Film Scanners: pixels, dpi's...

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 9 Apr 2004 2:06 pm

I am contemplating buying a film scanner to scan the banaboxes full of negatives. Since I went digital, I don't really want to mess much with paper again.

So, when comparing these scanners I am a bit unsure about resolution:
Some will feature, let's say 2,570 X 3,855 pixels.
Others will just state like 2720 dpi.

I would like to learn how I can compare those two ways of describing a machine's resolution and how I can translate it all into MegaPixels (like the ones of a digital camera).

Thanks! ... J-D.

[This message was edited by J D Sauser on 09 April 2004 at 03:41 PM.]

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 9 Apr 2004 3:13 pm

I've never used a film scanner, but I do a lot of flatbed scanning. When I scan film or slides I scan at at least 300%, and at 300 dpi. Save as a .tiff if you think you might print it someday, (print out a couple and see how they look before you scan a whole lot of them) or as a .jpg if it's for the web or computer viewing.

Cal

Karlis Abolins · Post by **Karlis Abolins** » 9 Apr 2004 5:15 pm

2400 x 3000 would give you the ability to print a 8 x 10 print at 200 dpi resolution. That is 3.2 megapixels, about what you would get with a 3.5 megapixel camera.

The math is easy. Multiply the horizonal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the megapixels (million pixels) which can then be compared to a digital camera. You can divide the resolution by your printers dpi to determine how large a print you can make that will look photgraphic. If you intend to print 8 x 10 prints, you will have to settle for less resolution than if you print a 4 x 6.

Karlis[This message was edited by Karlis Abolins on 09 April 2004 at 06:21 PM.]

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 9 Apr 2004 5:44 pm

Think of dpi as "pixels per inch" instead of dots. If your scan area is 1" x 1", the 2720 dpi scannner will give you an image that's 2720x2720 pixels.

Megapixels is a marketing term used to sell cameras. Multiple width x height and divide by 1 million.

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J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 10 Apr 2004 1:56 am

Thanks to all

!
... J-D.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 10 Apr 2004 6:10 am

b0b is correct.

carl