Ok , so I got a cheapo HP Deskjet & I can scan pictures.

I am interested in scanning some old slides & negatives. I hear tell that there are scanners that can do negatives & turn them into pictures.

Anybody doing this , what kinda setup have you got ?

What is a decent/idiot proof scanner to get for doing slides & negatives ?


Mike

There are scanners made just to do slides that have auto feeders etc.., you can also scan slides on most regular scanners as well.

You can also ship them off to have them profesionally scanned which may be an option depending on how many you have.

I had some astrophotography slides from back in the day before digital cameras and just sent them off to a service to do even tho my regular scanner will do slides.

The dedicated slide and negative scanners are a bit pricey,or at least they were some time ago. Like most computer stuff, they have probably come down somewhat in price.

Unless you have quite a few to do, I would check out some of the professional services that will do it for a fee.

Myron

For slides & negatives, you need a scanner with a light in the cover instead of underneath. It throws the image down on the sensors in the bottom. I have a Canon MP980 that has lights both above and below so it does both slides and prints. Since slides & negs are so much smaller than prints, you also need it to be able to scan at a very high resolution, 1200 dpi or more, the more the better. Then they can be enlarged to print size with good detail.

Old slides can be a problem in that you have to thoroughly clean them off. As they age, the paper holders will start to deteriorate and will leave paper fibers on the pic. After the scan they'll show up as squiggly worms on the photo. They can be a pain to clean off the slides.

For some of the HP's you can buy an adaptor for scanning slides and negatives.

Well I put a negative in my cheapo scanner



Scanned it to my computer

Took it to a website called Lunapic and inverted it.

This is the results



This is a picture of my grandparents. I am just guessing that picture dates to the 1940s , maybe '30s. I will have to show it to my Dad tomorrow.

Mike

Is there an inexpensive service that one can just send slides and prints to for digital media conversion?

Thanks!

I've got an Epson V500 scanner that does a good job on slides. It's also fairly cheap.

A scanner will pay for itself easily and you will be able to re-sell it if you no longer need it.

The dedicated negative/slide scanners are expensive and those that I looked at like the Nikon would be slow as chit scanning one frame at a time..

I started scanning hundreds of rolls of film negative and prints when I found the negatives MIA, using the Epson V500 mentioned by BrnBear above. It's a bad ass scanner, prints, slides, photos and targets too. The advantage is loading 5-6 strips of negatives at once.

I am not post-processing anything now, just making a digital copy for record.

If you are not up on post-processing, a scanning service may be the best choice. It adds up quickly and you need to factor in shipping and sending a batch of memories across the country and the potential for loss, even if most chit makes it to the destination.

If you have a pile of slides to scan, you have a full time winter project ahead of you. Scanners are slow, then you need a photo program to enlarge them. To do a bunch, you might find your time more important than the cost of having them done professionally.

Epson is a good choice. Nikon also.

Sort of on topic but the HP printer/scanner I have has some really good software for enhancing faded color prints.

It does a surprisingly good job. It's time consuming but for special pics it's worth the effort.

this, there is no fast way to do it and ive got some pretty good equipment at the paper.....it takes lots of time if you have very many slides or negatives....

We took our slides to Costco and had them put on a CD

Perfect. Assuming they will do the same with prints. Was it expensive?

NM...just looked and it appears they don't but thanks for the slide tip. However, did find a service that will convert on average 1800 photos for $159. That''s not too bad. They do negatives as well. scanmyphotos.com

Thanks

geez they must have different equipment than i do cause even paying myself minimum wage i couldnt do 1800 for 3 times that

They have a big scanner with a coursel attachment that they load up and it drops down and scans one and goes onto the next one, at least the place that did mine did.

I've got an Epson V500 and it works great. I prefer it to sending pictures or negatives/slides to Costco.

My plan was to scan over the winter or when the weather was crappy but I have not scanned too many this year. I checked a few commercial scanners for pricing and decided to buy the Epson.

Looking back at my notes, pricing was about 400.00/50 rolls 36 exp negatives or slides.

I have about 15 projects like that just waiting in the wings. Can't seem too ever get to them. I figure they'll get me through retirement, which is a ways off. :-)

I've had a Canon Canoscan 5600F for about four years now. It's a pretty simple, mid-level scanner that scans documents, B&W photos, color photos, slides, and 35mm negatives. Instructions are good, and it comes with a program to touch up old photos that need it.

When you scan slides, be careful to look at the scanned image to make sure they haven't been reversed. Look for something written in the photo, which side of your uncle's head his hair is parted on, and which side of a shirt or blouse is on top in the button line. In photos with guns, make sure a gun is not left-handed unless it's supposed to be. Once you see how the slides are laid out in a particular batch with reference to the printing on the slide mounting this process will speed up considerably, but be careful - I had a bunch of Kodak-processed slides that varied from roll-to-roll.

The Canon came with a frame that lays across the glass to hold slides or negatives. It's slow but the results are good.

Hi Mike

I am far from an expert, but I wanted to see what I might be able to do with that image.



I think your scanner is not bad!

John