Experimenting With A Phone As Attached Scanner

I found you can link your phone to your computer beyond USB transfer. Using Link Phone in Windows and a Link to Windows app, you can connect phone real time such as to use the camera. I have been looking for a faster way than scanner but with better quality (lighting, cropping, etc) than a casual phone pic. I use web app to identify apps and prefer the computer interface. The question which has best workflow. The above allows real time viewing on your computer like a video camera but not sure the quality.

Looks interesting. Can you post some actual results?

The general problem with phone cameras is their extremely simplistic lens system (basically a glass ball). So you get really bad image distortions, depending on quality and setup. Actual images using your setup would tell.

Adding taking pictures under uv light (sw and lw). I decided to buy a camera and an additional 85mm Macro lens for the job.

I have a mid-price Samsung and did not really see issues with distortion and much has to do with the care you take to compose. It is all about composition, angle held relative to subject, and even lighting. The phone handles the focus and autoexposure fine, The goal is an image better than 90% of pics of stamps taken with a phone.

I experimented yesterday with a usb attached phone using file transfer and in the end I would need a dedicated phone for high production work. I did not like the phone locking (need to disable that), and ergonomics of reaching over to take the picture on a touch screen above me. If USB was disconnected I had to deal with entering the password to give permission to attach. I plan to try the Link to windows. I did mount my DSLR and there was a simplicity to attachment and actuating shutter (does not tie up my phone.)

This was without any supplemental light using 2x zoom feature (likely optical zoom). This phone is not noted for any great camera.

Yeah, uniform lighting and focus will be the major battles. That's why even though I have a DSLR and dedicated macro lens, I still do 99% of my imaging of stamps and covers on either my Epson Perfection V550 or for large documents an Epson Expression 10000XL. It's so much easier to control light and uniformity and not have to worry about focus.

I use a scanner album pages and other full size work. It is the smaller work where I want it cropped that can save time.

This was taken with a DSLR yesterday as I tweaked light. My DLSR with a macro beats my Epson V600 for upclose work in terms of sharpness and the ability to control light angle.



I got in a pair of LED lights but have not tried to use them.

Here is one of the lights. This spot lighting will help me with other up close work (not with camera) since it puts a decent amount of light in a small space,

I made this a while ago out of an old desk lamp. While it has its limitations and idiosyncrasies it still works well with an inexpensive digital microscope/webcam that I bought many years ago. This is not a rock steady rig and although focus is manual, once it is set, the photo(s) can be snapped from the PC.

Although I recently 3D printed out the parts to build a rig to hold our DLSR based on an old enlarger stand we have, I was thinking about one for the phone as well. Thanks for the info above about phone to pc connections. Might give that a try.

I do think the DSLR does the best job over all but depending on the task at hand and need for portability, the others still have their place. Lighting can make or break any good camera setup.

I would suggest for the vast, vast, vast majority of people, a simple $90 flatbed scanner will work just fine! And if you are an ebay "seller", it will spare us all the tsunami of blurry/crappy pictures from weird angles and the thoughtful candle for illumination.

For those trying to plate and flyspeck, I agree a $90 scanner won't cut it.

Get a flatbed scanner people!

The Epson V500, V550, and V600 are IMO the best bang for the buck when it comes to scanning stamps and covers. Even though the V500 was released in 2007, it is perfectly viable today and you can find them on the used market for under $100.

Best surface texture imaging of any flatbed scanner IMO.

I do like my scanner I have a HP 7612 (tabloid) which is great as a scanner but severely disappointing as a printer. When doing large numbers the camera is faster ashough large groups can be scanned and bulk separated with photoshop.

For me... method/quality required really depends on what I need the photo for.

My goal was to get images faster than a scanner. There is no preview, crop, scan, save then edit process. My focus was on single stamps.

I used my DLSR to scan my dad's coin collection (all on 2x2s on plastic pages) quickly and send to dealer to review.

My Nikon DSLR attaches via USB and recognized by Windows so I can just get the image directly off the camera that is croped sufficient for inputing into Stamp ID app. The phone can do it but the phone adds a complication in security, etc.

Sadly, Epson does not make the V600. If you want one that scans slides and negatives you need to spend a lot more.