Plustek: Is the 8200i worth the dough?

[kiss-o-matic]

I've read around, and apparently opinions on this vary. I don't quite know how the infrared thingy works to get rid of dust and what not. I've also never used an 8100 (and am getting back into film, so am not familiar w/ how much dust I can expect on negs straight from the lab).

The difference in price seems to be about $150 here. For that, you also get black, which matches anything in my room. :angel:

But in all seriousness, I believe there are those in the camp thinking software should remove dust. The extra bit in the hardware seems to be a lot more accurate... on paper, anyway. Comments by those that have used this?

Again, I won't be scanning old negs w/ this. Not any time soon anyway. Just stuff straight from the lab.

 

[user237428934]

I've read around, and apparently opinions on this vary. I don't quite know how the infrared thingy works to get rid of dust and what not. I've also never used an 8100 (and am getting back into film, so am not familiar w/ how much dust I can expect on negs straight from the lab).

The difference in price seems to be about $150 here. For that, you also get black, which matches anything in my room. :angel:

But in all seriousness, I believe there are those in the camp thinking software should remove dust. The extra bit in the hardware seems to be a lot more accurate... on paper, anyway. Comments by those that have used this?

Again, I won't be scanning old negs w/ this. Not any time soon anyway. Just stuff straight from the lab.

Color or BW? Dust removal does not work for BW.

 

[kanzlr]

While I use the new Plustek 120, I always scan with dust reduction disabled, as it is not needed with fresh negs, especially if you are careful/use a camel hair brush to clean them.

With Silverfast, it also looks awful, but if you have negs with a lot of scratches or persistent dust (on the emulsion side for example) it can be a real saviour.

 

[edge100]

I have an 8100 and scan both colour and B&W.

I develop both myself, taking care to avoid dust (e.g. run a hot shower before hanging my negs in the bathroom). Then I store my negs in non-PVC sleeves (PrintFile), use cotton gloves and give my negatives a couple of blasts from a Giottos bulb blower before scanning.

With this workflow, I've all but eliminated dust. Occasionally I'll see a couple of small specks, but these are easily handled in Lightroom or Photoshop.

A bigger (potential) issue is scratches. This was an issue when I was having my colour 35mm film sent out, since the film would get scratches during (I think) leader retrieval (I used a dip and dunk lab and I never saw this on 120 film). However, since starting to do everything at home (and using a bottle opener to crack open the canisters on 35mm film), this has ceased to be an issue.

Bottom line: use of good developing and handling practices should reduce dust and scratches to a very minimal level, such that it should not be necessary to pay for the 8200 vs. the 8100 (there are other advantages, of course, including an IT8 target with some of the models). Obviously, this means nothing for archival slides/negs, but for new work, the 8100 should, IMHO, suffice.

 

[Athiril]

With careful cleaning you can still get dust spots sometimes and it can be annoying. IR dust removal isn't a substitute for cleaning negs, you still should clean them to get the best result with it anyway.

The 8100 is a bit sharper than the 8200i iirc, but 8200i still excellent.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Thanks, guys. Sounds like it's not worth the dough. Had no idea it didn't work on B&W (and I will probably be scanning about 70% B&W). I will be developing my own B&W soon, but not color. However, attention to detail in Japan is perhaps the best in the world. So, i'll go out on a limb and say that any dust/scratches on negs, I'm probably introducing. Any of the other members from Japan can definitely chime with more experience and their opinion, but the service is so meticulous here for most of the spectrum, it's sometimes vomit-inducing. Unless of course you ask a shop to have a person stop smoking, then you're totally screwed. 😀

Okay, 8100 it is... will grab one when this pesky trip is over.