How do I Compare Scanners for Negative & Positive Film?
Many scanners let you scan photographic film into digital files for editing, archiving and sharing with friends and family. This is a great way of restoring memories captured on negative and positive film you no longer use but want to view. It can also be a great way to keep the costs of shooting film down if you use a film camera, as you can skip the printing stage and simply scan the negative or positive film to digital formats.
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Instructions
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Measure your negatives and slides either by hand or by consulting the manufacturer's instructions. Traditionally, single slides are surrounded by cardboard or plastic holders for older-style slide projectors/carousels. These are called "mounted slides" and as such will need a large-size slide tray to scan them compared with "unmounted slides"
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Consult the specifications of your film scanner. Does it have the capacity to scan the size of film you have? Does it have the right-size trays for your slides? All film scanners will list the size (35mm or 120 size) and the type of tray included with the scanner (negative, unmounted slides or mounted slides).
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Read the documentation for the software included with the scanner. Does the software have the ability to convert negative images to positive? Special software is required to convert the orange-looking negatives into color positives.
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Compare the DPI or Dots Per Inch of the scanner. Higher DPI figures result in higher-resolution digital images, which in turn are suitable for higher-resolution prints.
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Tips & Warnings
When scanning negative or positive film, be sure to use a clean workspace and equipment. Any dust, however small, will result in spots on your negative or positive film.
References
- Photo Credit negative image by Cindy Haggerty from Fotolia.com
