Worth it to pay extra for enhanced scans?

[hooray4mo]

I've been using TheDarkroom.com to develop and scan my film for a few years now. I was wondering if its worth it to pay the 3 extra dollars for enhanced scans?
I just recently got into medium format photography, and the regular scans (in my opinion) look perfectly fine. So do the 35mm scans.
Anyone have any side by side comparisons of what a regular scan looks like and an enhanced scan?

 

[webestang64]

If the current scan works for you just stick with it or get a 1 roll done with the bigger scan to compare.

The lab I work at here in St. Louis has several different scan options. Our standard scan, 2000 res is good enough to make a 16x24 un-cropped from a 35mm neg. Next is a 4000 res good for larger size prints or extreme crops. Then we offer a very large scans for pros or prints the size of a billboard.

 

[hooray4mo]

If the current scan works for you just stick with it or get a 1 roll done with the bigger scan to compare.

The lab I work at here in St. Louis has several different scan options. Our standard scan, 2000 res is good enough to make a 16x24 un-cropped from a 35mm neg. Next is a 4000 res good for larger size prints or extreme crops. Then we offer a very large scans for pros or prints the size of a billboard.

Thanks for the insight =)
I just sent out 4 rolls of 120 today to be developed and scanned, and just stuck with regular scans.
From my understanding, one can still get negatives to be "re-scanned" with the better resolution scanners, yes? That way in the future, if I decide the regular scans aren't cutting it for me, and I want better images, I can send them in?

 

[webestang64]

From my understanding, one can still get negatives to be "re-scanned" with the better resolution scanners, yes? That way in the future, if I decide the regular scans aren't cutting it for me, and I want better images, I can send them in?

For sure. I scan my color print film here at work at 2000 res. Then if I need a bigger scan I do a pro scan and yield a 4000 res 16-bit tiff.

 

[cacti]

If the current scan works for you just stick with it or get a 1 roll done with the bigger scan to compare.

The lab I work at here in St. Louis has several different scan options. Our standard scan, 2000 res is good enough to make a 16x24 un-cropped from a 35mm neg. Next is a 4000 res good for larger size prints or extreme crops. Then we offer a very large scans for pros or prints the size of a billboard.

I've always wondered why hi-res scans cost more... don't you input them through the scanner just the same?

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I've always wondered why hi-res scans cost more... don't you input them through the scanner just the same?

Takes longer to scan when resolution increases. You're paying for operator and machine time.

 

[petrochemist]

Takes longer to scan when resolution increases. You're paying for operator and machine time.

High resolution scans also require better equipment. A flat bed scanner can be adequate for low resolution work, but even though it has higher resolution settings those are just interpolated & often not worth much more. A professional high resolution scan will be done on a drum scanner, having better optics...

When my father was working in advertising he sometimes had medium format slides scanned on a drum scanner. The output was a very marked step up from cheaper scans. If the extra cost is worth it would depend on the usage the images are going to get - if it's just for social media it would be a complete waste

 

[webestang64]

I've always wondered why hi-res scans cost more... don't you input them through the scanner just the same?

Yes but it requires more time and time is as always more money. I can scan an entire roll of 35 mm film 36exp to 2000 res j-pegs ($4.95 cost) with some editing as I go for basic stuff like density/contrast color shift in 2 mins or so. High res j-pegs 35mm roll of film (4000 res) ($15.00 cost) take 5-7 mins with same edits. Now if you want a highest quality 4000 res 16 bit tiff they are $10.00 each but I will spend around 10 mins per scan in Photoshop for any edits and fine tunned dust removal.
BTW the scanner I use at work is a $25k Noritzu 1800 series scanner that does 35mm and 120. For large format I use a 12x17 Epson XL10000 flatbed scanner.
Where I work (oldest photo store lab in the US since 1892).... Welcome to Schiller's!
Never used a drum scanner but here is a place that still offers the service.... Drum Film Scanning for 35mm, 120 medium format, 4x5, and 8x10.

Example of a 120 film scan 4000 16-bit from my work.....

crop......

 

[PhotoHobbyist]

I had to scan a suitcase full of prints, 35mm slides, 35mm negatives, and medium format negatives. I bought an epson scanner at Best Buy that had a backlight and all the holders to scan all these things. After tinkering around I decided 2400bpi was good enough and scanned several thousand. For a few special photos I also took scans at 4800bpi and 9600bpi. 9600 takes a very long time to scan so only practical for a few very important pics. Below is a 10% snip of a 35mm slide at 2400, 4800, and 9600. The 9600 image is not scaled while the 4800 and 2400 were upscaled to be of equal size to compare.

 

[PhotoHobbyist]

Here is the entire original 2400bpi scan. It looks fine. The above extreme crop doesn't represent the whole picture. 2400bpi is fine for most pictures. Below that is the front of the same house taken at a much earlier date.