Dedicated 35mm Film scanner to replace Epson v500

[paniolo]

Hello Photographers,

when the last years passed I became more and more lazy in scanning my films. I still own a Epson V500 which never realy impressed me. Maybe this was the main factor in not being interested in scanning.
Can you recommend me a reliable scanner for 35mm color and b/w film?

Please no Nikon Coolscan, yes, they sound awesome but are too expensive for me.

Which one can do the job for ~400$ (+- 200)? ;-)

Regards
Paniolo

 

[splitimageview]

Pakon F135+

 

[WJJ3]

Plustek will deliver good results for that price range.
Film scanning is a dark art, as described by some experts even back when the major Japanese manufacturers were still developing and producing high quality film scanners. Now its even more obscure with super outdated used models being coveted and overpriced. What is the future of film scanning for us hobbyists? Im going with macro lens and digital camera. Ive been experimenting and finally starting to get results Im happy with. Needs more refinement, with homemade negative carriers and such, but short of Nikon or Canon, or Konica-Minolta getting back into the game thats the direction Im going.

I am using a Pakon for color neg though 😉

 

[bideford]

Hi paniolo,

Not sure where you are and if you can source one but for 35mm a Plustek Opticfilm 8100 is hard to beat - dedicated film scanner (not flatbed) - retails at @ £185 in UK. I used one for a couple of years prior to upgrading to a medium format scanner. Comes with Silverfast software.

James

 

[bideford]

Will beat me to it....

 

[paniolo]

Thanks for the quick answer guys!
Im living in Germany and my first scanner was a digital macro lens setup with some kind of frostglass and a lamp. Too bad I sold that macro lens but maybe I will get it back. These quick 8mp shots were better than the results of the Epson V500 indeed.

I have just read some reviews of several Plustek scanners and they look fine aside from the large DPI output which is effectively 50% of the real DPI resulting in a huge file size which I try to avoid.
Lets take a look on these Pakon scanners I dont know yet.

Thank you!

edit: Well, these Pakon scanners seem to be a bit limited in DPI (~6mp) and handling. I have cut all my films already to 6 frames each stripe + several shorter stripes

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Regarding statement of been lazy on scanning.
Epson will scan you twelve at once. Plustek - one only. As owner of V500 and dedicated 135 film scanner, I could tell you, if I feel lazy about scanning it is done by V500.
Plus, Epson software is most convenient and simple to use.

 

[splitimageview]

Pakon will scan strips as short as 3 frames. It will scan multiple strips and prompt you to insert the next one.

6mp is plenty, especially if you don't want big file sizes.

Pakon color is unmatched....there is a lot of Kodak smarts in the system...no one knew color any better.

ICE.

It will scan an entire roll in 5 minutes...36 frames. It was a mini lab scanner designed for throughput...

Downside: have to use old version of Windows.

 

[bence8810]

+1 for the Pakon. The problem is if it fails you are going to have some headaches - noone services them from what I know.

Having said that, if it wasn't for the pakon I would not be scanning at all.
Ben

 

[edge100]

Pakon F135+

If you can find one for the OP's price, buy 10 of them.

 

[kiemchacsu]

yes people is raving about Pakon, but no way I would pay $1,100 for this machine. I think at the current price of Pakon, one should take Nikon coolscan V (or 5000 if lucky)
definitely the quality is much better.

 

[mervynyan]

plustek will do.

 

[WJJ3]

yes people is raving about Pakon, but no way I would pay $1,100 for this machine. I think at the current price of Pakon, one should take Nikon coolscan V (or 5000 if lucky)
definitely the quality is much better.

agree that the Pakons are overpriced now. Was lucky to scoop one up from AAA when they were $250...

 

[splitimageview]

No one is paying that much. $500-$600 typically, or less for the F135

 

[bence8810]

No one is paying that much. $500-$600 typically, or less for the F135

I got mine for $300 and now they are indeed going for $5-600 on the FB group dedicated to Pakon. On top though you have shipping, import taxes (if unlucky) etc.

If you just need files for the Web - the Pakon is better than anything out there which fits on your desktop. I scan a roll of BnW without ICE in 3 minutes.

Ben

 

[btgc]

Epson will scan you twelve at once. Plustek - one only. As owner of V500 and dedicated 135 film scanner, I could tell you, if I feel lazy about scanning it is done by V500.

After years of single frame scanning I got V550 for MF and soon discovered it's OK for web-targeted 135, too. Time is the only thing I can't really get back so I have to save it.

If I get some shots I want to blow bigger, I scan them separately or take to photolab for scanning on LS-5000.

 

[paniolo]

After years of single frame scanning I got V550 for MF and soon discovered it's OK for web-targeted 135, too. Time is the only thing I can't really get back so I have to save it.

If I get some shots I want to blow bigger, I scan them separately or take to photolab for scanning on LS-5000.

Indeed. 12 at once is awesome and time is more important than anything. Looks like I forgot to say that I dont want to scan all of my negatives. Some selected frames of each roll with good - very good quality would be fine. My epson v500 is like "average to bad". Of course its fine for web or screen presentation but I want to print them. ;-)

Well, looks like I will realy go back to DSLR - Macro work.
Too bad my old Canon 20d with 8mp is a bit outdated but lets give it a try. Another solution could be a professional service, but its expensive and unflexible in my eyes. (in the long end)

 

[Tokoza]

I have the Plustek 8100. Resolution wise it’s a big step from v500, but I don’t always like the color noise 8100 gives. Scanning nose gets even worse with underexposure off course. I use Silverfast in high dynamic range mode (two scans are performed).

 

[FujiLove]

Another Pakon user here. The big wins are the speed and great colour. I can realistically have a roll of 36 frames in Lightroom 30 minutes after switching on the Pakon. The scans have such good colour that I generally need only another 30 minutes of post-processing (mostly cropping and altering the contrast) to have a set of 'finished' files.

When I was scanning 135 using a Epson V550 this same process could literally take all week. If you value your time, the Pakon pays for itself after three or four rolls.

 

[astro8]

Another vote for the Pakon 135....but if I lived in the US I would grab one of the LS-600 Noritsu's that are going for $800 from AAA Imaging Solutions. The same place I bought my Pakon 135+ from.

They come with Noritsu software and with a 90 day warranty, scan at approx. 4000 x 6000 pixels, up from the Pakon's approx. 2000 x 3000 pixels.

The only thing stopping me is the near $900 freight charge to get it here.

These Pakons and Noritsus make consumer Nikons, Minoltas and Canon scanners feel, look and handle like toys.