print44
Well-known
If you were going to buy a new scanner today - for non-pro 35mm negative work and looking to print up to A3 - which would you buy?
Which Film Scanner?
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rogerzilla
Well-known
Reflecta Crystalscan 7200. Use it at 3600ppi and you don't need any software sharpening. You could print up to 16" x 12" at full quality.
chrismoret
RF-addict
Got a Canoscan 9000F. Not the best choice for 35mm, for 6x6 it's OK I guess.
typericey
Newbie
I recently got a Plustek 7400 at B&H. Probably not the best out there but a definitely good value at less than $300. (You said non-pro, right?) With this you may have to scan at max 7200 dpi to print A3. But I just use it at 2400 dpi which I think is the best compromise for scan speed, file size and resolution.
Chris101
summicronia
Whatever the best Epson is at the moment ... V750M?
Jockos
Well-known
Well, OP wants to print A3, which is 16.5" x 11.7" in your imperial units, how do you think the 9000F performs at those sizes?
I've printed an A3+ from a 9000F 35mm scan on a Canon 9000 mk II, it was okay, but I wasn't too familiar with the scanner software back then, so I think it could have been better.
I don't have the print available anymore, otherwise I could have scanned it for you..
TareqPhoto
The Survivor
I don't shoot 35mm so my Epson will hold it's value for MF and LF well enough, but wish if i got that Nikon scanner in the past when it was available, the used market now goes crazy for it, also i was looking to use my H4D-60 as a scanner but i feel this will be a pain in...., so the only choice is left for me is to buy a drum scanner used when i find one, i will make sure it will scan up to 4x5 or 8x10 so then i can scan from 35mm all way up as living in heaven.
noeyedear
Established
I had a drum scanner. It's such a pain mounting in oil etc it takes ages to do a high res scan then you find it's got lots of tiny air bubbles or something. The software to run these is usually very old style and assumes you know a lot about percentages and other stuff non photographic. You could run them on Silverfast but the software most likely will cost you more than the scanner. You get great scans when it all comes together, but the time and trouble really did it for me. If I ever see a top end flatbed scanner going cheap I will snap it up, something like a Fuji Lanovia or Eversmart. I have a couple of Heidelberg A3 flatbeds and they are very sharp, the downside is only the 4 inch wide strip down the middle gives optical 2400dpi, so anything wider than 4 inches has a native optical scan of 800 dpi. So a 10x8 at 300 dpi is 26 inches or 30+ at 240dpi. Drum scanning is a skilled trade within it self, one I never mastered.
Kevin.
www.treewithoutabird.com
TareqPhoto
The Survivor
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for the info.
Well, i can't tell until i try that by myself, are all drum scanners have those issues you stated? about the time of scanning i don't care even if it will take 1 hour for one frame or one sheet as long i can get the most out of it.
About the software, ok, there is a software to operate the scanner somewhere for sure, i still have old PC which has SCSI port and windows XP, i can have Win 98 if necessary, i just have to check the drum scanner, maybe there is something can work better than what you have, Aztec has some range of drum scanner, Howtek also, in fact i was going to plan on getting a FlexTight X5, but people told e that it is not a real drum scanner [virtual] so it is still behind of a drum scanner for maximum quality, with all that if i keep using a flatbed for my MF/LF then i am missing a lot in film.
noeyedear
Established
The drum scanner will dig deep into the shadows like nothing else. I also think (you would need to do research} Scanners like the Howtek and Scanmate are not top end drum scanners and top end flatbeds are on a par with them.Taking ages to a do scan is not a problem if it ends up being a good scan. Finding you have to unmount it clean it and remount is a pain. Doing that with a 10x8 a bigger pain. Honestly if I had the option of a top Flextight over something like a scanmate I would go for the Flextight, I also think a Flextight would be kinder to the film not having to oil mount and clean it. I had a 1045Ai Dainippon screen, great scanner but the software was far from easy. I am using a Coolscan 8000 for MF, I shoot a lot of colour neg so the software is much better than drum scanner software for dealing with colour neg. I need to get a Scsi to firewire cable as my old mac G3 is no longer seeing drives plugged into it. Then I can get my Heidelberg A3 running again for larger formats.
Do the drum scanner to get it out of your system but have a plan B as well.
Kevin.
www.treewithoutabird.com
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Coolscan and Epson. I have the Epson v700. No complaints. Great scanner for the money. I can make 35mm and MF scans on the v700 that rival the output of scanners that cost a lot more. The results I've seen from the Coolscan are also excellent.
Vasilis
Likes souvlaki and film
I've been using a Plustek 7600 SE with Vuescan for some months and i am very happy with the results. I even did some digital prints from the scan and look great. The only minus with the 7600 is that it doesn't take 120 film, so if you plan scanning both 135 and 120, better look elsewhere. From what i've read a dedicated 135 film scanner gives you better results than the flatbeds, for 135 film. 🙂
RAZOR
Established
The one I bought...Epson V700 refurbished for $415. It is highly under rated for 35mm. Consider the fact that you can batch scan 24 frames at a time; What is your time worth?
