FH-869G or FH-869GR?

[philipus]

Hi everyone

I've read several interesting threads about these two film holders for the Coolscan 9000 but I am still not entirely sure which is the one to go for.

I'd be very grateful for any first-hand experiences, esp. the benefits and drawbacks, regarding either film holder.

Thanks very much in advance
Philip

 

[sevo]

The FH-869GR can be rotated by 5 degrees, even with the holder half inserted. It will only hold one single frame, up to 6x9 (due to the margin between frames it will not even do a 6x.4.5 two frame strip). It probably was not intended as a film holder - early Nikon product literature mostly refers to it as a scientific lab sample holder.

If you do not need to accurately orientate your film before scanning, get the FH-869G. And if you dislike Newton rings (or messing with scan fluids in a holder and scanner not intended for the same), also consider the glassless FH-869S - with its film tensioning mechanism it is not that far off the glass holders in terms of sharpness. Personally I only use the glass holder for sheet film, 16mm and other odd sizes that won't fit any of the glassless strip holders...

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The FH-869GR can be rotated by 5 degrees, even with the holder half inserted. It will only hold one single frame, up to 6x9 (due to the margin between frames it will not even do a 6x.4.5 two frame strip). It probably was not intended as a film holder - early Nikon product literature mostly refers to it as a scientific lab sample holder.

If you do not need to accurately orientate your film before scanning, get the FH-869G. And if you dislike Newton rings (or messing with scan fluids in a holder and scanner not intended for the same), also consider the glassless FH-869S - with its film tensioning mechanism it is not that far off the glass holders in terms of sharpness. Personally I only use the glass holder for sheet film, 16mm and other odd sizes that won't fit any of the glassless strip holders...

That's the opposite of my experience. The non-glass holder is basically worthless. I never got a sharp scan, ever, from it. Sharp meaning the WHOLE image is CRITICALLY sharp.

The GR holder is the best glass holder because the non-rotating one requires you to put black adhesive strips on your film between frames to eliminate flare from the clear filmbase, and to elevate the film slightly above the bottom glass to prevent newtons rings. This is a bitch. The glass rotating carrier comes with a set of pre-cut plastic masks for each film format that you drop in. Even works for 35mm film. It is worth the extra money.

 

[sevo]

That's the opposite of my experience. The non-glass holder is basically worthless. I never got a sharp scan, ever, from it. Sharp meaning the WHOLE image is CRITICALLY sharp.

It depends on the film as well as on your requirements - with reasonably flat film, I experience only a very mild sharpness falloff to the edges. Which tend to be at the margins of the DOF in many real life subject situations.

The glass rotating carrier comes with a set of pre-cut plastic masks for each film format that you drop in.

I got these masks with my second G holder as well - so they seem to ship with them in recent years (unless that was a packing error). But whether in the G or GR they will only work with strips cut down to individual frames. Which is an issue both in terms of scan time and archival capacity - it bloats each film from from one perspex sheet to ten perspex sheaths attached to a cardboard sheet each, so that the amount of film which usually fills a single ring binder will already take up an entire shelf.

 

[philipus]

Thanks very much for your quick replies, I appreciate it a lot.

In order to use the GR holder, must the film strips be cut into single frames?

I did read comments about those adhesive strips to be used with the G holder. Seems quite cumbersome to me. Won't the pre-cut masks of the GR holder work with the G holder?

Also, can 35mm be scanned with both holders?

I have never seen these holders IRL but would it not be possible to make one's own masks somehow?

The reason I am asking is that the 9000 which I am considering comes with the GR holder (in addition to the normal glass-less holders). However I had read positive opinions about the G holder so I became a bit uncertain if the increased price due to the included GR holder would be worth it.

Cheers
Philip

 

[mfogiel]

I have both the non rotating glass holder, which is useful for anything the glassless one will not do, and the glassless one.
Here's Dante Stella's tip on how to use the glassless one properly:

http://www.dantestella.com/technical/nikonholder.html

 

[philipus]

Hi everybody

I'm reviving this thread. I have just now found from the seller that the 9000 I am considering does not come with the masks for the GR holder.

Can they be bought somewhere?

Cheers
Philip