How do you scan your negatives and make them look like a postive?

[johnschlicher]

I've seen a lot of very nice picture's on this forum, and some of them say " scanned from a negative not yet printed "

How do you accomplish this ?

Sorry I am computer illiterate

Thanks John

[Louie Powell]

Most scanners are equipped with software that can be used to reverse negatives to make positives.

Alternatively, you can use a tool such as The Gimp to convert from negative to positive.

[Larry Gebhardt]

You need a scanner that can scan film. It will need a backlight to shine light through the film. Office flatbeds and most all in one devices will not do this. Epson, Canon and others make inexpensive scanners that do a decent job on large format film.

[Paul Kierstead]

I've seen a lot of very nice picture's on this forum, and some of them say " scanned from a negative not yet printed "

How do you accomplish this ?


First you need a scanner which can do transparent materials in the size of your negative. Your average scanner you find at your local Office Depot (Staples) or computer store won't do this, or, if it does, will only do 35mm or something like that with an adapter. The scanners which can do transparent materials are different in typically a few ways:

1) They have a back light, instead of just a light in the bed, so that light can be shown through the negative/transparency
2) They come with holders to hold the negative/transparency. Dropping the negative directly on the glass doesn't really work out so well.
3) They are able to focus on something a little above the glass (see (2))

They will also come with software that will reverse the image for you if you tell the software you have a negative. Or you can do it with Photoshop (or the Gimp, I suppose) or any just about other semi-serious picture editing application.

Of course, the much easier solution (and faster and cheaper if you are only doing a few here and there) is to just take your negative to your local shop that offers scanning and have it scanned. They'll give you a file that is a positive back.

[johnschlicher]

what scanner would you suggest--I want to scan 8 x 10 negatives, and down the road maybe 7 x 17 or 8 x 20

Thanks John

[Deane Johnson]

I don't own a scanner yet, but plan to based on the excellent information presented on this forum. I will do up to 8X10.

If you will do a search on this forum, I think you'll find some threads that will keep you busy for quite some time, and give you a great feel for what can be done.

To my limited knowledge, you won't be able to scan larger than 8x10 negatives. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm probably going with an Epson V750. Another scanner that gets good reviews is the Epson 4990, but it's discontinued. Used ones occasionally appear in the FS section.

[venchka]

A few members of this Forum offer scanning services. They will certainly be able to explain all the hardware options.

For 8x10 negatives there are two groups of scanners:

Under $1,000 Epsons new, V700 & V750 or used 1680, 4990, possibly other models. I own the 1680 and I have friends who own the 4990 or V700. Good value for money if you are not obsessive/compulsive about image quality.

Way over several $1,000: High end, very large, very good flat beds or drum scanners.

Very little in between.

For scanning 7x17 & 8x20? I don't know. Matt Magruder (a member of this forum) posts scans from 7x17 and 12x20 originals. Ask him how he does it.

Good luck!

[Jiri Vasina]

John, scanning bellow 8x10" is relatively cheap, you can get a decent scanner for well bellow $1000, a second hand one even for several $100.

Anything larger is more difficult. Either you can scan the negative on a 8x10" flatbed scanner in two parts and use software to stitch (glue) the parts together - that is much cheaper, more time consuming and the results may vary a lot. Or you can buy a larger scanner (and Deanne, they do exist, but are not that common). There are several members here who have a larger scanner, so could possibly recommend one (or sell you their older model :) ). The price, I don't know, it depends on what you find from whom...

If you want to scan and process your negatives, don't forget the price of a good computer (you might not have a computer powerful enough to handle such large scans in reasonable time with acceptable speed. On the other hand you may have such). Also you'd need Photoshop software, which is not exactly cheap either. You could do with other software like the free GIMP, but they all have their issues.

And third, if you don't have the skills yet (sorry, but assuming from your original question), it may take quite a lot of time until you learn the process efficiently. Until then, there may be quite a lot of disappointments...

So for starters, I'd suggest to keep your expenses lower - buy a used flatbed scanner with 8x10" area, stitch the larger negatives. And for that occasional one you really need scanned in excellent quality, ask (and pay) someone with large scanner and the right skill to do it for you...

Jiri

[Oren Grad]

For a while now the HP scanner line has included an inexpensive (<$200) scanner with a full 8x10 transparency bed. I think the current model is the G4050, though you should check the specifications to be sure. I'm not sure it will compete with the Epsons and higher if you want to make fine prints, but it should be OK for web use.

For transparent materials larger than 8x10, Epson has a tabloid-size machine that will handle transparencies up to 12x16.5 or so; it costs around $2500. Beyond that, there are high-end professional flatbeds that are big, heavy and very expensive.

[Jeff Bannow]

If you just want to be able to post your photos online, taking a photo of the print with a digital camera is a lot easier and cheaper.

[johnschlicher]

If you just want to be able to post your photos online, taking a photo of the print with a digital camera is a lot easier and cheaper.

[johnschlicher]

ok--lets see what this looks like--Picture of my St Bernard--CC Harrison lens-contact printed from a paper negative

26367

[johnschlicher]

That look's like crap

[Jeff Bannow]

ok--lets see what this looks like--Picture of my St Bernard--CC Harrison lens paper negative26367

Not sure what your technique is here, but for example I have attached a photo I took of one of my prints in less than ideal lighting - this is from a pocket point and shoot of the print hanging on a gallery wall.

So, it can be done. I do it all the time instead of stitching on my flatbed scanner. Remember that when you scan a negative, you have to redo all of the burning and dodging, contrast adjustments, dust spotting, etc.

[johnschlicher]

ooh--I like that picture

[Jeff Bannow]

ooh--I like that picture

Thanks!

This is an example of something too large to scan - the photo is 48" long and I didn't want to redo all of my adjustments on the computer. So, I just lined up the camera lens with the art on the wall as best I could and then did a little adjusting in the computer afterwards.

[Jordan]

That look's like crap

I don't know why that made me laugh out loud, but it did. Perhaps it's the sequence of posts and then that one.

John,
you'll get the hang of it. I also am not the best with computers, but have managed to find my way around some scanning and correcting. How about contact printing and then scanning your prints?

[johnschlicher]

ok this is a scan26378


It will only let me do it on the lowest setting 100 dpi