Scan images on paper for video use.

[Cunha]

I am sorry if this isn´t the right place to ask.

I have a big group of old photographs on paper to scan with a Canon scanner (with max. res. 9600 dpi) to use in a video documentary that will be shot with a C300 Mark II in 4K.

What resolution do I need to scan this old photographs for this kind of video use?

TIFF or JPEG scans?

Thank you very much

[Cunha]

Please; if there is a Canon scanner forum; let me know. I am not finding one. Thanks.

[ArthurJ]

Hi Cunha,

I would recommend scanning at 600 dpi. That will be useful if you need to zoom in on any of the scans. I would also save as TIFF.

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[Cunha]

Hi Arthur,

thanks for your help.

600 dpi/TIFF. That would correspond to 3840x2160 pixels; a 4K image?

600 dpi would be ok for 4K images and allow me to do pan and scan?

I am a bit confused with this video resolutions. Scan vs Video.

Thanks again.

[BurnUnit]

 Scanning at 600dpi will probably be sufficient, but it doesn't automatically provide you with a 3840x2160 pixel image file. Your finished scanned image dimensions are determined by a combination of scanning resolution and and the physical size of the prints you're scanning at a given resolution. Remember that "DPI" stands for dots per inch.

Scanning a 4x6 print at 600dpi produces a 2400x3600 pixel image. But scanning an 8x10 print at 600dpi will produce a 4800x6000 pixel image. As a rule of thumb, small prints would be best scanned at higher resolution (dpi) and larger prints could be scanned at lower resolutions.

Scanning everything at excessively high resolution will slow down the scanning process unnecessarily. And saving these huge files as TIFFs will make humongous file sizes. They may also be slow to open and edit depending on your computer's hardware and software.

[Cunha]

Thank you BurnUnit.

So the scanner scanning resolution (pixels per inch) and the size of the area being scanned (inches) determine the image size (pixels) created from the inches scanned. 

So when you’re scanning an 8x10” paper at 300dpi, it will create:  (8 inches x 300ppi) x (10 inches x 300ppi) = 2400x3000 pixels.

Makes sense?

P.s.: I happen to use the metric system but the logic is the same. 

About file format:

The TIFF file contains more information. On the other hand a TIFF after being edited can be converted into a JPEG for video use. A JPEG as a starting point has already lost some of the information that the TIFF can contain from the same original and does not recover. It seems to me to be better to start with the better file, with more quality, and then export it according to the need (taking into account the space it occupies and the processing required). Do you agree?

Summing up:

Resolution: 600dpi / 1200dpi depending on the size of the originals.

Format: TIFF; quality and flexibility of editing and exporting.

Is it a good compromise and a good conclusion?

Thanks a lot for your support ,-)

[BurnUnit]

BAM! You've got a grasp on the pixel dimensions and the minimum scanning resolution to get there. It's essentially the same as figuring the square footage of an 8' x 10' floor when you're buying tiles. Except the pixels are tinier than the tiles and there's a whole bunch more of them. But the math is the same.

If you're planning on filling all or most of a 4K screen, then scanning at 600dpi is probably a good place to start. If they're larger prints it will still give you a little room to crop or zoom out and still fill all or most of a 3840x2160 screen. If you have to do any editing to the scans then a TIFF file would be the way to go. But you may still want to convert them to highest quality jpegs to add them to your video. It's just that since you mentioned that your scanner could go to 9600dpi I was afraid that you were thinking of diving into the deep end of the pool. Even scanning at 2000 or 4000 dpi would be overkill and saving them as TIFFs is going to make for a huge file size. I don't know what you're using for video or image editing software or if your computer is up to snuff. But the big TIFF files could really bog down your workflow. At least they would on my computer.

[Cunha]

BAM! ,-) A grasp with some nice help.

Thanks a lot.

Hope this helps others.

Cheers.