Reviving this thread.
Recently, I had to digitize B&W photographs of my parents. They date from early 40's to early 60's. Here is how I went about.
Initially I used my HP 5610 3-in-one printer for scanning. After a few trial runs, here is what worked best
. For small MF contact prints - 1200 DPI
. For 5x3 prints - 600 DPI
. For larger prints 300 DPI.
Initially I scanned in TIFF, but saw no distinct advantage. So I shifted to JPG. I had also tried scanning 4 or more images, but the time taken to separate and straighten the images was more than scanning them separately. After scanning I used NX-D to post process them, though the JPG allowed only basic level and curve adjustment.
Then I shifted to DSLR - D3300 and used the kit 18-55 VR-II lens. I mounted the DSLR on a tripod, with camera facing down and levelled the whole system for minimum skew. The advantage of DSLR are
. Faster throughput
. Higher resolution
. Ability to use all the tools in NX-D - WB, NR, Curves and lens corrections.
. Better DR, so that I could recover a lot of shadows from the prints.
Then I started on colour prints. Here the DSLR route proved to be much better and faster. Most of my prints were from 1980's, and had acquired a red tinge. PP game me enough tools to regain colour and recover shadows, apart from sharpening.
My aim is to digitize over 2,000 B&W and over a 100 albums of prints. Later when I can, I will get the 60mm and software to digitize the Slides and Negatives. I will post my experience and some samples as I progress.