4 ms·
I have a bunch of 120 film that I'd like to get better scans of someday. The old Flextight scanners were on my radar, as well as the Coolscan 9000. I still wond
by dietrichepp 4y ago
I have a bunch of 120 film that I'd like to get better scans of someday. The old Flextight scanners were on my radar, as well as the Coolscan 9000. I still wonder what the best way to scan these old negatives is. I have some scans done with one of the Epson flatbeds, but they're limited in what you can get out of them. I've also taken some shots to get drum scanned, which gives fantastic results, but isn't justifiable given the quantity of film I want to scan.
I've considered trying to get an old drum scanner and learning to do it myself but it would require some dedicated space which I don't have right now.
A lot of these shots were taken carefully, with good exposure, on a tripod, good focus, correct aperture, and slow film (by modern standards). There's an enormous amount of detail in some of these negatives which just doesn't show up in most scans. On optical prints I can even count the stitches in people's clothing from full-body portraits, if I look at the print with a loupe.
I had hoped that film scanners would get cheaper as time went on, and some day I would just be able to buy a nice scanner and just plow through my film. Seems like my best hope is for somebody to make a jig where I can connect a digital camera and use that as a makeshift scanner--I know these jigs exist, but MF film is still a bit of a beast.
- fmajid 4y agoIf you want to buy new, an Epson V850 is your only real option nowadays.
- dietrichepp 4y agoThat’s why I’m looking at used gear—the Epson flatbeds just aren’t nearly good enough.
- fmajid 4y agoYes, but the used scanners are at least 10 years old at this point, have precision mechanical parts like steppers and gear trains that will wear out eventually. If it was (hard) used by a service bureaum as is quite possible, it probably has few cycles left.
- dietrichepp 4y agoRight, but as I said, I already have scans done with an Epson flatbed and I want something better.