what film scaner to buy?

If you want MF, I think the Polaroid SS120 is a pretty good deal used. It doesn't have ICE/dust removal, but it's cheap. Also, the dust removal isn't useable on silver-based films.

For 35mm only, I've been happy with the Nikon Coolscan series. I'd imagine the other scanners are similar, though. Try and get one with 4000 dpi and dust removal. The dust ICE will only work on color/slide/chromogenics, but it's a real time saver when you can use it. Folks here seem to like the Minolta 5400 too.

-Oliver
 
I've been using the Nikon CoolScan V ($550) for 6 months and love it.. but it can't do MF, so I just picked up an Epson 4490 ($200), which has been sitting unopened for 4 days.. both have ICE and have gotten very good reviews
 
good scanner

good scanner

very happy with my epson 4990 & vuescan software(i'm on a mac). I have scanned in the holders that were provided or just by putting a sheet full of negs down.

good luck, ken rockwell has decent reviews if you can find them.
 
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In all honesty, this kind of thread gets posted all the time.

The answers rarely vary.

I use a Nikon 5000D for both film strip and chrome scanning.

Ohters here, use different equipment, etc.

Perhaps you might want to check the archives on the site first?
 
I've said it before, but the KM Dual Scan IV is/was a good value for the price in 35mm film scanning. I've heard great things about, and seen great results from, the Epson 4990 for MF/LF although I have no direct experience with the scanner.
 
Here is what happened when I bought one.

I saw nice scans from the KM - but decided to pass on any KM due to their leaving the film/scanner market.

I already own the Epson 4990 which I use for normal letter scanning. I tried it with negatives using both Epson Scan and Vuescan. The results are no where even close to the KM.

I then tried a Nikon CoolScan V at the store. It compared favorably better than my Epson flatbed, but the KM was better.

Next came the Nikon CoolScan 5000. It won hands down vs. the others that I mentioned. This is what I bought and why.

Ray


(I only scan 35 mm, no MF or LF)
 
Get whatever you can that's available. A scanner in the hand is worth an inumerable number in the bush so to speak.

Avoid 'no-name' stuff and you'll be home and dry. If you were feeling greedy and wanted to have both you could scour the 'Bay and find both a flatbed, AND a film scanner s'hand. That way you could do 35mm now, and MF too.

Regards

Andy
 
Finder said:
The new Epson flatbed looks interesting. I don't know the name overseas, but it is GT-X700 in Japan.
Click to expand...

V-700 Here in thr UK, but not yet available. Deliveries expected mid- April. For that read end of April or beginning of May as usual.

Regards

Andy
 
Thanks all of you for your comments but I got a few questions.

WHat means MF?

wHAt would be the specility of the epson 700 and 750 I mean what should I shoot to get the best result (B&W, Transparecy, c-41?)



gustav[] pEña
 
gustav[] pEña said:
Thanks all of you for your comments but I got a few questions.

WHat means MF?

wHAt would be the specility of the epson 700 and 750 I mean what should I shoot to get the best result (B&W, Transparecy, c-41?)



gustav[] pEña
Click to expand...

MF = Medium format

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/index.html has a lot of reviews on film scanners including the Epson 700. The Epson 700 and 750 are Epsons new flatbed scanners aimed at the serious amateur (700) and pro (750) photographer.

Choice of scanner ultimately depends upon what you want to do with the scans. If all you want is to scan some film to post on the web, you don't need a high resolution scanner. If you are creating a hybrid analogue/digital workflow and want to print (big) from your scans then you will need the best resolution you can get for your $. The latest flatbed scanners aimed at photographers are catching up, in terms of quality, with dedicated film scanners and offer the possibility of scanning medium and large format negs and prints up to 8 x 10. However, if all you want to scan is 35mm negs, then get a dedicated film scanner. Nobody ever got shot for buying a Nikon or Konica-Minolta film scanner and these are reckoned to be the bench marks against which all other (reasonably priced) film scanners are measured.

In terms of what to shoot - the choice is yours. The only issue with shooting B&W is that you don't get access to digital ICE or whatever the specific manufacturer calls their dust and scratch removal software. You can cheat by scanning B&W in as colour, but the results can be interesting and horrible. The Epson 4990 does have dust removal available to B&W negs, but its only usable at its lowest setting, otherwise it can smudge detail. The best course of action is to dust off your negs before scanning and to clean them up in PS, which is very easy in CS2 with the spot healing brush.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Gid
 
are Film scaner faster than flatbed? I mean, I imagen myself just putting the hole role of film without cut into a film scaner and just waiting for it to sallow all and then just see the results. Is that easy? is the flatbed something similar (but like a contac sheet but with the option to scan every single one in the highest resolution at once)


thanks all of you.

gustav[]
 
Dedicated Film Scanners:

For 35mm B/W i'd recommend the Nikon Coolscan 5000ED it works very well with Vuescan software on my G4 powerbook

For 120 the Coolscan 9000 ED expensive but very good user reviews of it.
Best i've used so far is Imacon 949 but at £15,000 GBP + Vat - it's way out of my price league.
 
Some scanners can take a roll of film I understand if you buy an extra gadget, but most take a strip of four or so negs and scan them one at a time. A good scan takes some time, like maybe 30 seconds or more each neg.

I get a rough lores scan to CD when the film is developed at the minilab, it's cheap, and then I scan the keepers myself. The hires scans cost more because the machine takes much longer and my 135/36 takes almost 30 minutes in the scanner/printer. The lores is much faster for them and fine for me for onscreen proofing.

As to the models available I found Amazon to be very informative. But work out what resolution you need by working back from what size prints you want to make. There's no point buying a 5400dpi scanner to make tiny prints. I scan enough to go to A4, and anything larger than that gets done at the lab. My printer doesn't go above A4 so there's no reason to scan for anything larger.
 
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