So, I have a handful of 4x5s I want to save, and edit in LR and PS. Drum scans to large files are way pricey. Like $200. Over priced in my opinion. I would like to have digital files made that I would use for a website, and maybe a nice 300dpi print to 11x14 if I want. If I decide there is one that I need made to billboard size, I can suck it up and get the big scan.

So, what is a cost effective scan, and from whom do you recommend? Are there high quality flatbed type scanners that will give professional results, though on a smaller scale?

I have a bunch of 35mm slides and negs I want done as well, but I am looking at around $20 each for those, for high res files. With 35mm, I need the higher res to keep my output choices from being to limited. I would still like to print to 11x14, or a little bigger.

I think for that, it may be cheaper to drag the old PCs out of the closet and get one running again. That way I can have SCSI interface capabilities and use my old Nikon Cool Scan ( LS 2000) to just make files from the 35mm stuff. A hard drive and or mother board would be cheaper than paying for scans, and I may have enough old drivers and old windows version to get it running.

That makes me wonder, is there a way to go from SCSI to USB, and have my Nikon scanner work on my Mac? The scanner was for my PC, but, is that just a driver issue? I'll do some research, but if somebody knows, I would appreciate it.

OK, for the 4x5: Buy an Epson V700, V750, or similar. I bought one years ago for 4x5 for about $500. I would assume you could find a used one for $250 or less.

I don't know the quality of the Nikon LS2000. Probably sufficient. The flatbed will be marginal for 35, though not bad for 6x7.

Resolution wise, the flatness like the epson v700 will do, but dynamic range wise, they leave a lot on the table. I'd find a good place to get drum scans and use your flatbeds for proofs and the drums for the ones you want to make prints from. Why shoot 4x5 and leave the best benefits of large format on the table?

I've looked at drum scans. It seems that they want $150+ for a scan. Sorry, but that's just a bit nuts.

+1 on the Dynamic range. The Nikon has great DR and you can get a 30+Mb file from a 35mm scan. I may just have to resurrect an old Win98 machine to do my 35mm scans.

I'll keep looking on the 4x5. I don't shoot film, or 4x5 anymore, so I was trying to avoid buying a scanner for the large format. I only have about a dozen sheets of film that I really want to have scans of. Just not to the tune of a thousand dollars.

I have made very nice 24"x30" prints from the Epson v700 with 4x5 and even 6x7 (cm.)

I used it to scan and proof all of my 4x5 negatives.

If you are going to eventually print big, it is nice to see the image big to get a feel for it. I proofed everything at that size using some cheaper, 3rd party inks on an older Epson 7600.

The 7600 costs about $500 used, 6 quarts of OCP dye ink were $120. That will refill the 220 ml Epson carts 4 times for each color.

I have my own i1 Pro spectrophotometer, so I made my own profiles. The prints look great.

Then if there is something worth the incremental quality to put on the wall, send it out for a drum scan and get a professional print made.

But, like you, I no longer shoot 4x5, or 6x7. The incremental value is no longer there for me given, the cost and work involved.

Good luck!

Michael

I have the V700 and get sharp A3 prints from B+W 35mm negs.

But I had to work to get there.....the scanner needs to be fine tuned for focus height.....one needs to experiment with software settings both on the scanner and then in PS or LR...then print settings need tweaking. And not all film scans equally well. So many variables....it is almost a black art!!

That aside...I have B+W prints from scans from my 6 x4.5 negs and they have a quality the digital files just don't come close to....not from my 40D anyway...

I think I will still keep looking for commercial alternatives for the 4x5s and see what hardware I need to get my old windows 98 machine running and use the Nikon for the slides and negs.

Thanks for the info.

If you have more than a few 4x5s to scan then send them to Tim Parkin:

http://cheapdrumscanning.com/

Cost is quite incredible for the quality you'll get.

Otherwise look for a cheap 4990 on craigslist. I got mine for $75 shipped.

Scanning slides takes a long time (budget 10 minutes per photo). For greatest efficiency I recommend that you first review your slides and decide which ones now deserve to be scanned so many years or decades after you took the photos - perhaps some that used to be worth keeping are now irrelevant.

A flatbed scanner has the merit of scanning multiple slides at once so that you can get preliminary (perhaps final) scans and later on you can go back to special photos and re-scan then with more attention to settings. This assumes that you are able to relate your scans to the original film and actually locate the relevant film as and when required. That in turn implies a decent naming system for both the scans and the films - part of why scanning takes time.

You may well find that many film scans do not need the full DR that a drum scanner can provide, or that the images are blurrier than you had realized. This makes a flatbed scanner viable even if it not truly excellent.

- Alan

Thanks Zaitz. I think I will go that route for my 4x5s. There are only a few, and I can get what I need out of them quite cost effectively that way. Even with international shipping.

I have contact sheets for my 35mm film. So, I am pretty sure which of the black and white and color neg. I want to keep. They are in tru-view film holders hanging in a file cabinet. Slides of course, you look at with a loop, and you can see if they are sharp. Those that are not, were tossed many years ago. Looking at the two old PCs in the closet, I can get one going with a new hard drive. I can swap other parts. Nikon recommended I just buy an old G4. They have sent links for drivers and bug fixes, should I decide to go the G4 route.

The Nikon does batch scans and pre-scans, so it isn't that big of a deal time wise. With Digital ICE, and the remarkably high DR, as well as no issues with newton rings, I can get 30+Mb scans from my 35s. I think it is worth it to get that set back up as opposed to sending them out for the service. I really don't want to buy a flatbed scanner, as I won't ever use it again, once I am done with the job, and I already own a 35mm scanner. Thanks for your suggestions though.

"I've looked at drum scans. It seems that they want $150+ for a scan. Sorry, but that's just a bit nuts. "

Who is they? How big are the scans? What scanner are "they" using?

If you've got several to do at once, I can make them fairly affordably.

See what I wrote above.....if in doubt buy a V700...if you don't like the results sell it on...think of the slight loss as a hire fee...should you make a loss!!

Mine in worth almost double I paid for it new....