Scanning - Like or dislike ?

[Mystic]

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Good evening,

Im about to scan another roll of film but somehow the start is always heavy but then it is a lot of fun especially at the end. After that there is the photoshop part which takes the most of the evening (and sometimes night)

 

 

I really like to hear your opinions . What do you think about this issue?

 

 

Best regards

[chrism]

I rather enjoy it, but then I don't spend a very long time in Photoshop (not saying they don't need a long time, simply that I'm not interested in prolonged manipulations). I'm hoping scanning might get even more exciting by the weekend if FedEx and Canadian customs can sort themselves out.

 

Chris

[Guest MikeN]

I don't like creating contact sheets. So I rather use the scanner doing this. Do an automatic standard processing while importing into Lightroom and the ones I like get developed in the dark room

[SteveYork]

It's ok, but I read a book while the machine is batch scanning. It can be daunting, especially if you have years of negatives to go through.

[Doug A]

I've been scanning my old negatives, one roll a day, for several months. It's become part of my morning routine. I do low-resolution scans with the Canon 8800F, load them into Lightroom and take some care with the keywords. In effect I am making digital proof sheets. I can find an individual negative in 100+ rolls of film in seconds.

 

I am nearing the end of the negatives. I have 8 or 10 rolls of my own remaining and another 8 or 10 rolls that my father shot in the 1940's. Then it's on the the slides. I have about 1,000. Unlike the negatives which the Canon can scan 12 at a time, the slides can only be done 4 at a time. I can't face doing that right now. I've told the family that I will look at every slide in a tabletop viewer but only scan the ones I think I might want to print some day. For the others, I will make an entry in my notebook indicating the general content and condition of each box of slides.

[too old to care]

A couple of years ago I went through my slides, many of them were shot in the 60s, by viewing them with a projector. I then picked about 400 that I wanted to keep and scanned about 20 a day then ran them through Photoshop until the job was done. I would hate to think of doing more.

 

Recently I rediscovered the joys of film and dusted off my M6 and started shooting and scanning film. It has been more fun, but still time consuming. I have not yet mastered the correct techniques to get good B&Ws, but color film and slides have been coming out quite well with a Plustek.

 

Will film replace my digital, no I don't think so. But I do enjoy using it again.

[cheewai_m6]

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i'm a lot younger than most of the guys on here. my negatives only go as far back as the mid 90's when i started photography.

 

i shoot with m6 these days which i love. i find it very difficult to sit down and start scanning, but once i actually start, it's ok. i love the processing in lightroom parts. i don't manipulate it much at all. just the usual balance contrast etc until i get what i want. a roll of film, scan and process can take 4-6 hours, but i do love processing part.

[Michael Hiles]

I also use a Canon 8800F. I scan everything I shoot at a resolution sufficient for the web, and I have - over some time - scanned about 10,000 mainly B&W negatives and some slides (mainly Kodachromes). I add captions with meaningful keywords using Picasa, and I create file names that point to the physical location of the negative/slide (Binder 3-page#-pic#). This way I can find anything essentially instantly, then get the negative within 15 seconds. Mainly scanning is for cataloging.

 

I also scan to see what I want in a print - contrast, burning, dodging etc. in situations where I want a print, which is still done by hand in my darkroom, mounted, matted and framed.

[tgray]

I don't necessarily mind it BUT if it all happened magically I wouldn't complain. Just the scanning bit at least. The filing and photoshop bit is a bit more engaging. But when you've got a backlog of fresh film waiting to be developed, it sure would be a timesaver if the scanning bit magically happened.

 

I've got about 20 trays of slides from my childhood that I need to go through and scan. I haven't started in earnest because its mostly Kodachrome (yay!) and I need to get some more storage and a new monitor to do it justice.

[menos I M6]

I still have a pile of unscanned rolls on my desk.

I still have a pile of undeveloped rolls in the fridge.

 

I hate scanning and I hate developing, as both really robs a lot of time and quality scans need this time (you can't shortcut things).

 

Once, I do manage, to have my negs scanned though, the output is much more to my liking, when everything comes together than with a digital image.

 

Film needs time … simple is that.

[Bateleur]

I'm very much in the dislike camp. My scanning is limited to scanning my analogue prints for presentation on social media - like this forum. Everytime I see the result on my screen my heart drops through the floor. I've tried allsorts of scanning recipes, but my heart still resides on the floor. Photoshop and I are not good friends either I'm afraid.

 

Sorry.

[andym911]

I still have a pile of unscanned rolls on my desk.

I still have a pile of undeveloped rolls in the fridge.

 

I hate scanning and I hate developing, as both really robs a lot of time and quality scans need this time (you can't shortcut things).

 

Once, I do manage, to have my negs scanned though, the output is much more to my liking, when everything comes together than with a digital image.

 

Film needs time … simple is that.

 

agree completely.

 

andy

[MPJMP]

My time is precious, so I don't particularly like it, but the final results usually make it worth the effort and keep me shooting more film.

 

To save time, I preview each frame on a light table using a 8x loupe and only scan the ones I think might be keepers. I use a Nikon Coolscan V. If I have more than just a few frames to scan, I found that I can be editing the frames I just scanned in Lightroom while the next few are still scanning. This seems to make it go faster as I'm not twiddling my thumbs waiting for the scanner to finish doing its thing.

[jplomley]

Became much more pleasureable when I purchased SilverFast AiStudio Pro. No more crashing software and full OSX 10.6 compatability. NegaFix is a top drawer program for CC.

[drums1977]

Scanning 35mm was fun until I started scanning medium format. Everything looks so much better. Even so, I still look forward the scanning (35 and MF) process. 35 mm is normally worth it over digital, and MF always is.

[Zorki>Leica]

I dont like scanning, but I do like looking at good results.

[thomasw_]

I scan instead of doing contact prints. As for printing, I wet print. I consider any other method a compromise. I find scanning tedious, but wet printing -- even after all these years -- it is still a joy and the ultimate aim for which I shoot.

[cbretteville]

I don't mind even if my Minolta 5400 takes a long time doing it. I know I'd enjoy it, but there just isn't time in my life to spend hours under red light printing. To be honest I'm better at working on the images on the Mac than I was in the darkroom when I last had one (80s). The WAF of a hybrid solution is also a lot more favorable.

Carl

[contaxgary]

I scan because I shoot film and need the digital image. I don't particularly like it and so have automated the process as much as possible with a bit less control of individual images, but less time spent processing.

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[Michael Hiles]

I scan instead of doing contact prints. As for printing, I wet print. I consider any other method a compromise. I find scanning tedious, but wet printing -- even after all these years -- it is still a joy and the ultimate aim for which I shoot.

 

Gets my vote.