Scanning negatives to digital

[manning]

nd this comment on another site.

"Any film scanner that does 35mm film can scan 110 film. You just have
to make a mask that'll work in the 35mm film strip holder. Before I
replaced my Canon FS2710, I just made a mask that blocked the area of
the holder that the film didn't cover. I now use a Minolta Scan
Multi with the MF glass carrier with a proper mask."

 

[seashoreCM]

A negative when scanned should not come out more grainy than scanning the print made from it, although dust will be more obtrusive on a negative scan.

Prints rarely have such fine detail that 300 dpi scans don't capture it all. Some negatives may contain detail that requires 4800 dpi but most don't need more than 3600 dpi for archival purposes or 2400 dpi for making prints. A total picture width of 400 to 1000 pixels as scanned (dpi varies with the print or negative physical size) is usually enough for web pages or Facebook.

 

[Groucho]

A negative when scanned should not come out more grainy than scanning the print made from it, although dust will be more obtrusive on a negative scan.

Unfortunately, that's not actually the case. You can get more grain; this is what wet scanning will help alleviate. The increase in grain is especially noticeable on smaller negatives - my Disc film scans are quite a bit grainier than the actual prints, to the point where I will probably go back and scan the prints on my flatbed whenever possible.

See here for more info and examples.

Your scanning should be done at the highest resolution that you can feasibly work with, not only to capture maximum detail in the film but to minimize film grain and artifacts. Scanning tends to increase the appearance of grain.