CLAdictic
Established
I am looking for a new flatbed scanner for 35 and 120 scans. They'll be both B&W and color. Any suggestions will be welcome. Thanks
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Epsons and Plusteks are about the best scanners you will find in today's limited market.
Thee isn't much else going out there unless you plan to buy secondhand/used. Epsons are reasonably priced and it really is not worth the bother of looking for a used scanner. I believe Epson refurbishes them, so you may wnt to check their web site.
The Plusteks are not flatbeds but they give the best results for 35mm. However, you can do 'miniature' scans with an Epson. I have a V600 I've used mostly for 120 films, bought in 2010, which is good enough for my uses.
The Plusteks are slow to work with but give excellent scans. Mine is a 7600i I've owned since 2010 or 2011. The current models are 8100 and 8200 so my 7600 is ancient, but it goes on doing what it does super well. The Silverfast version 6.6 software it came with was a steep learning curve but after I had figured it all out, I was well set up.
Read what RFF member Chris Crawford has written about scanners and scanning. His is about the best advice I've found, simple and easily mastered. He taught me more than any other source other than the scanning manuals I acquired with the two machines.
Take the time to read the instruction manuals and keep notes if you need memory jogs. I ended up with about 30 pages in a notebook for the Epson and 50 pages for the Plustek, so a lot of writing, but for me well worth it.
Looking forward to other posters' thoughts on this.
agentlossing
Well-known
I have an Epson V550 and a PacificImage XAs. The latter is much more expensive than the former, but gives far better 35mm scans (it's only for 35mm). I don't shoot/scan 120 but I do shoot some instant film, for which I still use the V550 (started off using that for 35mm too but got very frustrated at the poor resolution/micro-focus issues). It's a nice flatbed for larger formats that don't magnify the focus imprecision the way 135 does. All in probably a hair over $600, buying both on sale.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Thanks, Ozmoose. I'm glad my scanning tutorials helped you. Here's a link to them for the OP:
https://crawfordphotoschool.com/digital/film-scanning-intro.php
Sanders McNew
Rolleiflex User
Are any of the iPhone film scanning solutions viable?
mpaniagua
Newby photographer
I got Epson V550 and Plustek 8100 and couldnt be happier. V550 for 120 film and larger and Plustek for all my 35mm needs. Not that expensive and really good at what they do.
ColSebastianMoran
( IRL Richard Karash )
Here's what works quite well, producing 12MPx file:
- Lens: The Moment Macro (current item, available for current phones, probably won't capture whole 35mm image area), or the Exolens by Zeiss (discontinued, good for 35mm films, useful on iPhone 6s, 7, and similar vintage models).
- Camera app: Shoot with the Lightroom Mobile app, creates a DNG that's sync'd to your computer.
- Processing: NLP for negatives, just adjust for chromes.
Example, at 1k:
