The world needs a really good affordable film scanner

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Ah, that's the V700 then...I've seen a few samples that compares it to the V500, and it seems to be nicer. I've actually tried laying the negs right on the glass, and have also propped up the holder with spacers, and it's always the same, more or less. I think I'm just at the limit of the lens. None of this really mattered to me until I started ordering largeish prints, that's where it starts to look crummy. I tested Vuescan today and it slightly improves the apparent resolution, but not by much. (Vuescan seems to be much better at hanging onto highlights, though.)

Anyway, I'm fine with the V500 for now, but I will sock away some dough and see if I can't upgrade. I really want to stick with film in the long run and would like a good scanner.

BTW, do people use Vuescan with the Nikon? I've read some online complaints about the Nikon software.

 

[maddoc]

I used Vuescan with the Nikon Coolscan V ED. It took me some time to figure out how the software works but exposure was better and the possibility to do multipass-scans quite easily was a plus for me. (That's maybe possible with the Nikon software too but I never figured it out).

 

[maddoc]

lol, maddoc u r killing me here... i've just convinced myself to swing a 8000/9000 ed and you put some nice 100% crops here. 😀

The 9000 ED is listed for ~ 330.000 Yen in Japan ... 😱 That's a lot of money but since I also use 120 film, the 5000 ED isn't for me.

A friend uses the Epson F3200 (I am not sure if that is available and what the name is outside of Japan. The V700 is here the GT-X900) and gets very good results for 120. I had him scanned a KR-64 frame (135) to compare it to my Epson V700, the results were identical.

 

[sirius]

Anybody try one of these?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/digital-conversion/b070/

 

[amateriat]

It will be interesting to see what the lifespan of the current scanners is - my v700 has been worked hard for a couple of years scanning all my old negs and now meets all my requirements for the reduced volume of new films I want to scan so I won't be buying a new scanner until it expires. I suspect others may be in the same position so the market has matured rapidly and this will be reflected in the R&D budgets of the major vendors.

FWIW, I've worked my Minolta DS 5400 fairly hard since I bought it new four years ago, and it's had nary a hiccup. The image files it outputs leave little to be desired...I called it the "poor man's Imacon" shortly after buying it, and I still stand by that description. At a price just south of 1k (I paid about $900 for mine), it might not have been considered "affordable" by some lights, but I regarded it a screaming bargain for what it offered. (And, as I've scanned the portfolios of a few photographers and painters since getting it, it's largely paid for itself, further rendering the cost argument irrelevant.)


- Barrett

 

[charjohncarter]

The middle image was Fuji Reala copied using my Pentax DL and then only auto levels done with PSE3. I suppose you could change it to your liking using PS.

 

[charjohncarter]

Kevin m, fine. I only sent the files to be printed not the negatives to be scanned.

 

[venchka]

Old HP Crap Scanner & Old Tmax p3200

Old HP Crap Scanner & Old Tmax p3200

What's wrong with this?

While saving up for a multi-format scanner, I am using an ancient HP 35mm Only Crap Scanner with HP Crap scanning software. I wouldn't want to try to make murals from the scan. I reckon it will be fine for a 6x9 print on my equally ancient Epson 1280 printer.

We all aspire to State of Art equipment. In the meantime, State of the Possible is plenty good enough for me. In this case, State of the Possible is Tmax p3200 film that expired in 2000 developed in Xtol 1:3. Kodak disavows all knowledge of this practice. First roll with this combination. No testing. Just toss it in the Jobo tank and fire up the Uniroller. I think I'll carry a couple rolls of fresh Tmax p3200 to my bag. Have it handy for the right subject matter.

 

[1rexy1]

I don't see any mention of HP's photosmart S20 film scanners mentioned in here. I have been using that & an "ancient" Epson 1200 for the past nine years. Both cost me An arm & a leg when I first bought them, but now that I am retired I am glad that I have them.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

I don't see any mention of HP's photosmart S20 film scanners mentioned in here. I have been using that & an "ancient" Epson 1200 for the past nine years. Both cost me An arm & a leg when I first bought them, but now that I am retired I am glad that I have them.

Funny you should mention it; I just picked up a new old stock 20xi.
It should suit my needs, and I really like the small footprint.
Any hints appreciated...

Chris

 

[1rexy1]

I don't know what O/S you are using, I still use win2k pro & it is very reliable with that O/S. The software that comes with it is very straight forward. It is twain compliant so anything like photoshop etc works with it. Here is a link to old reviews. there is mention also at the end of the review about vuescan software that is suppose to work nicely with the scanner. I have not tried it as yet, however I am contemplating whether to acquire it. 🙂

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/HPS20/S20A.HTM

 

[bedaberger]

i don' know how much time you WANT to spend on scanning negatives?

I bought a Coolscan V a half year ago, but the time you need to invest for scanning is enormous...
so i decided to sell it!

but there's no solution for my scanning needs.
does anybody have experience with the automatic feeder and the coolscan 5000? it should be possible to scan a roll at once with less work in handling...

 

[Pherdinand]

i've seen some really big prints yesterday at a gallery (museum, really). Read, 2 meter-something size color prints. I was amazed about the quality they showed. I don't know if it was large format film, digital, or half-frame fixed-lens rf.
So i went up close "pixel" peeping (or dot peeping since it is a print). The prints suddenly became unsharp and with all kind of artifacts.

the lesson is, for me i mean, ...just look at the big picture. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

But most importantly shoot only in best lighting conditions.

LOL yea that's the best advice i've ever read. I guess that's how all great photographs are made. Only shooting in best lighting conditions.

Nh3, you come up with quite some funny stuff. I really enjoy reading your posts.

 

[ferider]

The world needs a really good affordable film scanner

There is. It's called 5000 ED. Affordable is relative. If you own several thousand dollars of film cameras and lenses, a US 1000 scanner is affordable, IMHO. A good stereo system needs good speakers 🙂

Does anybody have experience with the automatic feeder and the coolscan 5000? it should be possible to scan a roll at once with less work in handling...

Yes. Works great. Still PS is required 🙂

Roland.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I now have the 5000ED, and it's working great. I've also done the nonpermanent mod to the stock feeder and am scanning entire rolls at a time with pretty much 100% success. I strongly recommend not buying the roll adapter; it's a complete waste of money. The stock feeder is basically identical, and you can let the film trail off into a basket behind the scanner.

 

[sanmich]

I now have the 5000ED, and it's working great. I've also done the nonpermanent mod to the stock feeder and am scanning entire rolls at a time with pretty much 100% success. I strongly recommend not buying the roll adapter; it's a complete waste of money. The stock feeder is basically identical, and you can let the film trail off into a basket behind the scanner.

Could you give precisions on this modification?
is it doable also on a 4000?

Thanks!