Scanning conundrum

[thisispants]

Im getting a bunch of film dewveloped from my overseas holidays and I want to scan and save them on my computer with a view to print if they're any good. I only want to print the standard photo size, no bigger. I also want it to look good without having to use a lot of space on my computer with big files....

So ... I was wondering what settings I should use that will get me a relatively small file size but look great on a normal photo size print. Is JPG ok?


Thanks.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

undoubtedly there will be protests from the scanning cognoscenti but I'd suggest the following options

• if you can get them put to CD when developing that will work out well. I compared a neg which was digitized (scanned) by the minilab who developed the film they used a Noritsu I published my findings here comparing that to a LS-IV ed scanner ... make sure you ask for the highest res scans (which may mean saying "I will want to make big prints later" or some other key words for the operator).
• epson flat bed scanners such as 4870, 4990 are well priced used and do a good job for your requirements. If you just leave it on automatic and walk away then its scans at 2400 dpi (no matter which model) are quite acceptable. If you want to do more, then this article from my blog may help you with getting more consistent results batch scanning negatives.

keeping in mind that 1.5 x 1 inch of film scanned at 2400 dpi will give 3600x2400 pixels (ball park) which isn't far from what you'll get from a 8 megapixel camera.

The Final two images on this page, shows garden variety negative compared to a 2/3rds 5 megapixel camera ... which I've personally made A4 sized prints from that look fine.