Best Scanner for 135 and 120?

J

Jackle

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Hi,
What's the best scanner for 135 and 120 films under £200? Its for colour and black and white negs. Thanks :) !
 
Jackle said:
Hi,
What's the best scanner for 135 and 120 films under £200? Its for colour and black and white negs. Thanks :) !
Click to expand...

Any film capable scanner that sells in that price range will be somewhat limited in its abilities.

That said, I would suggest that you look at the Epson v600 (MSRP = ~$230 USD). They are good scanners with very respectable software. If your needs aren't overly demanding (e.g. output to screen/web, modest sized prints on ordinary "photo" class printers, ...) then the v600 will serve well.
 
I do not want to be devils advocate, but should you happen to have decent digital camera and macro lens (and some sort of light table), than for about that much you could get firm stand (eg. Kaiser RS2) plus some sort of film holder for a scanner to hold the film flat during exposure. I am pretty sure that the results would be better than a flatbed scanner for the same price - in particular with 35mm format - even without stiching. And of course depending on what is available to you, you could make something similar for much less money.

This is what I am planning (sometimes in summer) with my Olympus E-M5II once I get that 60/2.8 macro lens (and use that cool 50 Mpix mode the camera offers)
 
All the £200 or thereabouts options are covered in existing answers. There's not much for that price that does an excellent job.

An mFT camera with the right lens is probably the best option, but you need a sturdy camera support, a good light source, and "the right lens" isn't particularly inexpensive. My basic setup for 35mm slides is a ZD 35mm f/3.5 lens fitted with Nikon ES-1 slide attachment, and an MMF-2 lens mount adapter that allows me to use it with my E-M1 or E-PL7. I use a small flat-panel light box as light source. That's $170 for the lens, $60 for the slide stage, $300 for the tripod, $120 for the adapter, and $90 for the light box (~£500). Of course, the tripod and lens/adapter are useful for lots of other things too, as is the light box.

The Epson v600 is probably about the least you can spend for passable scanning, particularly of medium format negs.

G
 
Matus said:
I do not want to be devils advocate, but should you happen to have decent digital camera and macro lens (and some sort of light table), than for about that much you could get firm stand (eg. Kaiser RS2) plus some sort of film holder for a scanner to hold the film flat during exposure. I am pretty sure that the results would be better than a flatbed scanner for the same price - in particular with 35mm format - even without stiching. And of course depending on what is available to you, you could make something similar for much less money.

This is what I am planning (sometimes in summer) with my Olympus E-M5II once I get that 60/2.8 macro lens (and use that cool 50 Mpix mode the camera offers)
Click to expand...

+1

If you have a DSLR and a macro (and a good light source, and a way to keep everything perfectly square), this will blow the doors off of anything you can get. Seriously.
 
Thanks for all the answers. The scanner sadly isn't just for me to use, so I can't just rely on a DSLR with a Macro Rail & lens. I'll have a good look into the Epson V600 . Can someone please post a neg they've scanned on it, so I can see what the results look like. Thanks :)
 
Jackie,
Take a look at my Flickr. I have both 120 and 135 "scans" that I did with a D700/55mm Micro lens. I use the ES-1 Slide Copier for 135 and the Beseler 6x6 negative carrier laid on a light box for the 120. I'm still fine-tuning the technique but so far it works pretty well.
 
suggesting a D700+55mm micro lens for an 'under 200 pounds" question, lol

Maybe try a second hand v700 from epson? don't know how much that could cost you but it's quite good, actually, for 35mm as well.
 
Your right Pherdinand that camera/lens is much more than 200 pounds. I assumed the OP probably had some sort of digital SLR available and wouldn't have to purchase the scanner. I would think even a kit lens with a good quality close-up lens would work well.
 
Would not V550 be golden mean - not too shabby for 35mm (at least, to scan contacts in strips of two) and adequate for MF, considering price?

Sure, dedicated film scanner for 35mm is best, but we are speaking about all-in-one solution here.
 
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