[JoshuaZ]

I need some help buying a scanner. I'm going abroad for a couple of years, and leaving in a month, and I've been presented with the task of scanning a bunch of Grandma's photos before she dies. This way all my aunts and uncles can get a copy when everything is divvied up. I also want to scan in a bunch of photos from my close family so I can have a copy of my own.

So I need a decent scanner for a decent price. If it can scan in negatives that would be super handy, though I don't know if thats really possible on a regular photo scanner. Just a few ideas, thats all I ask.

[kymacman]

If you want to scan negatives, then I highly recommend one of Nikon's film/negatives scanners. I am currently using the Coolscan V model to scan all of my collected slides and negatives. It does a fantastic job, albeit a little more slowly than Nikon's other (and more expensive) models. Although a little pricey, you can easily sell it on eBay once your scanning job is finished.

If you are only interested in scanning photos, then just about any inexpensive flat scanner will work. I use a Canon Lide50 that I bought new at Staples for $40, and it does a very good job.

I am using both of these scanners with a 4th gen 15" powerbook running 10.4.1, and everything seems to work well together.

Hope this info helps, and good luck on your project!

[bluedog]

I use an Epson Perfection 2450, (now the 2480 updated model). It does negatives, positive transparencies, and about an A4 sized maximum scan area (a little larger than a letter-sized area).

It does an outstanding job from negatives, and I'm doing a similar project. The scanning is ONE part of the picture. The other part is trying to identify each individual in the photo and putting it in the description fields for posterity. The only people who are living to positively identify people in the photos are essential.

The software allows you to lay down many photos on the bed at one time, then select them individually with the marquee and scan each with its own adjustments (balance, levels) with an autoincrementing filename save to a specific folder. It works GREAT for speeding up the scan process. For negatives it automatically will recognize the frames and scan.

I scanned some really old negatives from the 30s-40s and the scans turned out superb.

Good luck with your project.