Photo scanner suggestions

[lowfreq]

I have hundreds of family photos here that I would like to scan.

I started scanning them on a flatbed scanner but it was so time consuming I got discouraged and stopped. One issue that I kept running into is that many of these photos have writing on the back and I was trying to capture that.

What options are there for a qaulity scanner that you just pop the photos in and it does high resolution scans of the front and back at the same time ?

 

[jz0309]

I have hundreds of family photos here that I would like to scan.

I started scanning them on a flatbed scanner but it was so time consuming I got discouraged and stopped. One issue that I kept running into is that many of these photos have writing on the back and I was trying to capture that.

What options are there for a qaulity scanner that you just pop the photos in and it does high resolution scans of the front and back at the same time ?

find a photo scanning service in your area

 

[Baymann]

I have and continue to use the Epson FF-680W and I really like it. It has an ADF for photos and documents. You can scan at various DPI's and file extensions. The price is $599.99, but if you wait for a major holiday to come around, you can get it for between $499.99 and $529.99. Check YouTube for reviews and how-to's. It does double sided scanning of photos and documents. After mentioning the scanner purchase to a few people, they asked me if I could scan their photos for them and since then, I've had a steady flow of people and this has turned into a side gig. Hope this helps.

 

[artfossil]

Why buy an expensive scanner when you could use an online scanning service for less than half that Epson scanner price and save your time?

The one I used (photobridge.com) has a "text note archiving option" to scan the reverse for notes or other marks.

 

[Baymann]

That's also an option, but from a personal point of view I don't care for it. First, you have to pack up your photos and send them to who knows where. After they're received, you don't know who's going to handle your photos and if you don't know exactly each photo you've sent; you may not get them all back. Not to mention that anything could happen to the original photos while in transit.

 

[dimme]

I do not think a good quality scanner exist that will fit your needs. All quality scanners will be time consuming, It's probably best to keep your current scanner and just take your time scanning.

 

[Fishrrman]

I kinda agree with dimme above.

Also, from those "hundreds" of photos, you might do some "culling".
Scan only the ones that are worth keeping in digital format...

 

[robgendreau]

If you take the trouble to set up your own digitzing rig with a camera it can be faster. Even with an iphone; just depends on the quality you need. There are DIY copy stand solutions for phones out there. Readdle's Scanner Pro can do a decent job with some photos. For better results a camera and macro lens works great.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I use an Epson perfection V700 flatbed photo scanner. One can scan several 35mm slides at once, but scanning photos is very time consuming. What robgendreau mentions above may be a good idea. Now there is a Kodak scanner at Amazon you may want to look into. The photos are scanned and saved to a SD card, and will need editing after.

Kodak Digital Film Scanner, Film and Slide Scanner with 5” LCD Screen, Convert Color & B&W Negatives & Slides 35mm, 126, 110 Film to High Resolution 22MP JPEG Digital Photos, Black

110 35 36 120 126 127 135 120mm 135mm 22mp 22mp 35m 35mm 35mm 8mm adapter automated automatic camera capture color compact compatible conversion convert converter converters converting convertor converts copier digital digitalizer digitals digitize digitizer digitizing feeder file film films flim...

www.amazon.com

 

[lowfreq]

I use an Epson perfection V700 flatbed photo scanner. One can scan several 35mm slides at once, but scanning photos is very time consuming. What robgendreau mentions above may be a good idea. Now there is a Kodak scanner at Amazon you may want to look into. The photos are scanned and saved to a SD card, and will need editing after.

Kodak Digital Film Scanner, Film and Slide Scanner with 5” LCD Screen, Convert Color & B&W Negatives & Slides 35mm, 126, 110 Film to High Resolution 22MP JPEG Digital Photos, Black

110 35 36 120 126 127 135 120mm 135mm 22mp 22mp 35m 35mm 35mm 8mm adapter automated automatic camera capture color compact compatible conversion convert converter converters converting convertor converts copier digital digitalizer digitals digitize digitizer digitizing feeder file film films flim...

www.amazon.com

that looks like it is just for scanning negatives and film unless I am missing something.

I have the same V700 also as an FYI and gave up trying to scan all these photos with it.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

that looks like it is just for scanning negatives and film unless I am missing something.

I have the same V700 also as an FYI and gave up trying to scan all these photos with it.

You are correct. That is a film scanner. I scan some photos every now and then with my V700. I use ViewScan because it works quite well and it is simple to use.