Is it better to scan negatives or prints?

Question

I've been wondering this for awhile now. Is it better to scan a 35mm negative, or a larger print from the negative? Which will provide a better scan? Does this change when moving to a larger film, like 120 or 4x5?

Asked by Matt Giesbrecht

Answer

It is much better to scan the original slide/negative as it is always better to reproduce the image from the source, not one representation of the negative (the printed photo).

Every stage of recording introduces a level of interpretation by the process and the destination medium, which removes choice.

This is similar to digital photography, where the best source is the raw file, not a camera-developed JPEG.

Answered by Shizam

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