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Scanning Negatives Anonymous
Can anyone tell me how I can scan my negatives into my computer using a normal scanner? I know that the quality wont be as good as a negative scanner, but I don't want to get one if I don't have too. I already tried to scan some negatives but I'm having trouble photoshopping them to look normal (ie, invert colors, add contrast) but I probably didn't even scan them right. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
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>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
The problem with scanning negatives using a traditional flatbed scanner is the light source. When the light of the scanner reflects off of your negatives, the colors it returns are not true because the negatives are not intended to be viewed that way.

The only way I'm aware of is to use a scanner with a backlight attachment - one that disables the internal light in favor of a backlight built into the lid. I have an epson one that works quite well for this purpose (image related, taken using my Canon EOS 1n).

You might try lighting your negatives from behind, although the scanner's bulb is still going to be a problem. If you want to try lighting the negatives from behind, use a piece of diffuse glass, or possibly just a piece of white paper with a piece of glass under it (and the negative under that), and a bright light source shining directly on the glass from above.

No guarantees, I have no clue how well that will work, it's all theoretical. Give it a shot, and let me know how it turns out, I'm curious.

I suspect the results will still be less than stellar, but you might get something interesting.
>> des
Film scanners are pretty cheap these days, especially if you're willing to work some SCSI action.