Digitizing Film Negs

[R2-G2]

I've got a G2 and a decent Epson Perfection 1200Photo flatbed scanner with a slide-scanning attachment. I have about 5 pages of old film negs from college days I want to have high-res digital scans of (RAW/TIFF) that I will use to compile an album of shots showing various nearby locales from the early 1980s compared with shots I will be taking presently. Sort of a "then" and "now" kind of project. I will print the "plates" (images) which could be up to 8" x 10" on my Epson 1270. I want the high-res images for flexible image editing, possible output to a higher-quality printing device, and also just for future reference.

The scanner does only "position quality" scans with the attachment (i.e., garbage), and while I've seen an attachment for the G2 that can enable it to scan film negs and slides, the quality appears iffy at best.

Anyone know whether it's worth it to invest in any particular accessory/gizmo to have in-home to do this sort of work (brand/model/prices)? Or is it best just to go to a graphics house to buy scans (and if so, how much should I expect to pay nowadays?).

Wondering if technology yet provides an acceptable in-home scanning device for this purpose versus spending the money on a one-shot purchase of scans. Always nicer to have the money go into an investment in equipment rather than go to services, whenever possible.

Also, if there's a better place (forum) on the net to ask this, please direct me! :)

Thanks,
R2

[john_houghton]

R2-G2 wrote:
Wondering if technology yet provides an acceptable in-home scanning device for this purpose versus spending the money on a one-shot purchase of scans.
A film scanner such as the Nikon Coolscan IV ED should provide scans of adequate quality for your purpose. It has the Digital ICE feature for scratch removal, which is very useful. Resolution is 2900dpi, so you should get 300ppi 10 x 8 with no problems. Quality compares well with consumer digital cameras. Film grain can be a problem, noticeable in skies. I did a comparison of a scan from a Nikon LS30 with a Nikon 995 digicam some while ago and the film was generally better, except for grain. 10 x 8 prints from each looked very similar. See comparison pics (http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/j.houghton/nikfuj.htm)

John