Will scanning B+W 35mm negatives with a regular HP scanner do anything to the negatives?

Jon.

Yes, it will light up the negative, but you won't know that for sure, because the lid will be closed. (Sort of like wondering about the light in the refrigerator.) ;)

To actually scan the neg, you'll need for the light to shine through it - in other words, a transparency adapter.

Not meaning to contradict Mr. Barker :) as his posts both here and on the Ilford forum have been a great help to me, BUT... if all you want is to scan the negs as a preview and not for publishing, you can scan them the same way you'd scan a document and then invert them in Photoshop or some such similar program. They won't be great, but they'll be viewable.

cheers

Yes, it will light up the negative, but you won't know that for sure, because the lid will be closed. (Sort of like wondering about the light in the refrigerator.) ;)

To actually scan the neg, you'll need for the light to shine through it - in other words, a transparency adapter.
And you'll probably also need to find a way to turn off the internal light source used for regular reflective scanning. Some sort of backlit diffused backing, like translucent plex or a diffusion lighting gel above the negatives would also be necessary. This is supplied by a transparency adapter.

Lee

If the lid of the scanner is white, it will work, but needs to invert and a big curve/levels adjustment. If the scanner lid is black, put some white paper on top of the neg.

Jon

I scan 4x5 negs on a flatbed scanner all the time with no problems, you will need to have a scanner with a white lid to reflect the light back through the neg, and it is not as good as a light lid, but it does work, then invert in a image program.

Dave

Jon,

Here's one that I did just for the heck of it to show you what you'll get. I keep my 8x10 negs in poly sleeves (until I figure out a better way), so I scanned this one on an Epson 3170 as a regular photo. I inverted it in PaintShopPro8 and then adjusted the levels until I hade a viewable picture. This one was scanned through the poly sleeve with all the dust in place just to show you how truly bad a scan can be :). Seriously though - at least you'll get an idea of what the print will look like and can make some decisions about how to print it. This is an abandoned, boarded up church in a very small town in Northern Ontario. Population in this town = about 30 depending on who's in the bush and who's in town :).

http://www3.sympatico.ca/oldrad/Photo/LargeFormat/NegScans/neg001.jpg

cheers

If the lid of the scanner is white, it will work, but needs to invert and a big curve/levels adjustment. If the scanner lid is black, put some white paper on top of the neg.

Jon


i've never done this with 35mm negatives for 3 years i scanned 5x7 negatives with white paper behind it works very well.

I didnt know if it could be done either, but after developing my first 8x10's in a few years the other night I couldnt wait for the next day to print them. I woke at 3 AM, scanned em and fiddled around with the color balance a bit and got an acceptable preview. I couldnt get them perfect, but acceptable. Before fiddling, they came out rather green. I was going to ask a similar question, to see if there some standard correction I can apply but I'm pretty sure there isnt.

So, it won’t damage my negatives?

Jon.

I didnt know if it could be done either, but after developing my first 8x10's in a few years the other night I couldnt wait for the next day to print them. I woke at 3 AM, scanned em and fiddled around with the color balance a bit and got an acceptable preview. I couldnt get them perfect, but acceptable. Before fiddling, they came out rather green. I was going to ask a similar question, to see if there some standard correction I can apply but I'm pretty sure there isnt.

Well, if they are green, why not change the mode to b&w? For corrections, try the eyedroppers in levels/curves in photoshop or try autolevels or autocontrast.

For two years, I have scanned my negatives by taping them with 3M post-it notes to a portable light table (which must have a continuous light source powered by DC voltage, or the 60 cycle current will display), and putting it directly on the flatbed. I always scan with the emulsion side down, as that eliminates most of the Newton rings. It works better than just a white background, but is a bit of a hassle.
I have never damaged any of my negs this way. I have scanned some 4x5 negs, and printed them in d%*^*%al minilabs with fine results up to 8x10. Nowhere near the quality of an optical print, of course.
I should also mention that I scan them as color files, and then desaturate them. This gives much better results, in my humble opinion.
I use the scanning to determine whether the neg is worth printing or not. Kind of like a contact sheet of sorts, and for that purpose it works great.

IS this 'analog'? ;-)

Anyway, a very accpable way to scan negs without a transparancy adapter, and way above just using a white reflector is tyo use a light pad. I reasearched this when I first got my 8x10 and had no way to print or scan. I bought an inexpensive daylight balanced flourescent light pad. Simply place the neg on the scanner bed, place the light pad on top of that, leave the cover open, then scan.

It's still not as good as a transparency adapter, but it beats the heck out of a simple white reflector, as I tried doing that first...

IS this 'analog'? ;-)
Agreed. Moved to "Gray Area".

BTW, my scanner is an old AGFA Duoscan. Scans prints and film up to 8x10" without modifications. Expect to pay $50 to $100 for one - they are discontinued, so all are second-hand.

So, it won’t damage my negatives?

Jon.
Scanning won't damage your negatives, never. However, with 35mm on a flatbed scanner you will not get good results, especially not without a light lid. For 35mm negatives it is recommended to use a film scanner, if this is an option regarding cost.