Scanning color negatives with a regular scanner?

Question

So yes, i'm new to film. Yes, i'm inexperienced with limited knowledge, and yes I don't have the slightest idea of what i'm doing. Just wanted to clear that up before all the experts tell me how clueless I am. Ha, but I do appreciate the help in advance. So I found a tutorial online of how to use a standard flatbed scanner to scan 35mm film negatives. It involves using a scanner, a desk lamp for back lighting, and some paper to dampen the light coming from the desk lamp. So What I did was scan a single negative with the scanner preview option, cropped then scanned again with high resolution. After saving the file and opening it in my photo editor(gimp) I inverted the colors. What came out was a regular black and white image. This is color film. So...what am I missing? Shouldn't the inverted image come out as a color image? I used the "invert" color option. The program doesn't have a "positive" exposure option. Anyone have any experience with this?

And as a note, if you're wondering why I'm doing this it's because I'm on a serious budget. I shoot film to begin with because the pictures come out amazing and my film slr with lenses costs less than $ 75.00. Film development is cheap but putting them to cd or getting prints more than doubles the cost. So that's why i'm doing this.

Answer 1

Hey Eric, welcome to the wonderful world of film!



You didn't mention WHICH scanner you have access too. Most flatbed scanners such as the Epson Perfection series are built to scan 35mm and medium format film. I personally use an Epson V500 model to scan all my work and I don't use a desk lamp etc as there are two scanning surfaces. The V500 costs around $200. If your budget is tighter than that, I'm not sure how you're going to sustain buying and processing film for very long.



While film photography, as you are seeing, CAN be cheaper than digital in start-up costs, if you shoot to any worthwhile degree, you will easily buy a new DSLR over and over again in film costs alone. I probably buy a DSLR's worth of film, not including processing and scanning or printing costs every 3 months.



I don't mean to scare you off but realistically, you have to spend money to save money. So first of all, figure out if your scanner has two surfaces and can do film to start with. If it cannot, try your technique. But it sounds like a whole lot of unnecessary work that is going to be a pain and reduce how much photography you actually get finished in a given period. Maybe you can find a used Epson V500?



Also, since you're on a tight budget, I recommend buying film in bulk from BHPhoto.com or Adorama.com. The more you buy, the more the shipping rate is offset. So buying $100 worth of film will ship for only a buck or two more than buying $20 worth. These few $$ add up over time and having more film on hand encourages you to use it as well as keeps you prepared instead of scrounging around and using the wrong ISO for a shoot that comes up unexpectedly.



I would recommend using $2 films like Fuji Superia.



It's nice to hear that you apparently have a good consumer grade lab at your disposal. All such labs closed down in my area and I do all my processing at home now, which I recommend you reading about sooner rather than later!



Best of luck and feel free to email me any time at [e-mail]



METAL AND MANUAL

FILM FOREVER

Answer 2

Go back to your developer and have them scanned then saved to a CD. You can have that done next time automatically instead of getting prints.

Answer 3

You system should work. Try "import" from your scanner via Twain from Gimp, or make sure your scanner software is set to photo not document.