A Question for Negative Collectors

[thecatspajamas]

Epson has 3 scanner models that will do negatives larger than 35mm: Epson Perfection 4990, V700 and V800 (in order from oldest to newest models). I'm not aware of any other affordable models that will do scans of the full scanner bed, but there might be others that would do the size you need. It's been a while since I've looked into it since I am very satisfied with my V700.

If you go with another model though, just be sure to verify the maximum size film it will scan. There are many that will do 35mm, but not so many that will do larger.

Before getting one of those, I also tried the lightbox on top method, but always had issues with either getting the light levels right, or the fluorescent bulb it used causing interference that created noise or slight distortion in the high-res scans. It did a passable job for lower resolution scans such as for web display though. I could see going that route if you just had a handful of negatives to scan, but it would be cumbersome to have to do a large number that way.