Film Scanning Advice

Occasionally I get an e-mail from someone asking for advice on the subject of scanning film. Here is one I received yesterday.


Hi, my name is Stephen Anthony and I've come across your blog. In it you say that you regularly scan your photos instead of processing them. I've been thinking if it is ideal to switch to film, the price of medium film format is considerable (Mamiya 645 AFD) and a good film scanner is not so expensive nowadays.

The reason I e-mail you is for a question involving film; where do you scan your print?

I've seen professional people take film out of view cameras and insert other in dim lit rooms and amateurs put negatives on diffused/ dimmed lamps and I'm kind of clueless where to find that info on the internet. Aren't you supposed to do all those stuff in a darkroom; to scan a film, must I take the scanner and load the film in total darkness. Also, doesn't the film scanner come with proprietary software to use for negatives/ transparencies? I've noticed that many people use Silverfast and similar software.
It would help a lot if you could share some of your insight on this.
Stephen Anthony

Stephen asked some interesting questions which I address in my response:

Hi Stephen,

I do personally scan all of my film. I have a Mamiya m645 and a 6x6cm Russian thing that looks like a Hasselblad 503c. I have found that shooting medium format film is beneficial to me because it simplifies my work flow from the very beginning when I compose an image to scanning the film. I hand process all of my black and white stuff to reduce cost. Unfortunately color processing is a whole different ordeal that I don't have access to, so I have to bite the bullet at $6/roll for a 120 roll and $12/roll for 220 for color negative. Double that for transparencies! If I could afford a medium format digital, preferably Phase, I would, but the cost of film has to do for now.

Most scanners have proprietary software that will work in conjunction with Photoshop CS 2, 3, 4, or 5. I tried to use a trial version of Silverfast with my Canon 8800f, but the interface was really confusing so I didn't purchase it. The reason most people want to use Silverfast is for 16 and 48 bit scanning. It's such a huge advantage to have the extra color and tone information in those higher bit modes. Canon software will not scan in anything other than 8 bit mode without third party software. Epson, though, does offer a scanner with proprietary software that scans in 16 bit gray scale and 48 bit color. But, some of the Epson flatbed glass will scan a moire pattern into your digital image.
You can put your scanner in a dark room to eliminate the possibility of any outside light affecting the color of your image. I think most people editing or scanning images do it in the dark or dimly lit room because limiting the influence of outside light on the screen of the monitor allows for more accurate color balancing and contrast. Editing under a tungsten lighting situation can trick you eyes into thinking your image is warmer than it really is. When viewed under daylight balanced fluorescent lighting, that same image may appear cooler than you thought it was.

I hope this helps you out!

Craig Norris