Choosing A Slide Transparency Scanner

The task of turning old photographs into digital format is becoming more and more necessary as most of the photography today is digital whether taken from a digital camera or post processed on the computer. Dealing with hundreds or even thousands of film negatives can be a daunting task. The hassle of individually scanning old film negatives can be off putting and a chore. However with an automatic photo scanner, it is entirely possible to streamline the process of converting old 35mm negatives into a digital file format even for large batch jobs.

Flatbed Negative Scanner Adapter

To begin the digitizing process, it is essential that you have a batch slide scanner which is otherwise commonly known as auto feed slide photo scanners. These automated units are a bit more expensive than manual 35mm slide scanners, but the time savings and savings to your sanity are well worth it. I know it may be tempting to try to save money by scanning slides and negatives with your flatbed scanner, but if you have more than several slides or photo negatives to scan, this can take hours or even days.

Can I scan a negative with a flatbed scanner?

If you still want to use a flatbed slide scanner, then you will need to have an adapter that works with your scanner. Unlike normal paper, slides and negatives are transparent and just placing them on your scanner will not work. Since flatbed scanners work by reflecting light off of the paper to capture the different colors, the light will simply pass through slides and photo negatives. To solve this problem, most flat bed scanners come with a separate slide transparency scanner adapter that allows you to use your normal scanner to digitize negatives. This adapter works by shining light onto the transparent slide from above. This way your flatbed can sense the colors of the image. Otherwise, the light will pass right through and you will only get a solid black image in place of the picture on the negative.

Best Photo Scanner At Home

For larger scanning jobs, then you are probably looking for the best photo scanner. These are machines that are specially designed to capture film, photo negatives, and slide transparencies. Not only are these professional photo scanners faster and more efficient, but they also give a better digital image. This is because the sensor of a slide and photo scanner is not blocked by a layer of glass. The light in these machines like a Nikon photo scanner is also more concentrated and intense. The result is a higher resolution image with a higher dpi or dots per inch.