The best film scanners and best scanners for photos make it easy to digitize your old 35mm negatives, slides and cine film
Finding the best scanner for photos means picking between the best film scanners and the best flatbed scanners. In this guide we will help you find the right one for you, and at the best price.
If you've been photographing since before the digital revolution, chances are you'll have plenty of old prints or negatives tucked away, gathering dust. Well what better time to bring your classic snaps into the digital age for easy online sharing with friends and family, or simply re-live some carefree memories?
With boxes of old prints, digitizing them with a regular flatbed scanner is ideal as it's fast and effective (and there are some great low-cost that will do that for you). But for the very best digital conversion results, you should scan the original negative rather than a photo print. This can be done with a conventional flatbed scanner that has the option to scan negs and slides, and includes the required holders.
You will get even better results from negatives and transparencies if you use a dedicated film scanner. Cheaper film scanners can scan incredibly quickly but at the expense of image quality, while high-end models take their time but reward you with stunning clarity, resolving every single film grain in your original photo.