Film Scanners?

[dipstik]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on buying a film scanner. I just started shooting this summer, so my pictures aren't gold, but I'm getting sick of mediocre quality wal-mart prints and/or paying $12-15/roll at the local pro shop. I didn't even know film scanners existed until last night when I was seeking out a cheaper solution for developing, but they definitely seem like the way to go.

The local pro shop develops just the negatives for $2.50ish/roll, which makes it seem like a film scanner will pay for itself in no time. There are quite a few of these on ebay:




They are refurbished and are going for $55+S&H. The reviews I found for these online are all positive, but I'm still wondering about a few things:

First, will it be obvious that these are film scans when I am looking at them on my computer, or is the quality close to digital? And secondly, if I am only scanning in the negatives, will the scans appear as negatives or will the colors be reversed along the way?

Any advice is welcome...

[Free Range Lobster]

Agfa has great color quality.

But so does Canon.

[non grata]

you also have to take the cost of ink and paper ($$$$$) into account.

digital translates better, especially if you're scanning negs without a professional-grade scanner, but the difference is negligible to you. the scanner's software will automatically invert the image, as all software asks you to choose the document source.

[bklyn]

I have the Nikon 5000 dedicated film and slide scanner for 35mm. Worth every penny and also very reliable. You can find older models on ebay or camera stores for decent prices as well.

I have not seen good quality flatbed scans of slides or negatives, esp not in that price range. If you want to make prints from your scans you'll need better although they may be fine for the web. I've seen info on medium format scanners that also do 35mm, but the price will go up again considerably.

[summit]

You want a dedicated slide/neg scanner, not a flatbed /w transparency.

[mtbakerskier]

Depending on what operating system you are running, I may have a dedicated film scanner for sell cheap. Its the same one I used for all of my scans untill I switched operating systems.

[The Jackamo]

i have a flatbed with 35mm scanning ability - it's good for black and white since you really only have to make a few contrast/brightness adjustments to get the image you want, but as far as color goes, get a dedicated film scanner - it's worlds apart as far as quality goes.

[dipstik]

Thanks for the advice so far...looks like I'll be steering away from that Canon I posted.

MBS - PM sent.