Any photographers here recommend a decent negative scanner that doesn't break the bank?
Are the cheap ones any good or just rubbish?
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Mine cost about £25 from Aldi. Does 35mm negatives and will also handle those from the old Instamatic 126 cartridges.
Results from negs are OK:
s809.photobucket.com/user/bromptonaut/library/Bean%20Can?sort=6&page=1
Shots of the orange 104 are scans, the 'lingo and Xantia are direct from digital cameras/phones.
Slides are more variable - prone to uneven exposure:
s809.photobucket.com/user/bromptonaut/media/G-BAZI_2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=15
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sat 22 Nov 14 at 20:43
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I have one of these little rascals....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPczObwtOx0
You just drop slides in a slot in front of the folding screen and click a couple of buttons. Takes about 4 seconds to scan each one to your PC. A knob on the left will pull negatives through, although I haven't got round to doing those yet. Done about 500 slides from holidays and family parties from 40/50 yrs ago. Got mine off Amazon for about £40.
No loading stuff into plastic carriers.
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This is one of those areas where I think you get what you pay for, but it's very subjective and depends partly on what you want to use the picture for.
For instance, Brompt describes the results from his negs as OK and they probably are for his purposes. They're not OK, however, if he wanted to make digital prints to put in an exhibition. All three of them show a fault down the right hand side which would be very hard to correct.
I probably sound fussy in this respect and I am. If you think you are too, here's a suggestion: choose 2 or 3 slides and/or negs and get them scanned professionally. When you get them back, order your chosen scanner from Amazon and see how closely you can replicate the results. If you're not happy, send the scanner back for a refund.
One thing to bear in mind is that the best scanners tend to be quite slow in operation. They can be extremely tedious and time-consuming to use, so you might decide to get all of your scanning done professionally.
An alternative to buying is to rent an expensive scanner:
tinyurl.com/nj67onx
Incidentally, you can get "one or two" slides or negs scanned free here as a sample:
tinyurl.com/oqucyct
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Never found a neg scanner that works well unless you pay a fortune for a professional one.
I have the aldi one, - its crap.
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Negative Scanner - Bromptonaut
