Scanning a negative

[ffutures]

I want to scan some colour film negatives on my flatbed scanner and convert them to positive images as graphics files. I thought I had software for this, but thinking about it, it has not been something I've tried before, and nothing I have seems to do it properly - I end up with a white image with pale blue for the few visible details. It's a weird negative format from a panoramic camera so I can't just take it in to Happy Snaps or something.

Any suggestions, preferably reasonably idiot proof?

The programs I have are very early Paintshop Pro, Corel Photo Paint 12, and PhotoPhiltre 7.

Comments

[dewline]

Awaiting answers with interest.

[ckd]

IIRC one of my scanners had a transparency adapter which backlit the scanned item (and presumably turned off the front light) so as to work with slides or negatives. You may not be able to scan them without something similar.

[ffutures]

I've tried to rig a 180-degree reflector to put light behind it, but it isn't working well and there's no way to switch the light off in front. More work is needed.

[dormouse1953]

I had a scanner that had an adaptor for scanning slides or negatives and the scanning software that came with it could handle negatives. But I didn't have an negatives to try it on, and I've since replaced the scanner. (Could have been an Epsom 2480 scanner, if that helps.)