What is the best negative scanner (35mm) for $400 or less?

Question

Now that we are moving to the digital world...

What is the best negative scanner for the price range of up to $400

Asked by Shaihi

Answer

I'm using Nikon Coolscan V ED and I'm very happy with it. Sadly, it has been discontinued and now the only Nikon option is much more expensive Coolscan 9000 ED.

There are two Coolscans V on the eBay at the moment but I don't think I would comfortable buying a film scanner on a online auction site ...

EDIT: The biggest problem with a second hand scanner is that you don't know how much it was used. The light source in the scanner has a limited lifetime (same as the bulb in a video projector) and it's hard to tell how close to this limit it is.

If you can test the scanner you can at least see if it still works fine on dark source. (With dia film that means a dark object and with a negative film this means a bright object.) In that case I'd suggest selecting few negatives of a known quality (i.e. you had made prints from it) and running them through the scanner. That would show you the detail in bright areas. You should also check for picture noise that would indicate transport problems (i.e. a missing line in the scan or a "squashed" picture with one dimension disproportionately small) and for the noise in the scanned photo. Of course, some noise is imminent as you are working with a noise-sensitive equipment (scanner) on a source that already contains a noise from the analog recording process.

P.S. I'm not selling my Nikon ;)

Answered by gabr

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What automatic-feed photo scanner should I use for 6“×4” / 5“×4” / A6 / postcard size photos?

Question

Can you recommend an automatic document feeder (ADF) photo scanner for usual 6" x 4" / 5" x 4" / A6 / postcard size photos?

I want to stack up say 25 or 30 at a time and leave it running to scan those to a SD card.

I already have a Epson SX600FW all-in-one with auto-document feeder (ADF) scanner, however the guide only slides to a minimum width of A4 portrait dimension. I was thinking of using some blu-tak and cardboard to make a smaller guide for photos however.

Any suggestions?

And do you think putting the photos through a roller in an ADF would damage them and therefore the quality of the scan? Photos are not as flexible as paper.

Answer

Since you're open to a negative scanner consider the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED, it can scan whole rolls of negatives, individual 6-photo strips of negatives or up to 50 slides (in a slide hopper) at a time. I use the 6-photo strip adapter and slide hopper.

The 50 slide hopper and negative roll adapter are extra attachments you need to purchase but the negative strip adapter comes w/the scanner.

Its not cheap but it does what it does really well both in quality and speed.

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