Guide to Film Scanners

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Turn slides and negatives into stunning digital images

By Melissa Winter

Attached to your 35mm or SLR camera? Want the convenience of digital photos but don't want to buy a digital camera? Have a bunch of slides and negatives just lying around? Digitize your 35mm negatives and slides into digital format with a film scanner.

Go digital while keeping your existing camera
If you take photography seriously, you probably have invested some hard cash in your existing film-based SLR camera and lenses, or even a handy 35mm. So keep using them and still attain digital images to share on the Internet and to print.

Why scan film instead of photos?

Greater detail and contrast, better-quality prints
Many photo scanners turn out great-looking prints, but these prints are second generation copies. The photo has already been tweaked for color and tone and cropped at the photo lab. With film, you scan the original image as it was taken — at 100%. Film has greater detail and contrast than prints, and though smaller in size, it contains more detailed tones. It can be scanned at resolutions of 2,400 dpi and higher for great results.
Designed specifically for scanning film
Standard scanners are designed to scan photos and other images by reflecting light onto them. Since film is transparent, light passes through it rather than being reflected off it. A film scanner is designed specifically to scan film with the light source positioned above the transparency. Sensors pick up the light shown through, allowing for quality film scanning.
Easy negative-to-positive conversion
Turning a negative image into a positive one involves inverting the colors and removing the orange cast. This would be complicated if doing it by hand, but a film scanner uses software to do it automatically. Software is typically included with the scanner or can be purchased separately.
More printing options
Scanning directly from negatives or slides instead of from photos gives you the option to make conventional silver halide prints, digital prints or just have the digital image on your computer to add to the family Web site or e-mail to friends and family.
Archive old photos and slides
Have a box of old negatives or slides you've been meaning to go through? Archive a library of digital images for safekeeping. Burn them onto CD and give a copy to everyone in the family, or share them on an online family photo site. Imagine the smiles that old lemonade stand shot will bring.
Correct imperfections
Old film scratched or dirty? With software, most film scanners allow editing and enhancing of image. Remove spots caused by dust and scratches, and even restore faded colors.
Acquire images for business presentations and Web sites
Transform product shots into digital files you can use in presentations, sales materials and brochures and on a company Web site.

Start archiving your family photo collection today. Check out our selection of film scanners.

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