scanner

Hey guys, i've just finished up another successful year of school and i'm thinking about investing in a scanner for the summer. I can't really afford a negative scanner so i'm considering a flatbed scanner for my b&w stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions. Most of my photos are 8x10 with a few 11x14.
thanks
andrew

I haven't used one, but I hear that some of the Epson photo scanners have gotten really good. One spec to look at is the Dmax, which is a lot like exposure latitude. The higher the Dmax, the better highlight and shadow detail that it will pick up. Epson's better flatbeds have a pretty high number here. They seem pretty good for medium and large format film scanning too, but probably not a great choice for 35mm.

However, 11x14's are a whole 'nother story. Most flatbeds will handle 8.5 x 11 prints. There are larger ones out there but they will get expensive real fast!

If you're doing your own darkroom work, I've heard of people spending a lot of time to get one print that really works and then scan that print. If you can print these all as 8x10 in the darkroom, then you should get pretty good results. Just realize that there will be a learning curve involved in getting the best results.

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Originally Posted by drew2143

Hey guys, i've just finished up another successful year of school and i'm thinking about investing in a scanner for the summer. I can't really afford a negative scanner so i'm considering a flatbed scanner for my b&w stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions. Most of my photos are 8x10 with a few 11x14.
thanks
andrew

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To get the best results you need to scan from the negative. This is what a dedicated film scanner does, and it does it well. The latest flatbed photo scanners come close. Note that this type of flatbed has to have a top cover with a lamp in it that shines light through the negative so it can be read by the sensor.

The major problem with scanning film is dust. The dedicated film scanners use an infrared sensor to pick it up and correct it but this doesn't work with conventional black & white film. I'm currently scanning my TMAX black & white films with an Epson Perfection 3200 Photo flatbed. It has dust removal in software which is not as perfect as infrared but it's not bad.

Charles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drew2143

Hey guys, i've just finished up another successful year of school and i'm thinking about investing in a scanner for the summer. I can't really afford a negative scanner so i'm considering a flatbed scanner for my b&w stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions. Most of my photos are 8x10 with a few 11x14.
thanks
andrew

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You can purchase a refurbushed Nikon Cool Scan (film scanner) for less than the cost of one 11 by 14 flat bed scanner. The only problem is the Cool Scan is only good for 35mm and ASP film. Most of the affordable photo scanners will only scan 35mm film. The last scanner that I know of that will scan up to 4 by 5 inch cut film is the Epson 1200U Photo. and that model was out around 2000.