Storing 35mm negatives on computer

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

I'd do a bit of research on that one - I seem to recall bad reports on it, or something similar.

Jim

I don't have a clue about it Jim, I just put it on as an example to Ida that they are readily available

[PMG]

I have a brand new Epson Perfection V700 scanner which I haven't totally got to grips with yet........ I can't make my mind up whether the scanner is not as good as I thought - or that film when scanned is not as good as digital - or whether I just haven't mastered all the settings yet!

I had an Epson 1200 scanner previously and it did a good job but during the last three years I have got very picky and choosy about what makes a good photo or not and this might be swaying my mind about the results.

You do need whatever scanner you decide to get to be a dedicated photo scanner to get the best results - an ordinary flatbed won't do it - it won't have the neg or positive scanning capability for a start.

Scanning is very time consuming when you are aiming for a high quality end product so its not something that can be done in a few nights and finished with! I have at least 10,000 slides and whilst I won't copy scan all of them - its till a big task...........

My new printer an Epson Photo R800 isn't giving the results I expected either - the old printer an early make epson did well so I suspect its me that isn;t getting the best out of new equipment yet (how I wish the other two hadn't both decided to 'die' on me!)

My reason for wanting the old slides scanned is I had a large lecture entitled The Western Isles which has been round most of the wildlife, RSPB and Field Clubs in the North West over the last 10 years and some of the slides cannot be replicated. In wanting finally after a three break from it to go back to giving slide shows I want some of the old stuff in as its part of the 'story' ....

Hope you decide what you need and get stuck in

Pauline

[Jim Ford]

Some people have reported getting good results from using a slide copier on a DSLR. It's also far quicker than a film scanner.

I've got a Canon CanoScan FS2710, but only use it for the occasional slide because it takes so long.

Jim

[Geoff F]

My scanner, the Epson Perfection 3590 photo has a special attachment which holds negatives and shines a light from above in order to scan. Slides are placed in another special attachment. In each case it is vital to get the settings correct, which takes a bit of practice and experimentation to get correct.

You cannot successfully scan negs or slides without a similar piece of equipment.

ps. I previously had an R800 printer and found that it could produce good results but you have to get the settings correct for each type of paper; and it can vary between different brands of the same basic paper type. eg Epson and Kodak Glossy paper needed slightly different settings. I can't remember exactly what I did but I had to go into the advanced control settings and do some tweaking. Fully read the instructions then check the Epson website and also your paper manufacturer to find out what to adjust.

Needing fine adjustment is one of the problems of having one of the higher quality specialist photo printers. Also keep a watch for ink nozzle clogging as I found this is quite a common problem with this machine.

[PMG]

Thanks Geoff - yes I've always used the advanced settings and I had the last printer giving its best but haven't got there yet with this one - not used it much cos been short of inks and wanted to wait until I could 'write a shipping order' for lots of stuff from same firm.

It seems to print 'overly vivid' even with this setting off and the colours toned down - I did notice one one of the paper directives that it said minus5 magenta so will try that next time I have a print out - which could be weeks and by then I will have forgotten it all again .......... oh for those far off happy days when I had nothing to do but sit here and experiment

Pauline

[Geoff F]

I've had a look but all my R800 info has been ditched now. As far as I can remember (which is getting a bit fuzzy now) I often added around +2 of yellow as well as reducing magenta.

Like my new printer, the A3 Canon 9000, using the Windows ICM colour setting worked much better than the auto control which tends to give over vivid colours. But most people prefer it that way so 'natural' is an optional extra now!

The choice of paper also makes a big difference. Eventually I managed to get good results with Kodak Ultra, but I found it a tricky paper to get the optimum settings.

Sometimes slightly reducing the Gamma setting can help. And there was something else which I altered in the Extra Advanced settings. However, there is a great deal of useful advice in the Help files, although it takes a bit of time to sift through everything.

But this is beginning to drift 'off topic' now.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Geoff F

I've had a look but all my R800 info has been ditched now. As far as I can remember (which is getting a bit fuzzy now) I often added around +2 of yellow as well as reducing magenta.

Like my new printer, the A3 Canon 9000, using the Windows ICM colour setting worked much better than the auto control which tends to give over vivid colours. But most people prefer it that way so 'natural' is an optional extra now!

The choice of paper also makes a big difference. Eventually I managed to get good results with Kodak Ultra, but I found it a tricky paper to get the optimum settings.

Sometimes slightly reducing the Gamma setting can help. And there was something else which I altered in the Extra Advanced settings. However, there is a great deal of useful advice in the Help files, although it takes a bit of time to sift through everything.

But this is beginning to drift 'off topic' now.

Yes apologies for taking it off - but thanks for useful info - I shall have another play soon!

Pauline