I have boxes of old film negatives and am now searching a good/reliable way to convert them to digital.
Now I scan film negatives on XSane, running on Ubuntu Linux, and touch the scanned images on “Raw Therapee”. I have been searching a while on Internet whether I can scan film negatives direct on “Raw Therapee” but without result.
The scanner used is Epson Perfection 3490 which has been used for years. However it still works without problem. I’m considering to replace it with Epson Perfection V800. I have been looking at “Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE Film Scanner”. The only reason for me turning to “Epson Perfection V800” is after having finished scanning all old film negatives stock I can use it to scan document.
If they are 35mm, i think a m43 with a cheap adapted 50mm macro (1:2 it’s enought, e.g. pentax 50 f4 macro, olympus 50 f3.5) could be a nice and rather cheap solution.
Newer models also feature super resolution with pixel shift, but i doubt there is much more than 12-16 megapixel in the slides.
Same for cheap aps mirrorless, e.g. fuji x-a1 or x-m1, with the same macro lenses but with an extension tube.
I would prefer cameras with good live view, so no reflex.
Lots of ways to scan film, even using smartphones. To get an image into RT is just the same as getting an image into RT from a camera (maybe slightly quicker than camera as scan goes straight into computer). Been a few years since I scanned any film or even shot any film but I do remember having the option to scan directly into Photoshop (think with VueScan) so perhaps one could scan directly into RT?
That bit I don’t understand. Do you mean you want to batch process all images or do you want a quick method to filter and choose which frames to keep? If the latter, use your tablet/laptop/window as a lightbox and view with a loupe and if it’s negative film use something like Helmut Film Scanner app (Android only I think) to view as positive.
Just some side-notes here: using your tablet or laptop or phone as a lightbox is not something I’d recommend. The screen will either produce polarized light (in case of LCD) or is not uniform in wavelength (LED most of them). That can (or will) have an effect on the color reproduction of your negative.
There are specialized lightboxes that do a better job, or your window with the sun outside. The “Film scan with DSLR” tutorial post gives the right idea. Though, never touch your negatives with your bare fingers… that’s bad for the long term preservation.
As for the post-production. You’re probably always going to need some, just to make you happy, especially if your negatives are little older. And in any case if you digitise your slides with a DSLR and shoot RAW, you will need to edit anyway. RawTherapee can help you process through presets. But that’s something you probably know already
The screen will either produce polarized light
(in case of LCD) or is not uniform
That is correct. At the beginning I experienced this problem.
Then I found a software “Using your smartphone/notepad as lightbox” (something like that). Sorry, I can’t remember exactly. Then the notepad became a lightbox without those problem. Wonderful !!!
And in any case if you digitise your slides with a
DSLR and shoot RAW, you will need to edit anyway
Yes, it is correct.
Before running “Raw Therapee” I used GIMP/Photoshop, Darkroom, etc. to do the job. I’m searching a solution to escape this step after scanning. The scanned images need not be retouched?
In case I couldn’t find a solution then I would purchase an Epson Perfection V800 flatbed scanner to start my work.
That’s definitely not possible using software only. You cannot simply “improve” the light source of your phone/tablet/laptop without making hardware modifications. In other words, buy a proper light source suited for this purpose if you care about your color reproduction.
And,
Like I said, you will probably always want to do some processing afterwards. Buying an expensive Epson scanner does not guarantee that you get a digital file that you’re happy with. There’s a lot of factors to consider. How old are your negatives? Are they high quality negatives? Do you need 6.000 ppi scan resolution? Just to name a few. Please read this thread too for some thoughts.
Personally, I have had great experience with my D750 camera with a macro lens, a good copy stand like this, and an Artograph LightPad. I digitised my family’s collection of around 500 positive slides quickly and quite efficiently. An example you can find here.
In other words, buy a proper light source suited for this purpose
if you care about your color reproduction.
Yes, agree.
Most likely I won’t follow this route because I haven’t got a macro camera. It was only a test to capture the film negative with smartphone. However it worked but I need to retouch the images on Raw Therapee.
Any suggestion on macro camera? Also I need to buy a stand. I wonder whether my tripod stand can do the job? It is a nice tripod, made in Japan, which I bought about 30 years ago. It is still in very good condition
I prefer to go flatbed scanner route. My old Epson Perfection 3490 flatbed scanner is still working strong, Maybe it is time for it to retire. I wonder Epson Perfection V800 flatbed scanner can do a better job
My old film negatives are at least 25~30 years old, packed in boxes but they are still in good condition. They are Kodak and Agfa color film negatives.
Do you need 6.000 ppi scan resolution?
The images are mainly used for posting on website, not for printing.
I always wonder whether I can skip the retouching step because I have a large stock of film negatives to handle.
Darktable has a function to offset the color of the film. Remember, negative film is usually orange and needs to be offset.
My old film negatives are at least 25~30 years old, packed in boxes but they are still in good condition
I hope you can confirm the good condition after your first scan. Mine was of similar age and the cast was quite terrible, and that where the better ones.
I need to make sure I understand: by “retouching”, are you talking about the inversion of the negative and removal of the orange cast, or the usual editing such as contrast, or dust/scratch removal?
If just the former, there are numerous tools and methods to use in batch processing; the latter will probably require human intervention to make it right across a bunch of images.
I ran command line converting the negative image to positive image but still needing to edit contrast, dust etc manually. It’ll take me lengthy time to finish converting all old film negatives to digital
), and i haven’t used it in years.
