infocus #5 March 2007 The Scanning of Colour and B&W Film and Photographs

for Image Processing, Analysis and Archiving - on a tight budget

DOI: 10.22443/rms.inf.1.18

This article discusses the scanning of film and photographs using modern and relatively inexpensive flatbed film scanners, such as the Canon 9950F, Epson V700 and
Epson 4990 Photo, all available for under £500. It compares the scanned film image quality between these scanners and a £8,000 Flextight 848 semi-drum scanner, and concludes that there is little, if any, discernible difference, although the Flextight has a much faster throughput. The article also considers the optical resolution of B&W, Colour slide and colour negative film, and compares it with that in modern digital camera images. It also covers the loss of detail caused by the scanning process, and possible problems with archiving original film and digitised scanned images.

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Author

Keith J. Morris

Imaging Facilities Manager, The Institute of Ophthalmology

Dr Keith Morris has been the Manager of Cell Biology Division’s Imaging Facilities since 2002, which comprises of confocal, laser micro-dissection and time-lapse optical microscopes, film scanners, cameras, 2D gel imagers, and image analysis workstations. Prior to that, he worked at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, The Harwell Laboratory, Oxfordshire, for over 15 years as an inhalation toxicologist. There he investigated the biological implications of the inhalation of man made vitreous fibres (e.g. Rockwool, glassfibre, ceramic fibres) and other asbestos substitutes. He also worked on the micro-dosimetric implications of intakes of alpha-emitting radionuclides, e.g., the actinides plutonium and uranium. He has a particular interest in image analysis and computer modelling, originally running Quantimet and Magiscan microscope based image-analyser systems in the 1980s and 1990s for quantitative histopathology, radiation micro-dosimetry and fibre in-vivo durability studies. He studied atmospheric aerosol science for his PhD (1984) and MSc (1978) at the Department of Fuel and Combustion, Leeds University, although his BSc was in Zoology (Liverpool University, 1977). Main hobbies include photography and computing.