[Astro-Baby]

Well Its finally come time to get a slide and neg scanner and I have now read all the reviews on every scanner made since forever and the more I read the harder the choice gets. I kind of got all set on Plustek and the found lots of reviews that said eeewwwww its slow, software sucks, poor quality get yourself an Epson Perfection so it looked good then I found reviews saying flatbeds never do a good job anyway unless you bring big bucks to the party.

I woukd kind of prefer a dedicated film scanner as I already have a multi function print and scan system which I am happy with ...it just dont do film scanning.

I am now spinning round like a top....so any suggestions ?

Needs are.....
Must do decent scanning of slide and negs to support blow up to at least ten by eight
Good quality overall but price kept sane
Must be able to scan at least a strip a time at reasonable speed...ie I dont want scanning to be a lifetimes work.
Must run with an IMAC
Simple easy to use software a must.
Software to be good and usable ( one of the reviews for Plustek reckoned software was flakey, dud, slow etc )

Wants....
As much automation as possible
Tools for image manipulation, scratch and dust removal
Reliable auto post processing to enhance contrast factors etc

I absolutely hate being sat in front of a computer struggling with software and hardware that dont do what it says on the tin so user friendly and reliable is the cornerstone of this...anything that needs fifty other pieces of software to get good results, home brew mentality is a non starter for me. I have bought to much stuff thats geek rated and maybe does a good job if you dedicate your life to it....I just want films scanned not a crusade or another hobby

Soooooooo suggestions please as to whats good....budget up to £300 but can go higher if there is a benefit.

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Last edited by Astro-Baby; 08-27-2020 at 02:50 PM.

[murrelet]

I have an Epson V550 at home. It works fine for me and print up to 11" X 17" from scans using it. I shoot medium format in addition to 35mm so a flatbed is kind of necessary. I also scan 8 X 10 darkroom prints as well. I got the SilverFast SE free download for it and it's quite a bit better than the Epson software.

Download SilverFast Scanner Software for your Epson Scanner

I'm a member of a community darkroom where we have an Imacon. Frankly, it's a pain to use considering I don't make giant prints. I only mention this to say the Epson V550 does a good job for me. And I might consider upgrading only because I started shooting 4x5 and the V550 can't scan those.

[UMC]

Having scanned some 1000+ negatives and more than 10000 slides, I can contribute a few hints:

• I scan in TIF format and process the TIFs in Lightroom like any other RAW file
• If slides are stored in magazines, it is best to invest in a dedicated slide scanner like the Reflecta DigitDia series (=Pacific Image Electronics PowerSlide series)
• The disadvantage of the above mentioned scanners is that they can't handle negatives. For these I recommend the Epson V550 - best bang for the buck
• A good, high resolution scan of a 35mm slide or negative takes 2+ minutes: My Reflecta DigitDia 4000 takes some 3h for a standard magazine with 50 slides, the Epson V550 takes approx. 10 minutes for a stripe of 5 negatives
• Even if stored properly, usage of compressed air for blowing off the slides and negatives is highly recommended. I use a Revell air brush compressor
• Dust removal technology like ICE is a must - unless you want to spend the rest of your life retouching all the small dust particles in Photoshop
• Calibrating the scanners is highly recommended - I use targets from coloraid.com
• I use VueScan for scanning slides with the Reflecta and for prints with the Epson - the software requires some training efforts, but it does a very good job
• For degraded material (faded slides and negatives) I use the Epson V550 with the built in color restoration feature of the Epson Scan program
• Last but not least, the V500 can scan medium format too

Bottom line:

• You will not achieve satisfactory results on the first day - you need experience and you have to find the aproach that fits your needs
• If you have more than a few dozens of films, be prepared to face the truth: You are going to spend a significant amount of time on the scanning job!
• Don't hesitate to grab your slide projector from the shelf and compare your scans with projected slides

[stevebrot]

Soooooooo suggestions please as to whats good....budget up to £300 but can go higher if there is a benefit.

What format do you shoot? I have an Epson V700 that I never use for 35mm, mostly because I have also have a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED.


Steve

[Astro-Baby]

What format do you shoot? I have an Epson V700 that I never use for 35mm, mostly because I have also have a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED.


Steve

Ahhh sorry I should have said, 35mm only......cant see me ever owning another medium format camera much as I would love to have another Bronica.

The scanner will need to be able to handle slides but the majority of its use will be scanning negatives.

[acoufap]

Having scanned some 1000+ negatives and more than 10000 slides, I can contribute a few hints:

• I scan in TIF format and process the TIFs in Lightroom like any other RAW file
• If slides are stored in magazines, it is best to invest in a dedicated slide scanner like the Reflecta DigitDia series (=Pacific Image Electronics PowerSlide series)
• The disadvantage of the above mentioned scanners is that they can't handle negatives. For these I recommend the Epson V550 - best bang for the buck
• A good, high resolution scan of a 35mm slide or negative takes 2+ minutes: My Reflecta DigitDia 4000 takes some 3h for a standard magazine with 50 slides, the Epson V550 takes approx. 10 minutes for a stripe of 5 negatives
• Even if stored properly, usage of compressed air for blowing off the slides and negatives is highly recommended. I use a Revell air brush compressor
• Dust removal technology like ICE is a must - unless you want to spend the rest of your life retouching all the small dust particles in Photoshop
• Calibrating the scanners is highly recommended - I use targets from coloraid.com
• I use VueScan for scanning slides with the Reflecta and for prints with the Epson - the software requires some training efforts, but it does a very good job
• For degraded material (fades slides and negatives) I use the Epson V550 with the built in color restoration feature of the Epson Scan program
• Last but not least, the V500 can scan medium format too

Bottom line:

• You will not achieve satisfactory results on the first day - you need experience and you have to find the aproach that fits your needs
• If you have more than a few dozens of films, be prepared to face the truth: You are going to spend a significant amount of time on the scanning job!
• Don't hesitate to grab your slide projector from the shelf and compare your scans with projected slides

Similar experiences on my side.

I started using an Epson Perfection 1650 Photo flatbed scanner many many years ago. Later bought a Reflecta ProScan 7200, unfortunately manual work, and VueScan. VueScan is able to produce great results. Built a device dedicated color profile using Wolff Faust Targets. Scanned a lot to DNG container files in multi pass-mode ... based on tiff 48 bit (= 3 x 16 bit per channel). That decoupled image scanning from jpg image creation. With VueScan you can automate creating jpg files from the DNG scans later. The last scans I made, showed me that I can also get satisfying jpg files using only one pass - the fastest option but also takes it's time. Additional benefit: you need a lot less disk space - even in 100% quality. With VueScan scanning of negatives is possible based on built-in profiles.

Friends of mine scanned all their slides using the Reflecta DigitDia and were happy with their over night productions in jpg format.

Of course my monitor also is color calibrated. That's basic so that color corrections yield to good results. For automatic elimination of scratches and dust by software the infrared channel of the ProScan IMO is very important. Something you don't have if you scan using a digital camera.

Since most of my slides were framed using Anti-Newton glass, deglassed all the slide frames - a lot of work. If I wouldn't have done this, I'd not get optimal sharpness in the scans.

All in all it's important to realize that the quality of the scanning results depend a lot on the quality of the scanned material - colors, sharpness, flatness, ... . My main advice would be to only scan the slides that are great images and important to you. This can save a lot of time if scanning manually.

[TomB_tx]

I used an Epson V700 for some years, until it developed communication problems (would stop repeatedly in the midst of a batch scan), so I replaced it with a V850 which works very well. I scan B&W almost exclusively, as I get good color scans from the lab I use for processing color. I scan several formats including 35mm. I typically shoot 24 exposure rolls on 35 mm, so it takes me about an hour to develop and dry a roll, then I load into a V700 carrier (which holds all 24 shots - although without ANR glass like the V850 18 exp carrier), start a batch scan and do something else while it scans. I scan to a LAN drive, and can check progress and view images on my iPAD from another room.
I generally use films which don't curl (bow) much, but if the film has curl using the V850 carrier with glass will flatten it for better across the frame sharpness.
I usually scan at 3200 which gives good results for my use. If I find an exceptional shot and want to print it, I'll dust off the enlarger and do a wet print.
The Epson does very well with 6x6, 6x7 and larger, and also fine with 4x4 (127 film) with a 3rd party adapter to hold the negatives.
I also have adapters to hold sub-mini formats (16mm & Minox 8x11mm). I'm finishing shooting a Minox roll now and will compare how it scans to the results from Blue Moon. I expect the scans won't be great, but will let me select shots to go into my Minox enlarger.

[reh321]

I used an Epson V700 for some years, until it developed communication problems (would stop repeatedly in the midst of a batch scan), so I replaced it with a V850 which works very well. I scan B&W almost exclusively, as I get good color scans from the lab I use for processing color. I scan several formats including 35mm. I typically shoot 24 exposure rolls on 35 mm, so it takes me about an hour to develop and dry a roll, then I load into a V700 carrier (which holds all 24 shots - although without ANR glass like the V850 18 exp carrier), start a batch scan and do something else while it scans. I scan to a LAN drive, and can check progress and view images on my iPAD from another room.
I generally use films which don't curl (bow) much, but if the film has curl using the V850 carrier with glass will flatten it for better across the frame sharpness.
I usually scan at 3200 which gives good results for my use. If I find an exceptional shot and want to print it, I'll dust off the enlarger and do a wet print.
The Epson does very well with 6x6, 6x7 and larger, and also fine with 4x4 (127 film) with a 3rd party adapter to hold the negatives.
I also have adapters to hold sub-mini formats (16mm & Minox 8x11mm). I'm finishing shooting a Minox roll now and will compare how it scans to the results from Blue Moon. I expect the scans won't be great, but will let me select shots to go into my Minox enlarger.

I also had an Epson scanner. It did reproduce the slide nearly perfectly, but that includes surface imperfections - my 50-year-old slides had plenty of scratch and spots on them. It also produced what I call "halos" - if a light area was next to a darker area, the light area would 'bleed' into the dark area; Normally, I could correct that in "PP", but it was a real problem when my daughters wore pink raincoats and I photographed them in a shady area. My Nikon LS-2000 {bought used via eBay} did much better, but so did my new Plustek scanner in 'multi-scan' mode.

[Astro-Baby]

Well thanks guys, its kind of redefining what I need. Its principle object will be to look at negs, average shots will be be scanned and messed with using a variety of tools, killer shots would be scanned or wet printed to high quality elsewhere by a lab so perhaps I can live with less quality.....problem with the V550 seems that its a bit of a headache with a Mac. I have a super duper Mac for most of my stuff so anything I buy has to have solid Mac support and work well with it.

[maw]

I am now spinning round like a top....so any suggestions ?

Hi Astro-Baby,

I had the same problem over two years ago, and I asked the Pentaxian audience the same question, in the end I excluded the scanners (I have two of them),
I bought the Pentax Auto Bellows A + Pentax Slide Copier A ... well in the end I let it go.
Two years later, that is two months ago I saw a very archaic idea but at the same time, simple and feasible. No scanner, no slide copier none of this, of course it takes patience and good will.
If you are interested, I can explain you the easiest and painless way to scan slides and negatives.
Practically all formats, you seem to be interested only in 24x36, but you can also duplicate 4.5x6 or 6x6 or even more. Of course you have to be patient, if you don't have that it's not worth going into details,
among other things very simple.

Ciao Mario

[LesDMess]

I woukd kind of prefer a dedicated film scanner as I already have a multi function print and scan system which I am happy with ...it just dont do film scanning.
Needs are.....
Must do decent scanning of slide and negs to support blow up to at least ten by eight
Good quality overall but price kept sane
Must be able to scan at least a strip a time at reasonable speed...ie I dont want scanning to be a lifetimes work.
Must run with an IMAC
Simple easy to use software a must.
Software to be good and usable ( one of the reviews for Plustek reckoned software was flakey, dud, slow etc )
Wants....
As much automation as possible
Tools for image manipulation, scratch and dust removal
Reliable auto post processing to enhance contrast factors etc
I just want films scanned not a crusade or another hobby
Soooooooo suggestions please as to whats good....budget up to £300 but can go higher if there is a benefit.

If you're not risk averse, I would suggest a Nikon Coolscan V with the strip film and mounted slide feeder. It meets all your needs/wants and can be found over or under your price point. You simply feed it strips of film (up to 6 frames) and it scans at 3minutes per frame with dust and scratch removal (ICE), 2 minutes without. The Coolscan 5000 can cost a bit more but scans at 50 seconds per frame with ICE, 30 seconds without. Workflow is as simple as you are looking for and results will be better then even lab scanners - automatically.
Cons:
It's only available in the used market.
I don't use an IMAC and prefer to use a Windows Vista PC running native Nikonscan software. I understand you can use newer OS with some work.

[yucatanPentax]

Hi Astro-Baby,

If you are interested, I can explain you the easiest and painless way to scan slides and negatives.
Practically all formats, you seem to be interested only in 24x36, but you can also duplicate 4.5x6 or 6x6 or even more. Of course you have to be patient, if you don't have that it's not worth going into details, among other things very simple.

Ciao Mario

Well, I'm very interested in the easiest and painless way to scan slides and negatives. I don't have a ton. All are at least 40 years old. It doesn't make a lot of sense to invest in expensive equipment. The commercial solutions I tried returned very very poor results. So, they remain unscanned or unduplicated.

Something "easy and painless" would be most interesting!

[acoufap]

Well thanks guys, its kind of redefining what I need. Its principle object will be to look at negs, average shots will be be scanned and messed with using a variety of tools, killer shots would be scanned or wet printed to high quality elsewhere by a lab so perhaps I can live with less quality.....problem with the V550 seems that its a bit of a headache with a Mac. I have a super duper Mac for most of my stuff so anything I buy has to have solid Mac support and work well with it.

I use Macs for twelve years and many years VueScan for scanning tasks. Had conversations directly with Ed Hamrick when problems using the software occurred. Did you try VueScan with your Scanner and report your problems?

[Vendee]

I've got a Plustek scanner, a 7500i which must be about 10 years old now. I use the included Silverfast software which I did pay to upgrade a few years ago because the original version only worked with 32 bit Windows OS.

Hand on heart, I've never really learned to use the software properly. The only reason I bought the scanner originally was to proof my negs prior to printing them in the darkroom. It saved me making contact prints so when I do have a session in the darkroom, I know what negs I'll be printing before I go in there. I also use the scanner to digitise any photos I might want to post on these forums or possibly Instagram but primarily I use it to proof negs before wet printing.

My Plustek can only scan one neg at a time so its really time consuming doing a full roll. I occasionally shoot 120 film and the Plustek won't do that either so with hindsight, I really should have bought a flatbed scanner because it would scan a roll quicker and would handle 120 film. The quality of a flatbed might not be as good as a dedicated film scanner like the Plustek but that isn't so important for me.

[maw]

Well, I'm very interested in the easiest and painless way to scan slides and negatives. I don't have a ton. All are at least 40 years old. It doesn't make a lot of sense to invest in expensive equipment. The commercial solutions I tried returned very very poor results. So, they remain unscanned or unduplicated.

Something "easy and painless" would be most interesting!

Hi all,

As I said I was skeptical too, since the tendency is to use either a scanner or a service "let's say I do you a good job...all to prove", what is the cost?
After having almost put aside the idea of digitizing old color or B/W negatives because it's too demanding and expensive, I saw the movie of a friend of mine who proposes this solution.

Needed:

1. Get a cardboard box or other material.
2. It must be tall and wide enough to hold a tablet or a light panel (on Ebay, Amazon), I opted for one of my tablets I installed an app that allows the lighting of the entire screen.
3. A DSLR (I use mainly K3II, but...)
4. A bubble level for the parallelism of the planes.
5. A macro lens (I use the Pentax-F 50mm f/2.8), but everyone uses what he considers appropriate.
6. A wired or infrared remote control for the camera.
7. A tripod where you can position the head at 90° or reverse it (I used this solution).

Execution:

1. Practice two carvings (with a cutter and a ruler) of the format of the negative or slide (a few mm more is better), I practiced 2 one 24x36 mm and a 6x6 cm, it goes without saying that you can create the format that best suits your personal needs.
3. Inside the box insert the tablet, turn it on and start the application when you start the work session.
4. Now mount the camera, check with the spirit level that the SLR display and the box are parallel and level.
5. With the DSLR mounted, perform white balance.
6. Activate live view, choose M mode or if you prefer AV. "make sure to activate Focus Peaking".
7. Focusing must necessarily be manual.
8. At this point the game is done, place the slides or negatives (you can use the appropriate holders), and shoot with the remote control to avoid vibrations.
It seems a tortuous and/or long procedure, but once started the mechanisms will become automatic and everything will be very simple.

N.B. The saving is considerable and the results following step by step, are like other expensive solutions, after all the digital camera is also for this.

P.S. For those who have many negatives (mostly color) I recommend the software to be combined with Lightroom, NEGATIVE-LAB, because as someone suggested in other discussions, reversing in PS or other software is not the same thing, although there are excellent tutorials on the web.
For fast viewing of Raw/Dng negatives, I recommend the excellent ''FastRawViewer'' viewer that allows a real view of the Raw in real time.

I enclose two snapshots on the fly of my mobile workstation. If I've forgotten I flew over some topic is for distraction, in case let me know if you like this simple and inexpensive solution,
and independent from the operating system.





Ciao Mario