Message posted by gary on July 15, 2002 at 12:05:01 PST:
As in many things in life, the answer is "it depends". If you scan a 4x6 from a typical lab, the equivalent resolution referred back to the film plane is generally accepted to be 30 lines per millimeter (lpmm). [It depends on the processing, lab quality, etc.] That would put a 36mm wide frame at about 1080 pixels wide. You would need to get the "4 base" photo CD format to make it better than just scanning the print. Figure at that resolution it will cost a bit more than $2 a scan. When Polaroid upgraded their Sprint scan 4000 and sold the old models, the scanners were going for about $400 after rebate. It wouldn't take too many scans to pay off owning a film scanner. The advantage is you would have 4000dpi scanning on the film plane, which lets you grab a tail number, etc. Note that slide film such as Fuji Provia 100F is good to about 150 lpmm. There is also a break even point comparing a say 5 megapixel digital camera with a photoCD, which is about 3x the 4 base photo CD resolution. The 5 megapixel digital cameras are around $600 to $700. However, digital cameras that accept interchangable lens are pretty pricey. [I have a friend of a friend who buy a new digital camera every year, selling the old one to some idiot on ebay who pays nearly what it cost new.] If you look at Steve Hauser's Tikaboo panoramics, they are done by scanning prints, but I recall they are 8x10's that he prints himself (that is, he 'is' a good lab).
In Reply to: Re: A question for F-117A Webmaster..... posted by fastwalker on July 15, 2002 at 10:50:16 PST:
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