Small Film Scanner?

W

wlewisiii

Guest
I am about to undertake a major change in my career - after having been a computer geek fighting windows for years and then a stay-at-home dad for 3 years, in October I'll be starting training as a Trucker. Yes, big 18-wheeler type trucker. This won't leave me as much time for my film hobby as I might wish but there will be more than it might seem.

As a result, I'm looking into what it would take to put together a backpack hybrid darkroom - dev in diafine then scan to an iBook or other Apple laptop that I can afford (Mac OS X only. I am so _done_ with windows.). Now most of this is really quite easy to figure out. I've got a nice SS tank & reels, changing bag, etc. But the scanner is going to be the hard part.

So what I am looking for is a dedicated film scanner for 35mm that offers decent results but is compact enough to fit into a backpack with the laptop and the rest of the wet gear. USB/Firewire, good resolution, slow is ok for this circumstance. I've got a copy of Photoshop 7 already (thankfully 🙂 ) so that's what I'd be using with it.

Any suggestions?

If I can find a bottom feeder friendly one, then I'll get it now in my budget challenged condition. If not, it'll wait till a few paychecks have gone into the bank.

Thanks all,

William
 
Wow, interesting career shift! Amazing what too many years of fighting Windows will drive a man to (no pun intended...)

I think you may be out of luck finding a tiny but good-quality film scanner, though. I've kept an eye on this market, and don't recall ever seeing one significantly smaller than the typical Nikons and Minoltas. I'm not sure how well the precision innards would hold up to traveling in a backpack, either.

If you were shooting CN film you could just drop it off at a Walgreen's in whatever town through which you were trucking and have them scan it and mail it off to you (although I haven't been wildly impressed with the quality of their scans.) But if you prefer to develop your own film, sending it away for scanning is somewhat counter-sensical.

So, this may be a tough one! Maybe it's time to start looking for a (gasp, choke!) used R-D 1... there should be some coming onto the market as people start trying to finance their Leica M8 purchases...
 
jlw said:
So, this may be a tough one! Maybe it's time to start looking for a (gasp, choke!) used R-D 1... there should be some coming onto the market as people start trying to finance their Leica M8 purchases...
Click to expand...

That has crossed my mind 😉 but I fear those price tags will remain above my tastes for a wee bit yet.

William
 
Plustek Optic Film 7200. 35mm only. Length 10 1/2". Width 4 1/2". Height 4 1/2". About the size of a rather small loaf of bread. Comes with a well-made black cloth carrying case. Weighs about two pounds, does B/W negs, color negs, and slides. Has separate holder for slides.

I've got one. Works OK. Comes bundled with SilverFast. Lots of folks like SF, but I prefer VueScan.

For portability it's the best.

Ted
 
Hmmm, not a bad-looking little scanner in terms of specs. I notice they've also got an "i" model that has IR dust suppression. Quoted resolution is 7200 x 7200 pixels over a 38mm x 38mm scan area, which would be about 4,800 pixels per inch.

Do you use one, Ted? How does it perform? It got a fairly lukewarm review from PC magazine, but hey, those guys aren't necessarily photographers...

One potential caveat, since William specifically says he wants to carry a Mac OS X laptop: the system requirements on PlusTek's web site say Windows only. It's supposed to be compatible with VueScan, so the Mac OS X version of VueScan might work -- but I'd want to make sure before plunking down my $249 - $469 (depending on model.)
 
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I was actually going to say that I'll be looking to sell my Dual Scan III soon since I'm going to need something that can handle medium format. The Dual Scan III works on both Mac and PC well. If you don't need it right away, let me know...I may just sell you this one. 😛
 
Yeah, good luck with your new endeavour, William!

OK, now just one thing you should consider: you can't just throw a film scanner, no matter how small it is (not at least any found with current commercially-available technology), you should not bump it around, much less in a backpack.

You also need to keep it dust-free (the sensor is prone to collect dust; any of them). I think you should look into getting a dedicated, sturdy, highly-impact resistant case (i.e. Haliburton?) if that's what you plan to do.

I suggest you get a scanner with ICE. Unfortunately, the Dual Scan II, although you can find it on ePrey, and cheap, needs to have a light changed, and I wouldn't recommend it. The Dual Scan III and IV are nice. I have the IV, and I may sell it soon (the boss is drumming up the unnecessary clutter out); it is very very light, but I don't think the chasis is designed to take any kind of heavy force (i.e. hits, bumps, other weight).

I really hope you find this new direction something that'll last and be beneficial. A mind with knowledge of Schema and any Lisp languages is a terrible thing to waste. I don't like Microsnot either; it's only Unix-like stuff. I'll dance with the devil when my name on the bill is up (if it's on the bill).
 
peterc said:
Look for a used Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400. Fairly small, Firewire or USB.

Peter
Click to expand...
I'll second the 5400. Slender design, great build quality, crazy-good resolving power, and, as Peter mentions, USB I/II- and FW-friendly connectivity. Might not be thhe easiest to find, but worth the search. I've been using mine (first version) a lot since buying it over two years ago.

About the computer: I've set up a number of Intel MacBooks for people, and so far, they're looking good; go for the one with a SuperDrive for burning DVDs as well as CDs for archiving/freeing-up HD space. Also, a very late model PowerBook G4 (aluminum) will swing pretty nicely with this scanning setup. And, whatever you get, stuff it with a goodly amount of RAM. Also try and get a slip-case for the scanner, as well as the laptop, to keep it safe from the inevitable bumps, grinds, and grit.

(Imagining a mini-digital darkroom in the back of a Peterbilt or Kenworth...)


- Barrett
 
Some really good things here, folks. This is why I treasure this place. Chris may not get it, but I do and I thank my god for it.

Steph - scarey part is that I actually wondered about yours... :bang: but I don't want to even consider a purchase till you have a replacement in hand... 😉

Barrett - well, now you know why I'm interested in a cheap OS X capable laptop, eh? <LOL>

gabrielma - well, let's put it like this (got-lisp-p) (ps. There will be a dos emulator on it. A very long time ago I paid (full f-ing price !!!!) for a license for Medley. I still have all the files and they will go with me 🙂 )

Everyone: I've noted the Primefilm 1800U on ebay. Seriously cheap and hideously bad if you don't fix the defaults according to the online reviews - but not so bad if you do... Any one here with real world experiance?

Thank you folks, I am feeling very honored right now;

William
 
In light of the bumps etc. you might want to consider a Nikon scanner. They have screws you can put in place to hold the moving parts steady during transport.
As for dust, I keep my scanner and parts in plastic bags when not in use ... it helps some.

Peter
 
wlewisiii said:
Steph - scarey part is that I actually wondered about yours... :bang: but I don't want to even consider a purchase till you have a replacement in hand... 😉
Click to expand...

I'll actually need the money before I can even think about getting the replacement. I'm going to go Frank's route and get the 8400F. I paid $119 plus shipping for it, but I'd definitely let it go for $100 plus shipping. The only bad thing is that you have to download the software from the Konica Minolta website...but I can burn that to a CD for you if you want to save you trouble. 😉
 
William,

I'm considering doing the same thing with my Nikon V ED (taking it with me to China for a month long visit). The Nikon is a tiny little scanner BTW (albeit a little heavy with the built in transformer).

However, what I'm afraid of are the internals being knocked about and becoming broken or out of alignment.

'peterc' what are these screws that you can put in place? I can't find mention of them in my literature.

Thanks.
 
You want something small and inexpensive and fairly rugged. Have you considered using one o' those film & slide copier gizmos that they make as an accessory for digital cameras? Nikon made one for the 950 or 990, perhaps other models. And I know there was a third party guy making his own version that fit on the same camera. See if the quality is acceptable to you, and hit the road.
 
My serious suggestion is that you look at a Pelican 1510 hard case. It's the carry-on model with wheels, but is small enough to carry like a case. The point is that you could arrange the foam to support not only the scanner, but also your laptop and a couple of cameras & lens, to boot. The other question is just how much spare time you'll have to not only develop (and hang to dry) your film but also sit and scan. It's a combined issue of a stable workspace AND having the time to do this. Truckers work their butts off and, when you do pull over for the night, you're dead beat. Just food for thought. Good luck. You WILL have lots of moments for shooting. Everything else will be your challenge. Cheers, Owen
 
Vodid's idea does sound like the most practical for backpacking. It does, however, involve buying another camera. Otherwise, I'd suggest packing everything but the scanner and saving scanning for when you're home.

(if you have a cheapo digital, you can make proofs of your negatives on the road by laying them on the windshield and photographing them from inside the cab and then inverting in PS.)

Good luck in your new career!
 
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