner. The price on this is way too high.

My question, just how bad would a flatbed scanner be? Totally unacceptible? Resonably acceptable?

Should I just skip purchasing equipment, and pay the $250 for the local retailer to scan in the 100 negs. for me? (This still seems pretty steep.)

[Jack W.]

Hi Lex.
Congrats on your marriage.
I just bought the Epson 4180. I haven't had time to really shake it out yet, but I also want it for slides and some negs.
The few I've done so far are quite good, but I still have a lot more testing to do.
Flatbeds today have gotten so much better that they give dedicated film scanners a run for their money.

[LexLuther]

I'm glad to hear this. It seems unfortunate that whenever I enter a forum and ask any question regarding digital photography/scanning/printing, I get pointed towards 'professional' solutions to my problems. Although it'd be great to have some of these items, I can't justify the costs. Thanks for you input.

[Jack W.]

You're welcome.
I'm going to try to make some time today to further test the scanner, and become more familiar with the software.
I'll post back here when I can.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I think you can get a decent neg scanner for about $250.00? No?

In fact a good friend of mine has this one;

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/38-116-001-01.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=38-116-001&depa=0

Now only $250.00 ( i think he paid nearly $350.00 about a year back)

The Minoltas are very well respected.

[ejwebb]

I have a canoscan 5000F and cannot recommend it for negatives or slides. I have tried and tried but can't get decent film scans from it - although the print scans are fine. The film scans never appear to be in focus - so far out that I can't get it back in PS - and they just don't have good contrast or color, even at high resolution scans.

I know others who recommend both Epson and HP flatbeds for decent film scanning. One of the things I noticed on the HP is that the scan software is much more user friendly and appears to allow more user control over the scans. The canon software is awful - I can't figure out what half the settings are and can find no useful manual or other assitance online.

I don't know how similar the 8000F is to the 5000F but you want to be sure to look into it closely. Anyone who has the 5000F and can offer suggestions - it would be much appreciated!!

[evilenglishman]

Lex,
have you looked into prices on having them put on CD?
It also might be a cheaper solution to have prints made from your slides and then scan them in on a flatbed scanner

[LexLuther]

Well, I went out and bought the Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV, and to put it mildly, I'm rather disappointed. I don't know if it's my lack of skill, the hardware, or the negatives having completely died on me since we got married 2 months ago.

I already have copies of the developed 35mm which look pretty good. We were very happy with the results the resort provided us. But these scans don't come close to anything my DRebel did on the trip, or what we have in our album.

Pictures are coming out very very grainy, and the color is all over the place. I'll be really pissed if it turns out the negatives are garbage, and these are the only negatives we have of our wedding.

[LexLuther]

I can't figure why it's getting so pixelated. Maybe someone with some experience doing this kind of stuff can lend me a hand. Here's a photo of the same scene. On the left is one taken by my cousin with my DRebel. On the right is one of my scanned in 35mm negatives that was taken by the resort photographer.

http://lexluther.shackspace.com/images/Messed-Up.jpg
300K

I'm at a total loss on what to do. My wife is already crying thinking that the negatives are completely gone. I know for a fact that I could probably scan in the 5x7's on a flatbed and get much better results.

[Jack W.]

Hi Lex.
I'm not at all familiar with the software for your Minolta (still learning it for my Epson).
Only thing I can think of is to really explore all of the options with the software, such as sharpening, color settings, what format you're saving the scan in, etc. From what I've read, the Minolta is quite good. I doubt your negatives are bad
I just tried some negatives for the first time. It's an old strip that's been sitting unprotected in a drawer for years, and the scan came out quite good. I don't know how to post an image here, so if you want, I can send you some images by way of e-mail to show you the results I've gotten so far.
My e-mail is Jacksmyname1@excite.com
Let me know and I'll send 'em your way.
Jack