Scanner for Pre WW11 Black and White Negatives

[bennett]

I'm after something like this too,
lots of information on this thread,
thanks to everyone for adding,
some clever people on Rootschat.

Regards
Bennett

[jc26red]

The restoration board has the best advise around

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,444431.0.html

[peakoverload]

Judging by the size of the negs it sounds like they were shot on 120 film which is a medium format film. This means that they have far more 'resolution' than 35mm film and scanned correctly could produce stunning results if they were taken on a half decent camera.

To get the most from them you need a dedicated film scanner but a good one is very expensive. You can buy scanners that just scan film for under £100 but these are little more than toys as they are little more than a cheap digital camera in a box. You will get something that you can view and it will look okay(ish) but it won't capture all the detail that is in those negs.

Flatbed scanners have come on leaps and bounds but due to their design they simply cannot produce as good results as a dedictated film scanner but the results should be the next best thing. One of the better flatbed scanners on the market which can cope with medium format film is the Canon Canonscan 9000F. It still doesnt really compare to a dedicated film scanner but it is not a bad comprimise. The UK price is around £200 so not cheap but if you have hundreds of negs to scan, cheaper than getting them scanned professionally.

[km1971]

A cheap solution is to buy a light box slighter larger than the largest negative. Place the negative on a standard flatbed scanner; cover with the light box (light down!), and scan normally. A 5 by 5 or 6 by 4 (inches) battery/mains operated one can be had for about 25-30 GBP.

Or you could sell a set of 3 or 4 of the ones showing Sydney harbour bridge being built on Ebay and buy one of the semi-pro ones listed on that RC link. The local records office would probably also be interested.

Ken