I shoot & have processed 20 to 25 rolls of print film per month. The lab I use for developing & printing 4X6 proofs charges $13. per 36 exp roll. I then take the negatives I want enlargments of to another lab for custom enlargements. I'm thinking that I could eliminate a lot of expense by using a Tamron Fotovix instead of the 4X6 proofs to choose the negs I want enlargement prints of. This seems like a good idea to me but I was wanting feedback from people already using the Fotovix. Are there any "downsides" I need to be aware of?

-- Harvey Wilson (hjwilson@worldnet.att.net), May 20, 1999

Answers

The Tamron Fotovix is a quick way to convert negatives into digital captures. Unfortunately, the unit has been discontinued for several years and can be difficult to find. However, there is a similar unit that recently came on the market which does the same thing. Info on the new unit can be found at www.videoptics.com. The resolution is not as good as a flatbed scanner, but is generally quite acceptable for proofing and posting to web sites. And you can view the positive image and do color corrections before capturing the image. All in all these systems eliminate about 90% of the time of digitizing film using a flatbed scanner.

-- Rob Kowtko (robk@voicenet.com), November 08, 2000.

I have a Fotovix II-X for sale. This is the unit that can also do medium format film. Contact me for details.

-- Bill Guy (photoaz@rocketmail.com), January 31, 2001.

I use a fotovix to create videos from old slides and negatives. It's quick and quality is good (not excellent). I send the video signal (RCA) directly into my Screenplay for editing. I'd like to improve the quality of my images captured now that I have gone digital. Any suggestions?

-- DJ Ulledal (dju@elanco.com), July 30, 2001.