UK Dev + Scan advice please!

[cliffp]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have just bought an M7 and 50mm Summicron and would be very grateful for advice about processing and scanning. My interest is mainly colour and I would ideally like to use Velvia (I used this before and liked it but would welcome other suggestions).

 

I am aware of all of the issues around film speed having shot colour film for 20 years before going digital in 2000; my return to film is largely to try rangefinder photography before taking the plunge with an M9.

 

I actually have a Minolta Dual Scan IV which works ok but I wonder whether I would get significantly better results having a high res scan done professionally.

[francofile]

Hi

Hi

 

You have a number of options open to you. Professional labs such as Darkroom UK and CC Imaging in Leeds will provide you with a one stop shop - at a price!! Currently to process and scan one E6 comes out between £15.00 and £20.00. If you shoot a lot that will get vey expensive very quickly.

 

A very low cost option would be to have the film processed but not cut. Then take it to ASDA and they will transfer to cd for £1.00. Caution is, however, necessary. The standard of operator is variable and the scans are not particularly high res. It is a good option if you want to do a quick review and then scan at home using yor Minolta. To get better scans than from the Minolta is going to cost a lot.

 

I have been down this route and in the end bought a Nikon Coolscan 8000 secondhand from Ffordes. I estimate that I got a payback against using Pro labs in about a year. (50 to 70 films is around break even)

 

Hope this helps

 

Andrew

[dpattinson]

You will have to pay quite a lot to get a better scan done than you are currently getting from your Minolta (assuming it's working properly).

 

Bayeux have some prices up on the web here: bayeux

 

Machine scans done at the time of processing have two advantages:

1. They tend to be much cleaner, because there hasn't been any time for much dust to get on the film.

2. They save you a lot of time as proofs or for posting to the web, compared to doing the scanning yourself.

[cliffp]

David and Andrew, thanks a lot for your suggestions

 

I think my Minolta is working ok. The main problem with it is the dust and sometimes grainy skies. Would a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED be much of an improvement? I am pretty much resigned to scanning my own.

 

By the way what apart from blowing dust off with a rocket blower (or aerosol) do you recommend for pre-scan preparation?

[phemy]

David and Andrew, thanks a lot for your suggestions

 

I think my Minolta is working ok. The main problem with it is the dust and sometimes grainy skies. Would a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED be much of an improvement? I am pretty much resigned to scanning my own.

 

By the way what apart from blowing dust off with a rocket blower (or aerosol) do you recommend for pre-scan preparation?

 

To judge from my own experience with a 4000-ED, you may find that the highest resolution attainable (4000dpi) actually accentuates the apparent film grain in the skies! And keep in ind that dust may not just be on the film (where it is visible in the scan) but within the scanner optics (where it contributes to lowered contrast and flare in the scan).

 

Before spending on a new scanner I would try the professional high-res option to sample the difference - and I would recommend Peak in Sheffield.

[cliffp]

Phemy

 

I will try to vary the resolution of the scan to see if it makes a difference to the grain size.

 

I am not sure I dare try to clean the scanners optics (I may google it to see what literature there is on the subject) though it had occurred to me that this may be a cause.

 

Peak Imaging seem very expensive (around £35 for their top service) though I have heard many good things about them. Perhaps a cheaper service (from them) would be good enough? I may well try your suggestion of trying them once to see what can be achieved.

 

I enquired with DSCL about scanning and they charge around £22 incl dev. I have used them for printing before and found them to be good (not that I am by any means an expert in judging these things)