4 by 5 glass negatives

[Michael B]

With all the talk about scanners I thought that I would chime in. Many of the 'consumer' flatbed scanners do not have the capability to scan larger negatives. I have an Epson V330 Photo scanner. It is a standard flatbed scanner that has the ability, when you remove the masking plate, to scan transparencies and 35mm negative strips. It cost about $100. I use an older scanner program Ulead Photo Express for my scanning. It is a 32 bit program that I had adapted to my computer when I upgraded. It is a very simple program for cropping and adjusting (turning, adusting brightness, etc).

I also own a photographic scanner. These are designed for use with transparencies (slides) and negatives of all sizes. It has holders for 35mm negatives, slides and 2x2 negatives. You can also place any larger negative directly on the flatbed. I have placed 4x5 glass plates, 4x5 and 8x10 acetate negatives on it and it works great for that. These scanners generally come with their own program for pre-scanning, to preview and adjust before full scan and the silverfast with digital ICE program which will automatically remove scratches. These can be purchased from camera stores like B&H and Adorama in New York City. One of these should cost less than $500. Mine was near top of the line 5 years ago at $350 and it still works great.

Below are two scans. The first is a slide using the consumer scanner. This image is the end of the race before the famous Tommy Smith / John Carlos protest at the 1968 Olympics. The second one is a silde using the pro scanner (I took this photo in Australia).