Tired of scanning....

Anyways all, thanks for your precious input and keep it coming.

Too bad the flatbeds like the Canon 9000F MkII are not really up to scan 35mm in optimal quality. And no, I won't invest in MF gear.... well, let's see, there might be something to that....

But why not such a scanner (affordable at under 200€ on Amazon) and get hight quality prints from good labs...... something else to keep me awake tonight.
 
To me, scanning is one of the best parts of film photography. Nothing beats watching how the scanned image start building up on your screen!
 
I am still baffled at everyone who insists on scanning 100% of what they shoot and only then editing. I have always edited negs first on a lightbox and then only scanning that small percentage of individual framesthat have future potential to be significant.

The technical part of editing on a lightbox is so easy and scanning is nothing when you can devote your best to scanning only those images that really count.

Don't get me started on those who spend big bucks on a bag full of lenses and then cannot afford a scanner of equivalent quality. Apparently they have never heard of a chain being no stronger than the weakest link.
 
Me too, maybe a throw back from the old days when I did it with trannies.
Heck, I did it with a contact sheet as well, only enlarged the ones that made the cut.
Gary
 
Questions are ok Frank :) I should say I am no expert on digitizing - I tried it with my (now sold) EOS 5D2 and the 100L macro and had very good results. I have however looked into it for future purposes when my film scanners break down. Here are some links I've accumulated.

As you can see there are various setups. The simplest would be a LED light table (Huion makes good ones but you could use an iPad even), a stand, a camera and a good lens shot at a mid-range aperture. Another option is to use a slide duplicator of some sort and shoot against a bright background (like a light table or soft box).

Small sensor cameras can be used but one would probably need to shoot a few frames per neg and merge. Not very complicated and the time spent would still be faster than scanning methinks.

https://web.archive.org/web/2011010...nal-of-photography/report/1934699/hybrid-copy
http://www.pekkapotka.com/journal/2012/11/11/copying-slides-with-om-d-and-60mm-macro.html
http://sculptingwithlight.blogspot.gr/2013/02/the-other-day-i-bought-leica-beoon.html
http://www.dpbestflow.org/camera/camera-scanning
http://www.dpbestflow.org/camera-scan-workflow
http://www.trippingthroughthedark.c...5mm-black-and-white-negatives-with-the-d800e/
http://theagnosticprint.org/future-of-scanning/
http://www.throughthefmount.com/articles_tips_digitise.html
http://forum.mflenses.com/slide-copying-scanner-vs-duplicator-t22881.html
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00H7Yc
http://thedambook.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0
http://www.alanwood.net/photography/olympus/slide-copier.html
http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_produktanzeige.asp?nr=6506
http://members.bitstream.net/~tlmartin/copiers.html

MiniMoke said:
What quality to expect, compared to good film scanners or Frontier scans?

Would a simple APS-C sensor camera, a vintage macro lens or 50mm standard lens with some macro tubes be adequate?. What rig to use to keep this contraption steady? Just a tripod, a light pad and some negative holder?

Lots of questions...... sorry :)
Click to expand...
 
Each to their own, Bob. I have set up my system so that I can scan a full roll (135 or 120) in a reasonable amout of time. While the scanner works I do a quick edit of scanned frames to have original TIFFs and JPGs with basic edits applied. This works for me because I like very much having all my images digitally. That it is time-consuming is a fact I've accepted.

I agree that to get the most out of fine lenses one will need a good scanner (or other) solution. While I probably wouldn't express myself in the same judgemental manner as you (apologies), I do agree in substance with you. However, like any hobby equipment selection is about individual choices.

br
Philip

Bob Michaels said:
I am still baffled at everyone who insists on scanning 100% of what they shoot and only then editing. I have always edited negs first on a lightbox and then only scanning that small percentage of individual framesthat have future potential to be significant.

The technical part of editing on a lightbox is so easy and scanning is nothing when you can devote your best to scanning only those images that really count.

Don't get me started on those who spend big bucks on a bag full of lenses and then cannot afford a scanner of equivalent quality. Apparently they have never heard of a chain being no stronger than the weakest link.
Click to expand...
 
Bob Michaels said:
I am still baffled at everyone who insists on scanning 100% of what they shoot and only then editing. I have always edited negs first on a lightbox and then only scanning that small percentage of individual framesthat have future potential to be significant.

The technical part of editing on a lightbox is so easy and scanning is nothing when you can devote your best to scanning only those images that really count.

Don't get me started on those who spend big bucks on a bag full of lenses and then cannot afford a scanner of equivalent quality. Apparently they have never heard of a chain being no stronger than the weakest link.
Click to expand...

Baffled?
There are reasons to scan everything.
I scan everything on a low resolution (1200 dpi) on my Epson flatbed. I have a digital archive of all my negatives, made in 50 years. This makes it easy to find the original negative when I need it and it's much more convenient to view the positives on my screen, then negatives on a lightbox.
It hardly takes any time to make those scans on such a small resolution. If I want to use a negative, I scan it on my Imacon scanner, or print it in the darkroom. This way I find the negative I'm looking for within a minute and view it in positive on my 24 inch screen.
Frank
 
Yes, what Bob suggests is the way to go, experienced photographers did and still do it always, not everybody has the ability to evaluate negatives on a light table, myself included.

And one more reason for a quick scan of all the film is the possibility to print a kind of contact sheet for archival purpose, maybe now I do not fond interesting a certain photo I took but in future nobody knows.

robert
 
Thanks a lot! Great stuff to read over the weekend!!


philipus said:
Questions are ok Frank :) I should say I am no expert on digitizing - I tried it with my (now sold) EOS 5D2 and the 100L macro and had very good results. I have however looked into it for future purposes when my film scanners break down. Here are some links I've accumulated.

As you can see there are various setups. The simplest would be a LED light table (Huion makes good ones but you could use an iPad even), a stand, a camera and a good lens shot at a mid-range aperture. Another option is to use a slide duplicator of some sort and shoot against a bright background (like a light table or soft box).

Small sensor cameras can be used but one would probably need to shoot a few frames per neg and merge. Not very complicated and the time spent would still be faster than scanning methinks.

https://web.archive.org/web/2011010...nal-of-photography/report/1934699/hybrid-copy
http://www.pekkapotka.com/journal/2012/11/11/copying-slides-with-om-d-and-60mm-macro.html
http://sculptingwithlight.blogspot.gr/2013/02/the-other-day-i-bought-leica-beoon.html
http://www.dpbestflow.org/camera/camera-scanning
http://www.dpbestflow.org/camera-scan-workflow
http://www.trippingthroughthedark.c...5mm-black-and-white-negatives-with-the-d800e/
http://theagnosticprint.org/future-of-scanning/
http://www.throughthefmount.com/articles_tips_digitise.html
http://forum.mflenses.com/slide-copying-scanner-vs-duplicator-t22881.html
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00H7Yc
http://thedambook.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0
http://www.alanwood.net/photography/olympus/slide-copier.html
http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_produktanzeige.asp?nr=6506
http://members.bitstream.net/~tlmartin/copiers.html
Click to expand...
 
I always had this fantasy that if I get super-rich one day, I can pay someone to scan my negatives. I find that the smaller the negative, the more I hate it, so I sometimes indulge into a 4x5 portrait or two, in which case I can't wait to scan it (unless it's out of focus)...
 
Thank you very much for the good and bad opinion of my lab in germany :)

I´m the owner of MeinFilmLab. We work with three C41 machines that give you an overall best quality of developing (2x Agfa FP and 1x Noritsu Processor). After developing, we scan your films on 4 frontier and 2 noritsu scanner. A drumscanner is in testing now.

Something about the quality: The XL scans from the frontiers (up to 20MPixels) and the Noritsus (up to 31MPixels) is better than any consumer scanner can produce. We scan each negative with manual filtering. If we know your style we can adjust the color, density and saturation of your films. And we can adjust the grain, sharpness and many more options. We need just to know this.

After scanning, we print your work on a dlab, epson printer or a fuji dry lab. On request, we can enlarge your work manual in the darkroom onto kodak or fuji RA4 Paper. The best quality today is to print your work with a epson printer onto hahnemuehle fiberbase paper. No dlab or frontier RA4 printer can produce such rich tones with deep, yes, deeeep blacks on a fiberbase paper. We work only with our own paper profiles.

Is our dev/scan price to high? No. Because this price includes the german tax, the developing, manual scanning and all the other cost in the lab. No other lab in germany offer this price for 20/31MPixel scans from a complete roll with a download option in germany. Other Labs, like the one in southern germany, get 12€ for one (!) Frontier Scan from your negative in our L size... And we offer consistent scans from roll to roll.

Ok, you can scan at home and offer much free time for that. But you cannot reach the colors from a frontier or noritsu scanner. We have also the dlab scanner, but the quality is not as good as a frontier or noritsu scan so we don´t offer scans from that scanner.

At the moment we move to a bigger office. Next year we plan a lot of workshops, festivals and some open doors for all filmshooters.

We are very limited? throw an eye on us in the near future :)

Have a great weekend,
Jörg
 
Thanks for chiming in Jörg. It's all about the old time-money equation. My preference is to work with my own films and images but I know that's not for everyone. I'm certainly happy if you have enough a customer base to keep going. I do disagree however that it would not be possible when scanning at home to achieve colour and quality better than what a Frontier or Noritsu gives.



ultra8 said:
Thank you very much for the good and bad opinion of my lab in germany :)



I´m the owner of MeinFilmLab. We work with three C41 machines that give you an overall best quality of developing (2x Agfa FP and 1x Noritsu Processor). After developing, we scan your films on 4 frontier and 2 noritsu scanner. A drumscanner is in testing now.



Something about the quality: The XL scans from the frontiers (up to 20MPixels) and the Noritsus (up to 31MPixels) is better than any consumer scanner can produce. We scan each negative with manual filtering. If we know your style we can adjust the color, density and saturation of your films. And we can adjust the grain, sharpness and many more options. We need just to know this.



After scanning, we print your work on a dlab, epson printer or a fuji dry lab. On request, we can enlarge your work manual in the darkroom onto kodak or fuji RA4 Paper. The best quality today is to print your work with a epson printer onto hahnemuehle fiberbase paper. No dlab or frontier RA4 printer can produce such rich tones with deep, yes, deeeep blacks on a fiberbase paper. We work only with our own paper profiles.



Is our dev/scan price to high? No. Because this price includes the german tax, the developing, manual scanning and all the other cost in the lab. No other lab in germany offer this price for 20/31MPixel scans from a complete roll with a download option in germany. Other Labs, like the one in southern germany, get 12€ for one (!) Frontier Scan from your negative in our L size... And we offer consistent scans from roll to roll.



Ok, you can scan at home and offer much free time for that. But you cannot reach the colors from a frontier or noritsu scanner. We have also the dlab scanner, but the quality is not as good as a frontier or noritsu scan so we don´t offer scans from that scanner.



At the moment we move to a bigger office. Next year we plan a lot of workshops, festivals and some open doors for all filmshooters.



We are very limited? throw an eye on us in the near future :)



Have a great weekend,

Jörg
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Jörg,

I will surely rely on your services in the future.

You are doing a great job for those of us who really want to shoot film but are put off by the scanning chore.

I was pondering another scanner, of the cheaper variation, but that would be counterproductive for me (yes, others may think different). The price of à scanner and above all the price of my time pays for a lot of professional scans.
:)
 
MiniMoke said:
Thanks Jörg,

I will surely rely on your services in the future.

You are doing a great job for those of us who really want to shoot film but are put off by the scanning chore.

I was pondering another scanner, of the cheaper variation, but that would be counterproductive for me (yes, others may think different). The price of à scanner and above all the price of my time pays for a lot of professional scans.
:)
Click to expand...

Thank you,

the pacon scanner are not bad, but limited in resolution. A better one is a Frontier SP500. This is a modern standalone Scanner for 35mm films with the same software and resolution than our SP3000 tables. But all the Fuji machines don´t have an easy button. If something goes wrong you need professional help and that is very expensive.

If you need a discount for higher amounts of films let me know that :)

Best,
Jörg
 
I need your advice....

I need your advice....

Here are 2 versions of the same scan, one from the professional service and one with my scanner. I won't say what scanner I have!

I have a decision to make, and I'd like as many opinions as I might get....

Which one do you prefer?

1 by Frank Lehnen, on Flickr

2 by Frank Lehnen, on Flickr
 
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