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Thread: cheapest way to scan negatives?

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Posts
    9,487

    Re: cheapest way to scan negatives?

    Scanning a 4x5 contact print on any scanner will not be as good as scanning your film on a decent prosumer flatbed like the Epson 4990 or 700/750.

    The reason you'd want to make a 4x5 contact is because they have a special quality unto themselves. Also scale plays an important role, shooting for a small 4x5 print may change your thoughts on composition and tone compared to having a big 16x20 print as your final art.

    If I were in a cramped apartment I would probably want to shoot 4x5, either Portra 400NC C41 color neg or Tri-X B&W, and have it processed at a pro lab. Then I'd scan it on a Epson 4990 and make a good inkjet, sending out for larger prints if needed.

    If I did contact prints and film developing in a minimalist kitchen sink operation, then that would be additional. But I wouldn't bother -- 4x5 contact prints are sweet but nothing I want to pursue in depth, and breathing photo chemistry in your apartment is no fun.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    1,261

    Re: cheapest way to scan negatives?

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Petronio View Post
    ... breathing photo chemistry in your apartment is no fun.
    Sounds like the advice of someone who has lived downwind from Kodak.

  3. #23
    Claudio Santambrogio
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    At home
    Posts
    556

    Re: cheapest way to scan negatives?

    I use the V500, which is the cheap brother of the V700. Can take up to two 6x6cm (medium format), which means that for a 4x5" sheet you'll have to scan twice and stitch, and for 5x7 scan four times and stitch. But now I am scanning my 8x10 contact prints and don't need the transparency anymore. Something I have always been wondering about, but never got around trying: to scan film, you need a light source above, and one below. You could put a lightbox around the scanner and leave the lid open, but uniform light will be your challenge. I have been wondering, but still haven't tried using a mirror to cover the scanner - should give you reflected uniform light from above, too… Has anybody tried this already?

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