film scanner and document scanner recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter George Ferreira
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George Ferreira

Hello everyone,

I'm a semi newbie with digital/film photography(have worked a little bit on
some digital photography progams, etc). Just need some advice, though. I
want to do a project where I'd like to scan all of my parents' old film and
possibly photos into a computer for at first for archival purposes(film and
photos are in original sleeves but might be mixed up) . I've got probably
about a 100 sets of film, so ideally I'd scan each of them in first without
scanning photos. Could one of you recommend a multiformat film scanner?
I've got film in largely 130/135 film, then have some odd ones in 110, aps,
and 35mm. Would you recommend a good film scanner (or possible
document/film scanner combo) with good optics and possibly reliable
autocorrection given the amount of film I have? I've also got some photos
to scan but I'd like to have quality scans, even if i'd have to get two
seperate devices.

George
 
The best film scanners are the Nikon models, but they are expensive, for
the current and immediately past generation, you can expect to pay more
than $400 and possibly up to $1,000. Each generation comes in a "pro"
and a "consumer" model

LS-5000 (pro) / LS-50 aka Coolscan V (consumer)
LS-4000 (pro) / LS-40 aka Coolscan IV (consumer)

The previous models have become affordable:

LS-2000 (pro) / LS-30 aka Coolscan III (consumer)

There was an LS-1000, but I would not recommend it as it did not have
digital ICE, a VERY important feature.

These do 35mm slides & negatives (mounted and unmounted) and APS. They
don't do anything else.

LS-2000's / LS-30's can be had cheap on E-Bay (under $100) but those
sold at that price are invariably either incomplete or in need of
service. Virtually ALL LS-2000/LS-30's need service, there are two
issues, first, the lubricant (of which Nikon used way too much) turns to
glue after 5+ years, and second the optics get dusty (this can happen
with them all), it becomes like scanning through wax paper. Serviced
unit with both the slide and film accessories are currently going for
$220-$250 or so on E-Bay, WAY up from 6 months ago (there seems to be a
Xmas seasonality to the demand for these).

Some flatbed scanners can scan film, but in general it's really ugly in
terms of both quality and ease of use (for a few high-end Epson models,
the quality is good, but ease of use is still a bitch).

A lot of people sneer at the LS-2000 and LS-30's because they "only"
have 2,700 dpi resolution (compared to 4,000 dpi in the later models).
Well, 2,700 dpi from an LS-2000 gives you a ten megapixel, 50 megabyte
tiff file from a 35mm negative .... you can see the grain, in most cases
.... and both the LS-2000 and LS-30 have "digital ice". Believe me, if
these things have been serviced and have clean optics, they are nothing
to sneer at.

[By the way, the LS-1000 has the same resolution as the LS-2000, but it
doesn't have "digital ICE"]

[Digital ICE is a technique for doing both visible light and infra-red
scans of the same material, it turns out that by doing this and
comparing them, it's possible to eliminate almost all dust, dirt and
flaws in and on the film. It works spectacularly and I would not have a
scanner without it. But it works much better for negatives than for
slides, and for B&W film and some types of negative film it doesn't work
at all.]
 
Hello everyone,

I'm a semi newbie with digital/film photography(have worked a little bit on
some digital photography progams, etc). Just need some advice, though. I
want to do a project where I'd like to scan all of my parents' old film and
possibly photos into a computer for at first for archival purposes(film and
photos are in original sleeves but might be mixed up) . I've got probably
about a 100 sets of film, so ideally I'd scan each of them in first without
scanning photos. Could one of you recommend a multiformat film scanner?
I've got film in largely 130/135 film, then have some odd ones in 110, aps,
and 35mm. Would you recommend a good film scanner (or possible
document/film scanner combo) with good optics and possibly reliable
autocorrection given the amount of film I have? I've also got some photos
to scan but I'd like to have quality scans, even if i'd have to get two
seperate devices.

George
Click to expand...


For this type of work the Epson V700 is an excellent scanner. The one
I have is better than my LS2000, faster, more dynamic range and equal
sharpness. My Nikon had just come back from being overhauled at Nikon
too. No doubt that the LS4000/5000 would be better but the V700 does a
very good job. Being able to scan 12 slides or 20 35mm negs at a time,
without an adapter, is also an advantage. It is a very good scanner
and would be ideal for your project.
That said the first thing to do is to edit is to severely edit the
images, quicker than scanning and drops your scanning load. Scanning
no matter what scanner takes a long time.

Tom
 
Hi George,
I have a V700 which I am using to scan my collection of slides, negs
(colour & BW), and prints.
So far I have done ~ 8500 negs, 1000 slides and several hundred prints
mostly family history stuff.

No problems so far and I am pleased with the results. I am retired so
I have the time on rainy days to feed the monster.
The V700 does 24 35mm negs at a time - a previous poster mentioned 20.

I would recomend looking for suitable software to make editing easier
- I am using Lightroom which allows me to modify groups of similar
scans together which saves on time.

I hope this helps
Allan
 
Hello everyone,

I'm a semi newbie with digital/film photography(have worked a little bit on
some digital photography progams, etc). Just need some advice, though. I
want to do a project where I'd like to scan all of my parents' old film and
possibly photos into a computer for at first for archival purposes(film and
photos are in original sleeves but might be mixed up) . I've got probably
about a 100 sets of film, so ideally I'd scan each of them in first without
scanning photos. Could one of you recommend a multiformat film scanner?
I've got film in largely 130/135 film, then have some odd ones in 110, aps,
and 35mm. Would you recommend a good film scanner (or possible
document/film scanner combo) with good optics and possibly reliable
autocorrection given the amount of film I have? I've also got some photos
to scan but I'd like to have quality scans, even if i'd have to get two
seperate devices.

George
Click to expand...


For 35 mm film, it's hard to bet the Nikon LS-V and LS-5000.

The LS-V can be had for around $500 new. There's
really not much under $5K-$10K that can beat it.

I wouldn't bother with the LS-2000. If you want to save
money, you're better off with one of the newer Epson
film/flatbed scanners -- if for no other reason than having
a USB/Firewire connection and current drivers. The
LS-2000 uses SCSI, which can be a pain on newer
computers. Yes, it can be done, but it can be painful.

Evidence I've seen (from sample scans and reviews, etc.)
indicates that the Epson V700 more or less matches the
old Nikon LS-2000 in effective sharpness and resolution.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com
 
SCSI really isn't a problem. You buy an Adaptec 2940 card on E-Bay for
less than $5 (less than $10 with shipping), put it in the machine
(Windows has built-in drivers), install drivers & software, connect the
scanner (cables can also be had for less than $10) and you are all set.
Would I rather have USB? Sure, and no argument that the LS-5000 is
better. But it's about $300 more, which in this case is more than
double the cost of an LS-2000 or LS-30. More money always buys better
stuff, but some people want to do this on a limited budget.
 
multiformat film scanner? I've got film in largely 130/135 film,
then have some odd ones in 110, aps, and 35mm.
Click to expand...

Sorry to be barging in so late, but I notice that none of the
followups mentioned the 110's.

I do wonder: is there any equipment out there that performs scanning
of 110-format strips?
 
Nils-Eivind Naas said:
Sorry to be barging in so late, but I notice that none of the
followups mentioned the 110's.

I do wonder: is there any equipment out there that performs scanning
of 110-format strips?
Click to expand...

No, there is not.

There are many work arounds.

One is a black paper mask in a 35 mm film holder.

There is no film holder for 126 film either.
 
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