Scanning Prints

Well, if scanning prints is something you want to do, or need to do, there’s a bright side to it all.  You only have one choice for equipment, and that is a flatbed document scanner.

Flatbed scanners come in a wide range of prices from a variety of manufacturers.  Many come with some sort of photo editing software.  Some are tailored towards folks like you, and have one-button shortcuts for scanning prints.  Others offer software that will help restore old faded prints in one step.

You can get good results for around $100 or so.  Prices go up from there to a top of the line Epson that will set you back around $750.  Consider your objective before you set out to buy your scanner.  A scanner can always do, less that its’ ultimate capability – but it can never do more.

If all you want to do is scan the family snapshots for viewing on your phone or computer, or to post on Facebook, you don’t need to spend a fortune.

If you’re looking to be able to reproduce a print that’s in focus and well exposed, you don’t need to spend a fortune, either.

Sounds pretty good so far, doesn’t it?

If your originals aren’t in focus, no scanner is going to be able to fix that.

If your original prints are underexposed (dark, muddy), a scanner might be able to help – but don’t get your hopes up.  The same goes for prints that are overexposed (washed out).  In either case, your best bet is to work from the original slide or negative if you have it.  And, at that point, the $99 scanner is probably not your best choice.

If you’re wanting to take that 4×6 inch print, scan it, and create a great 20×30 inch print to cover that empty space on your wall – it’s not going to happen.  The only way that’s going to happen in an acceptable manner is if you’ve got the original slide or negative to work from, and a scanner capable of providing output of at least 4800 dpi.  Sorry if you were hoping to hear something different.

If you’re working from prints that are old, faded, torn, or wrinkled, they can probably be saved.  “Saved” might be a great result, and it might not be.  All it takes is decent software, a good mouse and mouse pad, and time.  And patience.  And time.  Did I mention patience and time?  I spent about 11 hours restoring and repairing a print of my Grandfather on his wedding day.  I found it behind two other prints of my Grandparent’ wedding in a frame, and time wasn’t at all kind to it.  I used Ulead PhotoImpact software to repair it (the software is now found in Corel’s PaintShop Pro X5 software).  If you don’t believe me about having a good mouse – wait until you work on restoring your first print!

For the record, my current flatbed scanner is a HP OfficeJet 4630 all-in-one.

hp 4630

So, if scanning prints is your primary objective – start at your Local Camera Shop and go from there.  Check the reviews on B&H, Adorama and Samy’s.  And, enjoy!

We’ll wrap the scanning conversation up in one final post soon.

Scanning 35mm Slides, Part 2

Scanning 35mm slides – Part 2.

In Part 1, we talked about scanning a lot of slides.  Thousands of them.

So, what if you don’t have thousands to scan?

You’ve got more options!

For one-off scanning 35mm slides, the Frog has a PrimeFilm 7200 from B&H (information at http://www.scanace.com).   The PrimeFilm 7200 uses the same software as the Powerslide 5000 – so that was a major factor the purchase of this unit.  I’m very happy with this unit – it’s got 7200 dpi resolution and can pull a little more detail out of the dark areas than the Powerslide 5000.  It also scans negatives – but that’s another post.

PrimeFilm 7200

Scans using CyberView or Vuescan software can take as little as five (5) minutes if they are run without the noise reduction and cleaning functions – but I’ve come to terms with waiting a little longer for the slide to be scanned and spending a lot less time cleaning up the final product.  As much as you clean your slides before scanning, and as much as you think you do – it’s more amazing what shows up at 7200 dpi than what shows up at 5000 dpi!

The rest of this post is a review from Part 1.  I was going to stop here, but since we’re talking about scanning slides from two different perspectives, I figured I’d leave it be.  Consider it a review or reiteration of things to consider.

As discussed in Part 1, there are flatbed scanners out there on the market that can scan up to 20 slides at a time, as well as having the capability to scan documents, negatives and photographic prints.  Some of these units can produce very high quality scans – and some simply can’t.  These units range in price from $100 to $800.  The main makers of these scanners are Espon, Canon, and Hewlett-Packard.  Check out the reviews at places like Shutterbug magazine, B&H and Adorama for more information on these units.

There are also lower resolution units that, for lack of better words, take a picture of your slide and convert it to a jpeg image.  They’re not scanners in the traditional sense, but converters.  They’re inexpensive and fast to use, and they have their limitations.  These units can be had from $50 to $150.

What’s right for you?

Well, the first question to ask yourself is “what do I want to do with my scans?”  Your answer dictates what you need.  Remember, you can always downsize your image, but you can never upsize your scan…

If you want to make 20″x30″ prints – think dpi, lots of dpi – 4800 dpi or more.

If you’re wanting to make 8″x12″ prints – 2400 dpi can work.

Just want to show them on your tablet, laptop, phone or TV?  a converter type unit can work for you.

There are also slide scanning services that will scan your slides at varying resolutions for varying prices.  They’re an option for you if you don’t have the time or don’t want to do it yourself.

Don’t forget to consult with your local camera store along the way!

Happy deliberating!

If you’ve got questions, post them in a comment and we’ll talk…

 

Scanning 35mm Slides, Part 1

As I write this, I’m scanning 35mm slides from 1982.  There are a several thousand 35mm slides awaiting their turn.  It’s not a fast process – it could be faster, but let’s talk about it since I was asked about it a couple of weeks ago.

If you’ve got a few hundred slides to scan, or less, that’s not so bad – we’ll talk about that situation in Part 2.

Before launching Laughing Frog Images, I did a lot of research on 35mm slide scanners and slide scanning services.  My goal is archival scans – 5000 dpi (dots per inch) or better per scan, and having the original scan in a lossless format such as .dng or .tif.  Anything less wouldn’t give you the ability to get the image you want the way you want it.

The easy way to get all of my slides converted would have been to send them out to a scanning service, pay them over $1.00 per slide, as well as shipping both ways, tax, etc.  As you know, the Frog is a small, small enterprise – and spending $20,000+ to build the image galleries at Laughing Frog Images just wasn’t going to happen.  Granted, it would have been nice, but that wasn’t going to happen.

So, it was on to Plan B, and the search for a professional quality scanner capable of batch scanning slides.

I ended up purchasing a Pacific Image Powerslide 5000 35 mm slide scanner from B&H (information at http://www.scanace.com).  With this unit, I can scan one slide at a time, or trays of 50 or 100 slides.  I have to admit that I’m still working out the bugs of using the 100 slide carousel tray, but there’s a tray of 50 being scanned right beside me as I write this.

PowerSlide 5000

I am scanning Kodachrome(R) slides at 5000 dpi with automatic noise reduction and cleaning being done in the CyberView software – it takes about 11 minutes per scan and produces a tif file of more than 300MB. I’m doing a basic crop and auto-level adjustments using ACDSee Pro 6.  And I’m a very happy camper!

Scans using CyberView or Vuescan software can take as little as five (5) minutes if they are run without the noise reduction and cleaning functions – but I’ve come to terms with waiting a little longer for the slide to be scanned and spending a lot less time cleaning up the final product.  As much as you clean your slides before scanning, and as much as you think you do – it’s amazing what shows up at 5000 dpi!

There aren’t a lot of other bulk-scanning options out there right now, and there may never be.  It seems like the scanner market may now be what it’s going to be for the foreseeable future.  The Powerslide 5000 is a dedicated slide scanner – it won’t scan negatives unless they are in slide mounts, so negatives are possible, but not without some prep work.

There are also flatbed scanners out there on the market that can scan up to 20 slides at a time, as well as having the capability to scan documents, negatives and photographic prints.  Some of these units can produce very high quality scans – and some simply can’t.  These units range in price from $100 to $800.  The main makers of these scanners are Espon, Canon, and Hewlett-Packard.  Check out the reviews at places like Shutterbug magazine, B&H and Adorama for more information on these units.

There are also lower resolution units that, for lack of better words, take a picture of your slide and convert it to a jpeg image.  They’re not scanners in the traditional sense, but converters.  They’re inexpensive and fast to use, and they have their limitations.  These units can be had from $50 to $150.

What’s right for you?

Well, the first question to ask yourself is “what do I want to do with my scans?”  Your answer dictates what you need.  Remember, you can always downsize your image, but you can never upsize your scan…

If you want to make 20″x30″ prints – think dpi, lots of dpi – 4800 dpi or more.

If you’re wanting to make 8″x12″ prints – 2400 dpi can work.

Just want to show them on your tablet, laptop, phone or TV?  a converter type unit can work for you.

There are also slide scanning services that will scan your slides at varying resolutions for varying prices.  They’re an option for you if you don’t have the time or don’t want to do it yourself.

Don’t forget to visit your local camera store as part of the process!

Happy deliberating!

If you’ve got questions, post them in a comment and we’ll talk…

 

 

 

 

Gallery Spotlight: Fall Foliage

Fall foliage is happening in New England, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and other places I’m not…  And can’t be, so…

The next best thing is putting the spotlight on the Fall Foliage Gallery at Laughing Frog Images!

This is Silver Cascade near Crawford Notch, NH.

DSCF5544 LFI fb

This image used a tripod, cable release, and a polarizing filter as have been discussed here on the Frog’s Blog.  The camera was a Fuji S-9000.  Most of the images in this gallery at this time used this equipment.

This image looks great on a white mug, and also on a white water bottle (it’s one of the samples I have that I’m still wrestling with how to post and share)!  And – for most of the regular readers, it’s cheaper than getting to New Hampshire to see fall foliage in person!  (Although a trip to New England in fall to check out the fall foliage should be on everyone’s Bucket List.)

Don’t forget that Laughing Frog Images gives you over 170 ways to enjoy an image that calls out to you, and in most cases, you control the cropping and the position of the image on the media.  There aren’t many photographers that give you some many choices and that degree of control.  We think it’s all about the image and how you want to enjoy it.

Holiday shopping starts in less than 60 days, so start browsing and planning now!  We’d like to help you shop for unique gifts this holiday season without ever setting foot in a store!