I have got a slide and negative scanner and have had a go at scanning some pictures from negatives. It's a bit hit-and-miss and the device is temperamental at times, due mainly to a dodgy USB port on my computer, but I tried it out with some scans of negatives from a couple of trips to Calais ten years ago (TEN years??!!). I have had a bit of trouble getting the colour balance just right as there was a green bias on some of the originals, plus dust and animal hairs had got onto the negatives, despite my best efforts, but the process is easier and quicker than using a flat-bed scanner and scanning prints one at a time. The photos are also noisy, but noise-reduction software which works really well on images from a digital camera doesn't seem to work as well on scanned negatives; this is most likely because the scanned pictures are grainier anyway, especially that from 400 or 800 ISO film, which is very evident onscreen. One thing is certain, there's no way I would ever return to using film, not unless I absolutely had to!
Sobering to think that four out of the six ships shown here are now no longer with us - SeaFrance Cezanne, SeaFrance Renoir, Pride of Provence and Pride of Dover have all gone to the great harbour in the sky, the latter two prematurely - while out of the remaining two, only Pride of Kent remains on the Dover-Calais route, while Pride of Calais is now TEF's new Ostend Spirit and, from what I have heard, very pleased Oostende are with her, too. Not only that, SeaFrance are also gone, having gone bust and their remaining ships taken on by Eurotunnel (of all people) trading as My Ferry Link.
Looking at these pictures on the computer screen highlights the deficiencies in the camera equipment I had then, you don't notice soft edges on 6x4 prints. Also, one of my old Nikon F3 or FE was definitely on the way out, judging by the fact quite a few photos are turning up 'fogged'.
It's time I made another trip down that way. I definitely plan to in the spring at some point.
