Storing Photo Scans/Newbie

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I am trying to save my negatives/slides digitally - most originals are
24x36. Presently I am scanning them with Epson 4870, 48-bit RGB,
4800dpi. (That's approx.180MB.tif per picture. One picture takes about
10 minutes.)

Since I am not an expert on photo-editing, I would like to go back to
the original when I learn how to get more out of a picture.

I can't store the (complete) original data, though.

What should I do:
- adjust the gradation curve then convert to 24-bit RGB and save (as
jpg)?
- convert to fewer dpi (according to German magazine c't the effetive
resolution is about half the nominal)?
- Keep the original only for problematic pictures?

Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated.

Oskar

P.S. I am quite thrilled with the scanner. My previous one (CanScan
2700F) could only do one picture at a time and the resolution was
considerably worse (nominal 2700dpi). I am throwing all the old scans
away now. :-(