Although the digital camera and computer are transforming photography, for the home practitioner, a quality image is still best captured with the traditional camera. Even the smallest photographic negative (or slide) contains more information than current consumer digital devices can capture. Opto-chemical photography is still alive and well! BUT NOT FOR LONG!

All scanners have a maximum OPTICAL scanning resolution which limits the data that can be read from the source. Most scanners also have software which can interpolate to much higher resolutions, a process which Photoshop can also do for you. Remember that interpolation means "creating" a NEW value between two known values. This process DOES NOT ADD REAL DATA, merely "fills in gaps" (see the example in "Scan the Negative, or a Print?" below. Highly sophisticated "high-end" software can produce miracles, so you need to experiment with yours.

Remember that every time you adjust the SIZE of the file after scanning, you force the software to recalculate the values of the pixels and thus compromise the integrity of the image by DISCARDING or ADDING data.

TRANSMISSION (Slide or Negative) Scanner

As discussed elsewhere, a pixel density of 300 per inch is adequate for most printing applications. The latest round of scanners of this type scans at 4,000 samples per inch, up from 2,700. The light source can be such that grain and all defects are rendered accurately - somewhat analogous to "point source" or "condenser" enlargers. Compare with "REFLECTIVE Scanner with a Transparency Adapter" described below.

An inexpensive 600 pixel per inch flatbed scanner can provide enough information for a print twice the size of the original. It is possible to get stunning 10 x 15 inch ePixel prints from 6 x 8 inch fine B&W silver prints made from Minox negatives. The latest round of flatbed scanners in the $400 range can sample at rates as high as 2,400 per inch.

Transparency adapters have always been available for flatbed scanners. Usually consisting of a light bar in the optional lid, they provided a "point source" type of illumination, which coupled with the relatively low pixel count, made them of marginal use for other than proofing. The introduction of the $400 Epson Perfection 2450, a 2,400 sample per inch flatbed scanner with a diffuse light source in the lid is producing scans which can be printed at 8 times the negative size while maintaining the nominal 300 pixel per inch density needed for quality printing. The diffuse light source minimizes grain and provides quality images from both 120 and 4x5 negatives. It is entirely possible that for these larger negatives, scanning the negative is now preferable.

Scan a Negative, or a Print?
Density Range & Curve
Scanning in Color or B&W

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