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I have several hundred negatives dating from the 1930s and 1940s, and possibly some of them are from the1950s as well. I don't know what film types were used and they are in all sizes and shapes from tiny to quite large, square to rectangular. What I would like to do is have them converted into JPGs. On the face of it, it seems an easy thing to do but I've run into some problems.

I have a little gizmo that lets me convert the old standard 35 mm slides and negatives into JPGs and it also was helpful with a few other sizes but not the ones described above. I took some of them to a Walgreens for some advice and their photo developers said they couldn't do it with their equipment and they recommended trying a camera shop. I don't have a camera shop anywhere near me and don't really want to make a day trip out of it.

Before digital cameras, I used the mail services of Clark Color Labs and also York Color Labs. I checked online to see if they were still in business and yes they are, primarily for reprints. The problem with them and with other online outfits was that I need to know what size these negatives are before I can go any further. I don't have any idea!!

Coincidentally, our small local newspaper recently printed an ad for turning old negatives into photos ~~ $5.00 a negative!! That's a bit pricey especially when I want to do hundreds of them.

I didn't even reaIize until recently that some scanners have the option of converting negatives into files. I do have a small basic scanner but it doesn't work with negatives. Does anyone here have one of those that does?

I'd appreciate some recommendations on a reliable, easy to use scanner with the versatility to allow me to work with these oddball sized negatives.

And if I'm overlooking yet another option, point me in the right direction! Thank you!

May we assume some are B&W and others are in color?

Some are 6x9cm? Some are 6x6cm? And the rest are all smaller?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2430106,00.asp

Find that model on Amazon, it will scan several negatives at once and juggle them vertical and crop each to a separate file.

Lo-tech way ( and free!) Are they just slides? This is the way I did it: set up a tripod mounted camera in your home. Project the slide using your slide projector, then take a digital picture with your camera of the screen. instant conversion! I don't think this would work with negatives, though...

spot;1504852 wrote: May we assume some are B&W and others are in color?

Some are 6x9cm? Some are 6x6cm? And the rest are all smaller?

Epson Perfection V550 Photo Color Scanner Review & Rating | PCMag.com

Find that model on Amazon, it will scan several negatives at once and juggle them vertical and crop each to a separate file.


The negatives are all B&W. I think some of them even date back to the 1920s. Thank you for the link ~~ I'm going to check it out!

Saint_;1504858 wrote: Lo-tech way ( and free!) Are they just slides? This is the way I did it: set up a tripod mounted camera in your home. Project the slide using your slide projector, then take a digital picture with your camera of the screen. instant conversion! I don't think this would work with negatives, though...


I don't have a slide projector and I'm able to scan all of the slides on a little device dedicated to that. These are some outdated and odd sized negatives that have me baffled!

This article may be of help to understand the options. source

tabby;1504908 wrote: I don't have a slide projector and I'm able to scan all of the slides on a little device dedicated to that. These are some outdated and odd sized negatives that have me baffled!


If you have a flatbed scanner, you can get some dark construction paper, and build a "mask" to block incoming light on the rest of the scanner bed and only allow light through the negative. Then use a floodlight to shine on the negative.

The one I indicated is designed for the task, has the right software for the task and it's the one I bought when I needed to do the same job.