Puzzled brain needs help!!

[redphoto]

Hi everyone
Despite numerous years of shooting film & recently returning to 35mm, I have a ridiculous question which I'm sure there will be someone who will hepl my puzzled brain!!
I saw a lot of discussions on scanning negatives, I have always had film developed & had prints arrive. I have then used my scanner to copy them so I can use them on flikr, FB etc. Now my sill y questions are

Do you need a specific scanner?

When you scan negatives to the computer, do you need any specific software to convert to images??

Once scanned can you see the picture?

Thanks in advance
Simon

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A film scanner works just like your flatbed scanner. It has software that you use to preview the photo, to crop, to set various scan settings, etc. It produces either a JPEG or a TIFF file. You will have to do some editing in software like Photoshop, because film scans typically look rather flat until they're edited.

Here is my film scan tutorial

 

[redphoto]

Thanks Christopher
I think it makes sense! Just had a quick look on google & seen a couple of decent scanners, I use lightroom 3, I assume that much of your tutorial carries across? So for the sake of my inexperienced brain! if I oder just negatives when I send off the rolls of film, that I can scan the negatives onto the PC & then just need to adjust curve, I only shoot black & white, so its a case adjusting the image once on PC... I like the look of the Epsom V370 scanner
thanks again
Simon

 

[lynnb]

Hi Simon,

Generally speaking with scanners the more you pay, the better the scan. Cheaper scanners usually have more difficulty with wide dynamic range (tones ranging from very light in the highlights to very dark in the shadows) - usually the problem is that they will either fail to resolve shadow detail (resulting in dark mush or no shadow detail at all) and/or will blow the highlight details to pure white.

Dedicated film scanners usually have better dynamic range than flatbeds, i.e. they will resolve more tonal values between pure white and pure black. However a very cheap film scanner like the one you mentioned may not perform as well as a high end flatbed scanner.

I scan on a quality flatbed (Epson V700) which has plastic holders to hold the negatives and a backlight in the lid which improves its ability to scan a wider dynamic range than cheaper alternatives. However most dedicated film scanners (such as Nikon and Minolta) will give significantly better results - but they cost more, and some are only available second hand.

I would be very hesitant to buy a very cheap scanner like the one you mentioned. It might be Ok if all you want to do is make postcard size prints but for quality scans and larger prints you would probably want something a bit better - you might even get better results with a second hand DSLR with a macro lens!

About the software - most scanners come with software, and there is also Vuescan. Whichever scanning software you use will output jpegs or TIFFs as Chris mentioned, and you can then further post process in Lightroom or other software.

Cheers,

 

[redphoto]

Thanks Lynn

Really useful info, I only need to scan so I can put some pics on flikr my website or Facebook etc...it makes process costs a bit cheaper to just have negs. from my pro point of view, portrait sittings etc will be done through Ilford (contact sheet & agreed print/s) I will also be doing an art project on my M2 next year, so all this is wonderful advice is really usefull in how I produce the larger prints for display. I looked at the v700 & it gets great reviews...the v370 is its baby brother/sister & would probably tick my requirement list at lesser cost

Thanks
Simon

 

[Dwig]

Based on my scanner experience (Epson v330, Epson v700, & Imagon 848), the more you pay the better the quality, in general, but...

1. It's not a linear relationship. My v700 is a good bit better than my wife's v330 but it cost 5x as much. The Imagon 848 is better than my v700, but not by as wide a margin and it costs 40x what my v700 cost (I paid less for my car than my boss paid for the Imagon).
   
2. If you are only going to scan 35mm film and only going to display the scanned image on a computer monitor at a measly 1920x1080 (full HD) you don't need anything better than the v330 (now a v370).

 

[redphoto]

Thanks Dwig
Pretty much sorted my questions out, just need to get scanner & I'l be set up ready for my first roll from the M2

Simon