 BetterPhoto Member |
transfer to digital I have been shooting traditional film in 35mm and medium format for many years and would like to start transfering my best negs to digital so that I can print out myself. Quality is of utmost importance as I prefer to print as large as possible. What options exist, is scanning negs better than prints? What dpi issues should I be concerned with? As for a printer I am leaning towards probably an Epson 4800 or 7600, is that the best choice? Should I have the scans outsourced or invest in the equipment myself? What about slide film, I have many fine slides in both formats as well, I would probably limit myself to my best 100 images overall so I doubt that I would prefer to purchase a scanner. Any insight, advice or guidance is immensely appreciated. I thank you in advance. David
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Michael H. Cothran |
David, Answers really depend on your definition of "quality" and "large prints," but I can provide you with some food for thought along these lines. For the very utmost in scan quality, you'll need to farm out your film to a lab that can perform DRUM scans. These will yield the highest definiton and detail possible from your film - more than what you'll need unless you plan to measure your prints in feet rather than inches! A quality drum scan can run $30-$50 each, with a possible negotiation price with 100 images. However, as you can see, you will be spending thousands of dollars for the finest scans possible. Now, if you want to be a little more reasonable in your demands, you can get high resolution commercial CCD scans for $5 - $15 each. Still not cheap, but better than drum scans, and with quality detail that should still satisfy your taste. If you want to scan yourself, and have 35mm and medium format film, your choices of quality scanners are few - two to be exact: The Nikon LS9000ED (which I own and use and recommend). It sells in the high teens. The other choice is the lineup from Imacon - their prices run $5000 - $20,000 (too expensive for me). I also print with an Epson 7600, which can print 24" wide by pretty much whatever length you want. It can, of course, print as small as letter size also. Prints with Ultrachrome pigmented inks are superb, providing you feed it a quality file to begin with. In case you're not aware, the 7600 has been discontinued, and replaced with the 7800. My Nikon LS9000 scanner scans @ 4000 ppi, providing medium format files between 200-350 megabytes, and 35mm files almost 60 MB's large. The medium format files are plenty large to print a 24x36 print @ 360 ppi, and the 35's can be printed to the same size @ about 180 ppi to 240 ppi. With a little interpolation, the 35's can also print @ 360 ppi. These files produce quality prints you couldn't dream of in a conventional darkroom. Three choices - drum scans, commercial CCD scans, or purchase a Nikon LS9000, and do your own CCD scans. You could always sell the LS9000 on Ebay once you're finished with all your scans! Good luck, Michael H. Cothran
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