Best slide & negative scanners according to redditors
We found 47 Reddit comments discussing the best slide & negative scanners. We ranked the 27 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 47 Reddit comments discussing the best slide & negative scanners. We ranked the 27 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I bought a slide scanner. I then went into my parents loft (attic) and grabbed literally HUNDREDS of these slides my Father had. Then got them all put onto a memory card and printed out. He spent all day Xmas last year looking at photos he hadn't seen in thirty years.
Voila.
I bought this thing to do it. It is expensive but was still cheaper than one of those box services. It is pretty quick and easy to do with this thing. Just load the reel, it clicks through each frame and then I put it directly on my computer. I am going to burn them to DVD eventually.
When I worked for a public affairs office, we archived old photos and video and ran into the same issue. We found a negative and slide scanner like this one that worked perfectly: https://www.amazon.com/DIGITNOW-Scanner-convert-Negatives-Windows7/dp/B078Z52YN1/ref=zg_bs_5728049011_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SK82R0FZVH18KTZTDDWK
As for photos: it's fairly easy to scan multiples and crop and paste them later into separate files if you're not looking to spend the cash.
One thing I'll wish anyone luck on is converting beta max tapes to digital format. At the time, we were one of the only shops in the country with a player and kinda synced it with a DVD recorder. Not the best quality, but not much information was lost. It was a fun project all in all.
Check out the TOPS Mini Scandi, this is a great grind for whittling plus nice knife overall.
US made too.
Paid much less from B&H but their deal seems to be over. At $300, I'd recommend maybe finding something else.
[Prime Film XE](Pacific Image PrimeFilm XE 35mm Film & Slide Scanner - One-touch scan button, 3-line RGB linear CCD sensor, 10,000 x 10,000 dpi, 48-bit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GE1NF92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wjTIyb4TJ1NNJ)
Granted I really like my results, I am just comfortable with it and have learned it at this pint.
I use the Reflecta film scanner: https://reflecta.de/en/products/detail/~id.840/reflecta-Film-Scanner-Super-8-%E2%80%93-Normal-8.html
In the US it goes by the name 'Wolverine': https://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Super8-Digitizer-Film2Digital-MovieMaker/dp/B01KA32HH0
I believe there are two versions available; one which has support for large reels and one which doesn't. In other words, there's a version which has the film-holders extended to the left and right to hold the larger reels. My version doesn't support the larger reels, but I just jerry-rigged my own reel holders. You can find plenty examples on the internet.
The quality is reasonable, especially for the price. It's not the best in the world, but it's not that bad either. I can't really give a good opinion on that though, as the films I'm scanning have degraded pretty bad so they already look really bad which isn't really the scanner's fault. But from what I've seen and read it's pretty decent :)
I was a bit quick to state that about the depth and lighting from looking at a couple comparison photos online. I was looking at scanners on amazon. How much do you think a decent one would cost? Here's one I found http://www.amazon.com/Jumbl-High-Resolution-Negative-Slide-Scanner/dp/B00ICOB78K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448986208&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=film+scanner&psc=1 . Do you think I would get a better shot with all this or a low tier (around $200) DSLR? Thanks so much for the feedback!
I have an older version of this:
https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Negative-Document-Scanner/dp/B002OEBMRU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494538591&sr=8-1&keywords=epson+film+scanner
You need to get a film holder as well (if it doesn't come with it):
https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-V600-Negative-Positive/dp/B011Z47MCI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1494538591&sr=8-7&keywords=epson+film+scanner
Basically - they're a regular flatbed scanner, but instead of having the light shine from below (for documents), they also have another light above that shines down through the film to illuminate it.
I mean, you have to scan it somehow if you want it on your computer. :-)
There's no magic method; pay a lab to scan them, scan them yourself on a scanner or use a digital camera with macro mode, or... well, that's about it really.
I suppose if you don't mind it looking terrible you could use one of the cheap things on Amazon, but you're already a third of the way to the price of a PrimeFilm XE, which is one of the better 35mm scanners out there right now.
For 35mm, neither. Get a dedicated scanner with infrared dust removal, like this.
you can also convert them to digital with one of these - https://www.amazon.com/DigitNow-resolution-135mmNegative-Interpolation-Resolution-5/dp/B01GHKL7HQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1496443592&sr=8-7&keywords=slide+scanner
Depends on how much time you have and how many photos/negatives you have. If its only a few, try your local photo print house (preferably a nice professional non-chain shop). If it is more than a few, try an online place like ScanCafe. If we are talking boxes and boxes and you have time on your hands and are tech savvy, consider a film scanner with infrared channel ($400), a flatbed scanner with touchup software ($150), and scanning software ($80). If you know nothing about photo restoration/touchup, you'd be best to just pay ScanCafe to do it.
More expensive than I remembered but it was something like this.
Eh, that's about right. I pay $6 for color $7 for black and white, processing only. If I want print quality scans it's another $7. I go to Photoworks in San Francisco, so it's a bit pricy, but everyone there is extremely helpful and careful with my film. I've gotten burned too many times at store photo labs.
I've been shooting a ton of film, so I think my next major photography investment is going to be in a film scanner so I can just do the scans myself, most likely this one.
Ektar is really nice. Kodak uses the same technology in its Vision line of motion picture films, so that was my first experience with it. Skin tones, especially on darker skinned people, can be a problem depending on lighting.
The major issue you’re going to run into is that the rolls are very old and will therefore suffer at least some amount of latent image loss. It’s not impossible to recover images from them, though you will have a number of fails.
Make a list of what films you have (emulsion, speed) because the process will be different for different types of films.
Color negatives can likely still be developed by a normal lab- call up a lab and ask what their “process only” pricing is for 110. Also be sure to ask about bulk pricing- at 70 rolls I guarantee you they’ll give you something.
Send in one roll (that you know has been used!) first just to try it out, and see what you get back. This will tell you a lot about the other rolls, since if they’ve been stored together they likely degraded in very similar ways. Ergo, if you get usable images, chances are the rest of the rolls will be too. And if you get garbage images, again, chances are the other rolls are garbage too.
Black and white films may need you to develop them at home, but you’ll generally have a better chance at success- HC-110 developer is known for it’s ability to pull out images even from very, very old films. If you have any especially iffy color films (like Kodachrome, which is no longer possible to process in color), you can go this route.
Finally, grab a scanner. At 79 rolls it’ll absolutely pay off. I’d recommend a cheap scanner like this:
https://www.amazon.com/KODAK-SCANZA-Digital-Slide-Scanner/dp/B00O2BU8PK/
(Note that there’s a billion of these sorts of devices- literally anything at this price point will do)
Normally I recommend much fancier scanners, but in your case you have a lot of images to go through and presumably they’re family photos (and not fine art). These cheap scanners are perfect for that.
This
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTKNTPK/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_SVyVDbJ78641K
Ahí va!
Compré este hace años, pero para negativos, venía con varios accesorios de distintos tipos de originales. Un turismo creo escaneé como 20 años de fotos familiares.
Vale la pena.
Congratulations! I bought my first Super 8 camera 45 years ago and shot with a Chinon Pacific 12SMR in film school - I wish I still had it.
> Where can I buy Super 8 film cartridges for cheap?
You can get [Black & White Tri-X cartridges for $21.95] (http://adorama.evyy.net/c/60286/51926/1036?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adorama.com%2Fkktxr464.html) and [color Vision3 cartridges for $34.95] (http://adorama.evyy.net/c/60286/51926/1036?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adorama.com%2Fsearchsite%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsearchinfo%3Dkodak%2Bvision3%2Bsuper%2B8) [Referral Links].
Each cartridge will run for about 3 minutes and 40 seconds at 18 fps or 2 minutes and 30 seconds at 24 fps.
> will i have to take the film somewhere to be developed or is there a way of doing it on my own?
Yes, you will have to send your film off to be developed. There are very few local film processing labs left. You can [get your film processed for about $20] (http://www.pro8mm.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=01&Category_Code=proc).
At that point you can pay to have it digitized and sent back to you on an SD card - or you can buy a [$299 digitizer] (https://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Super8-Digitizer-Film2Digital-MovieMaker/dp/B01KA32HH0//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20) and do it yourself.
Hope this is helpful and good luck with your new camera!
If it it 9mm or Super8 Hammacher Schlemmer has advertised these for a while. it looks like now they also offer conversion services...best of luck with your neat film :D
8mm/16mm to DVD Conversion Service - $74.95 - $999.95
Super8 to digital - $1,300.00
Super8/8mm to digital - $499.95
Non-H.S. version - $265.95 (looks to be the same unit found at H.S.)
Here is an article explaining the difference in Super8 and 8mm film, they also offer conversion services.
Since you have many tapes, then this would be a cheaper option.
https://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Super8-Digitizer-Film2Digital-MovieMaker/dp/B01KA32HH0
Oh, I see :)
I guess that rules out Canon CanoScan LiDE 220 too? The small size would be very convenient for (And I liked the price as well ;) )
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-CanoScan-LiDE-Compact-Scanner/dp/B00MWLHV2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525258263&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+canoscan+lide+220+compact+scanner
Unfortunately Epson doesn't sell refurbished scanners here in Denmark.
What about the Epson V370? I know it has a lower DPI, but how much does that really matter, when I primarily is going to use it with my grainy Lomography pictures? ;)
I also saw that there is wide range of "standalone" film scanners. Are they worth considering?
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072KKDL3N/ref=psdc_430591031_t2_B01HZQZLXW
Costco used to do it but I'm sure they just sent them off for you. I bought a small device like this that lets you scan them to a memory card and then upload them to your computer.
The Canon 9000F MKII is an excellent, highly-rated scanner and will handle your 35mm film easily. The 110 negatives might be more difficult as few scanners exist that will handle this old film format. The 9000F does not have a film holder designed to hold strips of 110 film for scanning, and the scanner will attempt to detect the presence of the film holder during scanning.
Some users have been able to work around this by placing strips of 110 film inside the larger 35mm holder, and turning OFF the thumbnail view mode in the scanning software and cropping the resulting preview manually prior to scanning. There is some additional information at the link below. Hope this helps.
https://www.amazon.com/Canon-CanoScan-MKII-Negative-Scanner/dp/B00AGV7TQG
http://community.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Printer-Discussion/Can-I-scan-110-film-negatives-on-the-canoscan-9000f/td-p/4421 (Scroll to the middle of the page and read the post by "smaricic".)
There is also a non-Canon 110 film holder for this scanner that can be used:
https://www.amazon.com/Film-Holder-CanoScan-Flatbed-Scanners/dp/B00MLN195O
My cousin raves about his Jumbl slide/film scanner. He's been digitalizing his father's photos for a while now.
http://www.amazon.com/Jumbl-High-Resolution-All-In-1-Scanner-Digitizer/dp/B00LU0XO3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420322204&sr=8-1&keywords=negative+scanner
Its actually a digital camera with some special software and light bed to illuminate the negative all built together.
What about something like this?
Slide carousels and slide viewers. Per the OP, not huge money, but constantly overlooked and they sell quickly.
Also: Genuine Sony WalkMans of any sort. So long as they work, the money is there.
I just found an led light pad used for tracing that works well as a portable light box; works pretty well for proof sheets: http://www.piccoach.com/tipsandtricks/make-proof-sheets-without-scanner/
I don't know anything about this scanner but it's cheap and has pretty good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Jumbl-High-Resolution-22MP-Scanner-Digitizer/dp/B00ICOB78K/
Do you own a DSLR and a macro lens? If so, you can get results that rival professional drum scanner, and beat the typical (Epson V700) consumer level scanners. It's kind of a PITA to set up though, and you have to do a bunch of post processing if you do the multi-shot/stitch method for higher resolution. I just do them as a single frame since I'm not making prints or anything. Here's my setup in action.
I also did a bunch of experimenting with different backlights etc. trying to get my regular all-in-one printer scanner to get decent results, but nothing came out anywhere near as good as just taking a picture of a picture.
I am curious if anyone has tried one of those cheapie negative scanners you can get on amazon for under $100.
I assume you mean US$, what you get depends on what film types you intend to scan.
If you only ever plan to shoot and scan 35mm i would recommend going for a dedicated 35mm scanner like a Plustek 7200 (3250DPI) for $200, or if you wanted the absolute best scanner short of drum scanning then the $400 Pacific Image Prime Film XA (4300DPI) is reckoned to have the highest DPI scan.
If you just want a general purpose scanner for 35mm and 120 (and documents) then something like an Epson V550 (1600DPI) for $160 is fine.
DPI numbers pulled from this page on the wiki.
I use an Epson V500 with third party film holders for 120 and have no problems. Looks like they've added a half decent 120 holder with the V550 so you shouldn't have to spend more for third party ones.
An even cheaper option is PrimeFilm XA which you can get for $380 new (i wish it was this cheap in the UK), 4300 DPI resolved detail, a lot smaller and lighter, can even scan a whole 36exp roll automatically.
Not as quick as an LS-600 but that's a trade off i'll take for 60% of the cost and 1/7^th of the weight (5lbs vs. 37lbs).
Hi. Thanks for your post. I'm looking to create something that I can display comfortably on a 1080p TV, touch up in Photoshop/Lightroom and keep for archival backup purposes as an alternative to the slides and basically just make them look 'nice' so my dad can flick through them and smile on his tablet.
The Plustek Opicfilm seems pretty pricey but I was expecting something quite specialist like this to be so. How do you think something like this Veho VFS-008 would perform as a cheaper alternative?
I do actually own a flatbed scanner. It's a Kodak Hero 7.1. One of their all-in-one scanner, inkjet printer office devices. A quick Google led me to a Kodak support page that made me believe it would be unsuitable for the task though:
>Unfortunately, KODAK All-in-One Printers do not have the capability of scanning slides or film. The scanner is designed to scan pictures and documents only. Scanning film requires an extra light to shine through the film for scanning.
$1600 is a little too much for me to be investing to be honest there. Thanks for the suggestion though.
>As others have implied there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to learning how to scan. I've been doing it for about 3 months now and I'm still learning new things. My biggest fear would be to learn something at slide 290 and decide you want to go back and apply it to all of them.
Any guides or tips to get started scanning properly?
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
Nope, nope, nope. CVS and Walgreens send your film from their "Photo Lab" to a 3rd party who keeps and destroys your negatives after development, and the scans are absolutely awful. The scanners they use probably haven't been updated since they first adopted the technology ~15 years ago. You're much better off getting your processing done at National Camera or any place that will do processing only, buying one of these, and doing the negative scanning yourself. What's the point of shooting on film if the final product isn't any better in quality than photos taken with a 10 year old camera phone?