Issues with scanning and plustek 120

[Zhares]

hey folks,

We're having issues with a Plustek 120 scaning 120 and 35mm films, in some of the scans there are horizontal lines, i believe those are created by the scan and the grain in the film.

I'm not sure if this is an issue with the scanner itself or the method used to scan.
We're using vueScan and NegativeLabPro to convert the negatives (as is the best method with color accuracy, SilverFast is pretty bad and gives awful contrast..)

in this one, you can see in the sky.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bBOnsdjbfCZYvVy7KoqDhp-bdiLCrpz6/view?usp=sharing

here are some other examples and crops

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s4ohupNHv7fwirqekamyQQ_Qy7Vt1NPc/view?usp=sharing

Here you can see in the sky some horz. lines.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r3MP35IRLvJz-X7bg5peXmDJHpyrKgxX/view?usp=sharing


Any tips on how to solve this or should get another scanner or give up scanning all-together ? 🙂

disclaimer: we're new to scanning some of the negatives, so some issues might seem obvious to some, maybe not for us, bear with us 🙂

Cheers!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Get another scanner. This is a common problem with that scanner.

 

[Zhares]

Oh thats what I was afraid of, 🙁
I wanted this for the (supposedly) quality and small real state.

What other (good) scanner would you recommend?

Thanks!!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Oh thats what I was afraid of, 🙁
I wanted this for the (supposedly) quality and small real state.

What other (good) scanner would you recommend?

Thanks!!

The problem now is that there are NO good scanners being made. For 120 film, there were really three choices for professional level work: Nikon LS-8000ED, Nikon LS-9000ED, and Minolta Scan Multi Pro II. Sadly, all three are long-discontinued and parts are no longer available if they need repair. On top of that, the Nikon scanners REQUIRE a nearly impossible to find glass negative carrier to give sharp scans.

I have a Nikon 8000ED and the glass carrier. I bought this stuff new 19 years ago and a few months ago the scanner died. Right now I am just shooting 35mm film, so I decided to try one of the 35mm Plustek scanners. They were absolute garbage. I bought and returned three of them that all gave scans that were sharp on one side and soft on the other.

I was reluctant to buy another Nikon because they are all old now and not repairable. I finally gave up after wasting a few months trying to get good results 'scanning' my film with a digital camera. I bought a used Nikon Coolscan V last month and paid nearly $1000 for it. The scans are flawless. Hopefully it lasts a while.

 

[Zhares]

Yeah, thanks for your input.
We’re scanning mainly 120 (6x6, 6x7 and 6x9) I’m not sure what to do next, I’m reluctant to go for a coolscan, as you mentioned they are old and discontinued, would hate that it die on me. Also, i was looking online and the 9000 can also sufer from the same issue that i have with the plustek, so that would be really disappointing.

I’m considering using a digital camera, and some holders like the negative supply, but are also expensive and can endup expending almos the same amount as a coolscan... and still there could be lot of issues.

Its difficult to make a decision when there is clearly no “perfect” choice.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Yeah, thanks for your input.
We’re scanning mainly 120 (6x6, 6x7 and 6x9) I’m not sure what to do next, I’m reluctant to go for a coolscan, as you mentioned they are old and discontinued, would hate that it die on me. Also, i was looking online and the 9000 can also sufer from the same issue that i have with the plustek, so that would be really disappointing.

I’m considering using a digital camera, and some holders like the negative supply, but are also expensive and can endup expending almos the same amount as a coolscan... and still there could be lot of issues.

Its difficult to make a decision when there is clearly no “perfect” choice.

I finally broke down and bought another Nikon because I make my living selling prints from my black and white negatives. I'm a fine art photographer. I don't have any other job. Although I do make money from donations through my tutorials website, print sales are still my main income. My backlog of film needing scanned was just getting bigger and bigger the longer I kept screwing around with trying to 'camera scan' and trying to find a current-production scanner that wasn't crap.

I'll give you a tip on the Nikons. The banding problem goes away if you scan using the superfine mode. It makes the scan times longer but the scans will never have banding if you use that setting. Both the Nikon Scan software and Vuescan have a way to turn on the superfine mode.

 

[Zhares]

Thanks Chris!
I may have the option to test either a coolscan 8000 or 9000, some of us might sell some prints (we're 3) so having a good scan quality is important

The 8000 is considerable more cheaper, I'll try to check some videos on either of those and try to make a more educated decision.
So, it is true that the banding can be removed with a "fine" scanning, more times to scan is really not a problem from my side.

Regards.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Thanks Chris!
I may have the option to test either a coolscan 8000 or 9000, some of us might sell some prints (we're 3) so having a good scan quality is important

The 8000 is considerable more cheaper, I'll try to check some videos on either of those and try to make a more educated decision.
So, it is true that the banding can be removed with a "fine" scanning, more times to scan is really not a problem from my side.

Regards.

The problem that killed mine is a common one on the 8000; the Firewire controller inside the scanner dies. The 9000 uses USB, not Firewire and is less likely to fail.

Keep in mind too that no new computers have Firewire ports, and few Windows machines had them since Firewire was invented by Apple. If you're using an older Mac, then either scanner will work, but a newer Mac or a windows PC of any age will not work with the 8000 unless the computer has a slot where you can put in a PCI card with Firewire ports. Nikon actually included such a card with the scanner when they were new but most used ones do not have it.

 

[drew.saunders]

The problem that killed mine is a common one on the 8000; the Firewire controller inside the scanner dies. The 9000 uses USB, not Firewire and is less likely to fail.

Keep in mind too that no new computers have Firewire ports, and few Windows machines had them since Firewire was invented by Apple. If you're using an older Mac, then either scanner will work, but a newer Mac or a windows PC of any age will not work with the 8000 unless the computer has a slot where you can put in a PCI card with Firewire ports. Nikon actually included such a card with the scanner when they were new but most used ones do not have it.

I have a CS 9000 that I still use via Firewire on my new-ish iMac. Thunderbolt 3 (USB C) to thunderbolt 2 adapter connects to a thunderbolt 2 to FW 800 adapter, to which I connected a FW 800/400 cable and it works with VueScan even on Mac OS 11!

 

[flagellum]

People are quick to rag on flatbeds, but honestly the Epson v800/v850 (or the older v700/v750) is worth considering if you're doing only 120. The sharpness isn't as good as a Coolscan or other dedicated 120 scanner, but you can get a roughly 20x24 print out of an uncropped 6x7 negative before hitting the resolution limits of the Epson. It's also currently produced and still repairable, and you can find a refurbished one for roughly $600-700. Critically for me, it also is still a dedicated scanner, not a finnicky DSLR scanning rig I need to constantly mess with to get the optimal results. Not a silver bullet solution, but after a long time being frustrated with having no silver bullet like you described, I found it to be the best compromise for me.

 

[Ronald M]

Make sure you are not using a squeegee to wipe down film.

I would take a discard neg and turn it 90 degrees. If the line go vertical, problem is in film or processing.

 

[Zhares]

I tested a negative that i recently scanned with the Plustek in a CoolScan V. it's like night and day.
with same process (vuescan, etc) colors are just way better and true to reality 0 issues with banding or anything, so it's definitely the scanner fault.

I'll have to test multiple strips and different film stocks to really have some conclusions, but OMG, this (+15years old) little guy just made me excited to keep shooting film. and find an alternative for medium format.

cheers.