Image sizes, file sizes

The following tables give a rough overview about the resulting image and file sizes for digitalisation. All specifications are approximate values which differ slightly from scan to scan. The exact amount of pixels results from the scan area - it is larger if the image is not automatically cropped. The size of JPG files depends on the image content. An image with large consistently coloured areas, for example blue sky or white snow, can be compressed much smaller than an image with a large colourful crowd and lots of details.

35mm films

35mm films have an image format of 24 x 36 mm. Thus a film area of 8,64 cm² results. We offer digitalisation of 35mm slides or negatives with 2000 dpi, 2800 dpi and 4000 dpi resolution. The lowest resolution of 2000dpi is not suitable for archival storage because the resulting image file only contains 5 Megapixel. The medium resolution of 2800dpi contains 10 Megapixel and corresponds very good digital camera format. We recommend the highest resolution of 4000dpi for film material exposed with a top quality SLR/lens.

APS films

APS films have an image format of 16,7 x 30,2 mm. Thus a film area of 5,04 cm² results, which is about 40% smaller than the 35mm format. Accordingly the dimensions, pixel amounts and file sizes of the APS format are smaller compared to the 35mm format. For APS films we recommend a resolution of 2800dpi or 4000dpi. The lowest resolution of 2000dpi provides only 2,7 Megapixel, thus much less than current beginner's digital cameras. In order to make A4 sized print outs a resolution of 4000 dpi is necessary.

Medium format films

Medium format roll films have a fixed side length of 6cm with a usable film heigth of 56mm. For the long side of the film (in rolling direction) there are different formats: 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8 and 6x9. The smallest medium format 6x4.5 provides an image format of 56 x 42 mm, which comes up 23,5 cm² film area, thus almost 3 times the size of an 35mm frame. The square medium format 6x6 provides an image format sized 56 x 56 mm which corresponds a film area sized 31,4 cm². The image format of an 6x7 frame is sized 56 x 69 mm which is 38,6 cm². With the medium format 6x8 the image has a format of 56 x 75 mm, so the image area is sized 42 cm². The image format of the largest medium format 6x9 is sized 56 x 85 mm - resulting in an image area of 47,6 cm², thus almost 8 times bigger than the image area of a 35mm film format.

Since medium format films are usually being exposed with very high-grade camera-lens-combinations the film material provides a resolution of 4000 dpi. So for archival storage of medium format images the highest resolution of 4000dpi in TIF format is recommended. However those image files are very large and thus can only be processed with fast computers. For several print appplications of medium formats (not for archival storage) a lower resolution of 2800 dpi may be enough. A medium format image scanned with only 2000 dpi provides about the same amount of pixels as a 35mm frame with 4000 dpi. In this case you would give away the medium format advantage of the bigger film format.

Large format films

Large format or sheet films are available in different sizes. Popular sizes are 4x5" (10 x 12,5 cm), 5x7" (12,5 x 17,5 cm) and 8x10" (20 x 25 cm), but there are also numerous in-between sizes and smaller formats. The file sizes of large format scans get extremely large if you choose a too high resolution. In normal case a resolution of 2000 dpi easily suffices. But even with this resolution image files can be generated which do not fit on a CD when saved in TIF format. High resolution large format scans can only be processed with powerful computers equipped with several Gigabyte RAM.

Paper photos

We offer two resolutions for scanning reflective originals / paper photos: 600 dpi and 1200 dpi. When scanned with the lower resolution of 600 dpi a 10x15cm standard print already provides a file with 8 Megapixel - good digital camera level. The higher resolution of 1200 dpi is only needed if you want to produce extremely large prints from your original.