How can I use a normal scanner to scan negatives?

Question

My question regards scanning film negatives:

A friend is giving me her Epson perfection scanner. It's a basic model, and doesn't have the special frames for film scanning which I have seen on other scanners. I have never scanned negatives myself. To scan my 35mm and 120 film negatives, is there anything special I need to do? Or do I just lay them on the glass and close the lid? Should I scan a whole strip and then "cut" and edit them in Photoshop? Or should I scan them a frame at a time? What file size or file type should I use for the initial scan? Are there special settings for scanning negatives? Besides using the "negative" function in Photoshop to make the images positive, what else should I do to get a good positive image from my negatives? I appreciate any tips!

Answer 1

No, there's nothing too special about it. Just pop the whole strip in and scan each frame individually (this will give you a better quality scan, and make sure you scan at the highest res) then open it up and do your thang in photoshop! :)

Answer 2

based on the style you would be waiting to with out variations, however the known would be poorer than from a committed scanner. in the journey that your objective is to archive the negatives digitally i'd advise renting a action picture scanner from a professional photograph supply. with a bit of luck the scanner could have digital airborne dirt and mud removing, besides the reality that that's usaully in basic terms available while scanning colour negatives. some human beings test B&W negs as colour slides - according to risk this would help? Having a low priced minilab archive your thoughts is okay if that's your in basic terms determination and you do not plan on printing great photographs from the small records. You get what you pay for in spite of determination you %.

Answer 3

it works better with the negative adapter... just slid the negitive into the adapter and put it into the scanner. it seperates the photos... depending on the scanner modle i have the 1650...the software will orent and scan the images from the negative you choose...after you do a preview scan.

Answer 4

go to the Epsom web site and see if there is a film adapter available for your scanner