Film scanning function that comes with printers - are they good?


Andreq

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Jul 12, 2007
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I have a couple of old 35mm films to scan but I'm not sure if I should buy a dedicated film scanner.

Has anyone used the film scanner that comes with some multi-purpose printers? Is the scan quality reasonable compared to a dedicated film scanner?

My old printer is faulty so I'm wondering if I should get another printer that comes with a film scanner, rather than buy a more expensive stand alone film scanner.

Thanx for any advice.
 

those multipurpose scanner/printer does not have a 35mm holder for you to scan negatives (my epson V330 one side of the flap cover got a portion for scanning film - not sure how to explain to you). i dun think u can use them to scan your film.

http://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=...pw.r_qf.&fp=62cd8b1a0477631d&biw=1280&bih=608 (see the first row of the photo, far right, look at the flap cover part, you will notice something there meant for scanning negatives)
 

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Andreq said:
I have a couple of old 35mm films to scan but I'm not sure if I should buy a dedicated film scanner.

Has anyone used the film scanner that comes with some multi-purpose printers? Is the scan quality reasonable compared to a dedicated film scanner?

My old printer is faulty so I'm wondering if I should get another printer that comes with a film scanner, rather than buy a more expensive stand alone film scanner.

Thanx for any advice.

Compare the dpi of the scanner and you will know the difference and capabilty
 

those multipurpose scanner/printer does not have a 35mm holder for you to scan negatives (my epson V330 one side of the flap cover got a portion for scanning film - not sure how to explain to you). i dun think u can use them to scan your film.

Actually some do. I have used a HP C8180 that had film holders for 35mm & 120, and the transparency scanning light source was built-in to the lid/cover.

Compare the dpi of the scanner and you will know the difference and capabilty

DPI (like megapixels for cameras) only tell part of the story.

TS, I had reasonably good scans from the HP C8180, but the results from my purpose-built scanner (Epson V500) were better, esp for film. As I said, dpi is only part of the story. There are specs like D-max (essentially the equivalent of dynamic range) that are important. Even more important than specs, real-world tests and actual scans.

I found that on the V500 scanning above 2400dpi produced no discernible difference with my negs and slides. Test with a few samples first before wasting time scanning your entire collection at unnecessarily high DPIs! It makes a huge difference to your time :)
 

how's epson V330 quality?

those multipurpose scanner/printer does not have a 35mm holder for you to scan negatives (my epson V330 one side of the flap cover got a portion for scanning film - not sure how to explain to you). i dun think u can use them to scan your film.

v330 epson show inner - Google Search (see the first row of the photo, far right, look at the flap cover part, you will notice something there meant for scanning negatives)
 

I have a couple of old 35mm films to scan but I'm not sure if I should buy a dedicated film scanner.

Actually, if it's just a couple of old rolls, you might consider getting a lab to do it for you -- I think Fotohub charges less than $9 per 35mm roll (Base 4 scanning). If there are any you would consider 'keepers', get them scanned at higher quality. I think there are some scanning service providers on CS as well.
 

edwin,

actually I was being conservative when I said a couple of old rolls. I do have some more piles lying around which I have yet to sort out. :)

i shot quite a bit of film for several years. so sometimes, there are only 1 or 2 personal favorite shots here and there that i'd like to scan out of an entire roll. So it's not cost effective for me to go to the shop. i'd rather take my time to sort out and scan only those frames that I like.

i've borrowed a friend's dedicated Nikon film scanner. it's easy to use (slow though!) but it's a pain to correct the exposure. it also looks grainy compared to a digital image straight out of the digicam! what scares me next is how easy it is to get dust marks on the scanned image practically anywhere. i've got to scrutinize the image carefully to see.

And there's no such thing as saving in RAW format. The TIFF file is so huge! If I save in JPG, then I have little room for editing later.

so i'm thinking whether i should buy the film scanner from my friend who doesn't need it any more, or buy a printer that comes with one. I need a new printer anyway.

i believe it's not just about resolution as some say here? i'm not sure if the dynamic range and all that of the printer will produce good results.

i'm looking at film scanner that comes with the Canon printer.
 

edwin,

actually I was being conservative when I said a couple of old rolls. I do have some more piles lying around which I have yet to sort out. :)

i shot quite a bit of film for several years. so sometimes, there are only 1 or 2 personal favorite shots here and there that i'd like to scan out of an entire roll. So it's not cost effective for me to go to the shop. i'd rather take my time to sort out and scan only those frames that I like.

i've borrowed a friend's dedicated Nikon film scanner. it's easy to use (slow though!) but it's a pain to correct the exposure. it also looks grainy compared to a digital image straight out of the digicam! what scares me next is how easy it is to get dust marks on the scanned image practically anywhere. i've got to scrutinize the image carefully to see.

And there's no such thing as saving in RAW format. The TIFF file is so huge! If I save in JPG, then I have little room for editing later.

so i'm thinking whether i should buy the film scanner from my friend who doesn't need it any more, or buy a printer that comes with one. I need a new printer anyway.

i believe it's not just about resolution as some say here? i'm not sure if the dynamic range and all that of the printer will produce good results.

i'm looking at film scanner that comes with the Canon printer.

film grains are good! why resist them? haha

i am now hooked on shooting film cos of the film grains. my digital FF body and lens laying in the dry cabinet haha.
 

film grains are good! why resist them? haha

i am now hooked on shooting film cos of the film grains. my digital FF body and lens laying in the dry cabinet haha.

The grain that I was referring to is not the same as film grain.

I noticed films that have been scanned have that rough textured effect which is not nice when you blow up.

As for films, ha... to me, they are dead and I'm not keen to touch them anymore. Though talking about them feels so nostalgic. I shoot with films for more than 20 years. I dread thinking about all my tons of photos and lots and lots of negatives lying around.
 

The grain that I was referring to is not the same as film grain.

I noticed films that have been scanned have that rough textured effect which is not nice when you blow up.

maybe u want to post one photo here?