Need film scanner for 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 negatives

[Mike Henderson]

Back in the dark ages, before digital cameras, I used to do professional photography (mostly weddings) and used a camera that took 2.25" by 2.25" negatives (actually that's the outside dimensions so the actual image size is a bit smaller). I also used my camera for personal photographs.

I have a BUNCH of old negatives and I want to scan them into my computer. My problem is finding a scanner that will work with 2.25" square negatives. I bought an Epson, and although they claimed it would do 2.25" negatives, it would only do 35mm negatives.

Does anyone know of a film scanner that will scan 2.25" square negatives, both B&W and color? Note that I need a film scanner, not a picture scanner. A film scanner has a light behind the negative to illuminate the negative.

Mike

[David G Baker]

Mike,
I also have been wanting a negative scanner that produces good digital images. I have a lot of 4"x5" negatives that I won't be scanning but I want to do my 2 1/4x2 1/4 and 35mm negatives. I was never a pro but shot lots of negatives and slides. I will be watching this thread for information.

[Jerry Thompson]

Mike & Mike;
I used to do all of that before digital. I have two friends that are pros and if they don't know no one will. If my dementia does not kick in I shall get back with you Monday or Tues. I have an Epson scanner V500 that does both sizes but have not used it.
Jerry

[Bob Vavricka]

I used a Nikon CoolScan at work before I retired. It is a strictly a slide/film scanner that did an excellent job, but it was more expensive than I would want to pay.

[Gerry Kaslowski]

Since I gave my dedicated film scanner to my son, I was wanting a scanner for the occasional 35 or 234 neg or pos. I picked up the CanonScan 9000F for under $200. It's a 8.5 x 11 scanner that can also scan negs and positives. It does a pretty good job. Check out http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/CS9000/9000F.HTM. Pretty darn good for the price.

[Mike Henderson]

Since I gave my dedicated film scanner to my son, I was wanting a scanner for the occasional 35 or 234 neg or pos. I picked up the CanonScan 9000F for under $200. It's a 8.5 x 11 scanner that can also scan negs and positives. It does a pretty good job. Check out http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/CS9000/9000F.HTM. Pretty darn good for the price.
Thanks, Gerry. When I looked up this scanner on Amazon, it only specifies 35mm film. See here (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-CanoScan-9000F-Color-Scanner/dp/B003JQLHEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342242022&sr=8-1&keywords=CanonScan+9000F).

The only one I've found so far that specifies scanning larger format negatives is the Epson V600 (http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Photo-Scanner-B11B198011/dp/B002OEBMRU/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342242204&sr=1-5&keywords=nikon+coolscan). It specifies that it will scan 6cm by 22cm negatives.

Mike

[Curt Harms]

Since I gave my dedicated film scanner to my son, I was wanting a scanner for the occasional 35 or 234 neg or pos. I picked up the CanonScan 9000F for under $200. It's a 8.5 x 11 scanner that can also scan negs and positives. It does a pretty good job. Check out http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/CS9000/9000F.HTM. Pretty darn good for the price.

SWMBO has a Canon 8900F. The only size limitation afaik is what the included holders will accomodate. And yes, it does quite a good job on the slides she's done.

[Phil Thien]

Thanks, Gerry. When I looked up this scanner on Amazon, it only specifies 35mm film. See here (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-CanoScan-9000F-Color-Scanner/dp/B003JQLHEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342242022&sr=8-1&keywords=CanonScan+9000F).

The only one I've found so far that specifies scanning larger format negatives is the Epson V600 (http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Photo-Scanner-B11B198011/dp/B002OEBMRU/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342242204&sr=1-5&keywords=nikon+coolscan). It specifies that it will scan 6cm by 22cm negatives.

Mike

My memory is kinda foggy on this. But I was gifted an Epson flat bed w/ transparency backlight that only had holders for 35mm strips and slides. But I made by own holders for medium format and it worked fine.

I made the holders using some thin plastic binder covers I cut with a knife. Not ideal, but all it had to do was hold the transparency in the right spot each time.

[David Keller NC]

Hi Mike - I've been a photographer for 30+ years, so like you, I've a bunch of negative stock. I have a Nikon Coolscan, but as you noted, it will only do 35mm. I wound up using a MicroTek flatbed scanner with a transparency illuminator. Microtek doesn't make this particular model any longer, but lots of companies make flatbed scanners with transparency illuminators.

The catch is that inexpensive scanners with transparency illuminators don't have the world's greatest lenses, so you lose some sharpness when the negative is scanned. But unless you were taking pictures with a Rolleiflex or similar very high-end medium-format film camera, it's unlikely that you're starting with a professional-grade, ultra-sharp negative. And Photoshop CS 6 is really, really advanced at improving scanned images.

The general advice is that the sharper and better the initial scan, the better the final printed output. And this is certainly true when it comes to high dynamic range film stock - the scanner needs to capture detail in the shadows without blowing out the highlights.

But - Photoshop now allows automatic HDR scanning and file assembly. Basically, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is setting your scanner to capture the shadow detail while blowing out the highlights, running the scan, then re-setting the scanner to capture the highlight detail while muddying the shadows. THe software automatically assembles these files, and viola - a very high dynamic range digital file that can be used to make a really nice digital print.

One wouldn't want to do this with several hundred negatives as it would take centuries, but the process does allow you to recover your best shots in the best way possible.

[Phil Thien]

One wouldn't want to do this with several hundred negatives as it would take centuries, but the process does allow you to recover your best shots in the best way possible.

A friend of mine has not one, but TWO Heidelberg S3900 24000-DPI (that isn't a typo, it is twenty-four-thousand DPI) scanners. He is a professional photographer that does a lot of commercial work.

He had told a Heidelberg guy that if he knew anyone that would be getting rid of a S3900 (which is arguably one of the, if not THE, best drum scanners ever produced), he'd like it. Well, one day the rep. called up and said a publisher (600 miles away) was getting rid of both of theirs. So my friend took them both, just had to pay for moving/installation. One is a daily driver, the other is for parts.

These are amazing scanners, but I had no idea how much prep time it takes to get one of them ready to scan a transparency. I've watched it being done and if you have a bunch to do, you'd go a little out of your mind.

My dad did commercial photography as a side business, shooting mostly medium format gear. He would have loved to have access to those scanners. Too bad he isn't around.

Man, the world is changing. This technology stuff is very disruptive.

[Darryl Hazen]

Mike,

Check out this info. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=59968 It's for an HP scanner that should do everything you want. You may be able to find one used. I don't think they still make this model.

[David Keller NC]

Mike,

Check out this info. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=59968 It's for an HP scanner that should do everything you want. You may be able to find one used. I don't think they still make this model.

Darryl, No offense, but I would highly recommend against one of these puppies. I had one for a number of years before I purchase a Nikon Coolscan. Yes, they'll produce a scan, but one can get far better results with one of the much more recently produced Epson V-series scanners, or the CanoScan units. MicroTek's offerings will also produce really nice transparency scans. Generally speaking, any of these high-performance digital imagers will cost less than $500, and many less than $300.

[Darryl Hazen]

No Offense taken. I was merely trying to help someone out. I didn't need a sales pitch for any other product.

[Mike Henderson]

Hi Mike - I've been a photographer for 30+ years, so like you, I've a bunch of negative stock. I have a Nikon Coolscan, but as you noted, it will only do 35mm. I wound up using a MicroTek flatbed scanner with a transparency illuminator. Microtek doesn't make this particular model any longer, but lots of companies make flatbed scanners with transparency illuminators.

The catch is that inexpensive scanners with transparency illuminators don't have the world's greatest lenses, so you lose some sharpness when the negative is scanned. But unless you were taking pictures with a Rolleiflex or similar very high-end medium-format film camera, it's unlikely that you're starting with a professional-grade, ultra-sharp negative. And Photoshop CS 6 is really, really advanced at improving scanned images.

The general advice is that the sharper and better the initial scan, the better the final printed output. And this is certainly true when it comes to high dynamic range film stock - the scanner needs to capture detail in the shadows without blowing out the highlights.

But - Photoshop now allows automatic HDR scanning and file assembly. Basically, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is setting your scanner to capture the shadow detail while blowing out the highlights, running the scan, then re-setting the scanner to capture the highlight detail while muddying the shadows. THe software automatically assembles these files, and viola - a very high dynamic range digital file that can be used to make a really nice digital print.

One wouldn't want to do this with several hundred negatives as it would take centuries, but the process does allow you to recover your best shots in the best way possible.
Thanks for the info, David. The majority of the negatives were shot with a Mamiya C33 and later with a C330 (twin lens reflex, similar to a Rolli). A few were done with a Hasselblad.

My 50th high school reunion is coming up which prompted me to go back and look at old pictures - but most I only have in negative form. So I don't need to scan them in super high quality, just high enough to recover the "story".

I'm doing my bio for the reunion and we're putting our stories on the web (that is, the classmates).

Mike

[Phil Koundakjian]

I had the same problem. I did have an HP scanner that did 35 mm negatives/slides/4x5 photos. When it gave up the ghost and I wanted to scan in my 2 1/4 formats. I ended up going to a commercial company and they did it very reasonable. they converted everything and send them on CDs. If you google you should get names of companies that will scan.

[Mike Henderson]

I had the same problem. I did have an HP scanner that did 35 mm negatives/slides/4x5 photos. When it gave up the ghost and I wanted to scan in my 2 1/4 formats. I ended up going to a commercial company and they did it very reasonable. they converted everything and send them on CDs. If you google you should get names of companies that will scan.
Thanks for the suggestion. My wife said the same thing to me. It may make sense to go that way.

Mike

[Len Mullin]

Mike, if your looking to just use it to scan old slides and 4 pic strips, you can get a small csanner that stands upright at Wal-Mart for around twenty to thirty bucks. My daughter bought one for my wife last christmas and she's scanned all of the old negatives and slides that my parents and hers had, and they all looked every bit as good as the original pics ever did. I'm sorry but I don't have the name of the little scanner that she used, and I can't get my hands on it right now without waking a bunch of people. So, if you can stand to hold on a wee bit longer, I'll get the brand and model # a little later on today. If you need something to scan larger negatives this will not work on them, it is made for the older 35mm size of film. These little things work great and they are very easy to use, and you can scan allot of negatives in very little time. I know that my wife has copied negatives to zip cards for many people now, and most of them paid her for doing it. So theres an oportunity to make a few dollars off of this scanner also, if a person is interested in doing that.
I'll get back to this posting as soon as I can get the info for you.
Len

[David Keller NC]

Mike - Most digitization services can get a better scan than one can at home, but in my case, I don't let my negatives out of my sight, even though I've a back-up digital copy of most of them. I'd be especially wary if the only copy I had was the negative (i.e., no print and no digital file). If you want to do this yourself, here are a few specific models that will handle just about any size negative:

http://www.adorama.com/IESV500.html

http://www.adorama.com/ICACS9000F.html

Adorama and BH Photo Video in New York are possible sources that are good companies to deal with (at least my experience has been good). New Egg, Amazon and Best Buy's on-line ordering are other possibilities.

One note about this - almost all of the flat-bed scanners on the market with transparency adapters and film holders by Epson, Canon and HP seem to be somewhat dated (2010 and earlier). Nikon has discontinued its line of film scanners. MicroTek seems to be in business, but I couldn't readily find a net retailer that carries their products. It would seem that the rapid rise of digital cameras has made this market segment profitable only for the office-type paper scanners.

That said, if you come across a used scanner with a transparency adapter that has good optical specs but dated software drivers (most scanners produced in the mid 2000s will not work with Windows 7 64 bit operating systems), there are two good solutions; Vuescan and Lasersoft Imaging's Silverfast Ai. Both of these software packages can breath new life into otherwise very good hardware that has outdated software and no manufacturer support.