Film scanner: to buy or not to buy?

Scudman · 5th December 2008

I am comtemplating whetehr to buy a film scanner or not. I asked uncle at Ruby, he said no point as those that I am looking at are not good at all (Budget of about S$200-S$300). They are those flat-bed which can scan film, from Canon, HP or Epson or Microtek.

Anyone using any of those I mentioned above? How are they? Resolution good enough for the naked eye? cComparable to those scanned by shops?

denniskee · 5th December 2008

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285419

same discussion

frametology · 5th December 2008

Originally Posted by Scudman

I am comtemplating whetehr to buy a film scanner or not. I asked uncle at Ruby, he said no point as those that I am looking at are not good at all (Budget of about S$200-S$300). They are those flat-bed which can scan film, from Canon, HP or Epson or Microtek.

Anyone using any of those I mentioned above? How are they? Resolution good enough for the naked eye? cComparable to those scanned by shops?

someone please close this thread.

but just to answer you. 200-300 can get you a decent scanner lah. the output resolution can be set quite high. if you don't pixel peep, it's fine. and what are you going to use it for, professional work or just own personal hobby use? how often do you shoot film?

i do my own b&w developing so i'm lazy to go out to have it scanned. as such, i scan the negs on my own. and also, i use my scanner for other things besides negs. so yes, the scanner was a worth while purchase.

Scudman · 8th December 2008

Oh, I only use it for my personal hobby usage. Not for any professional usage, as of now maybe.

I will still send my film for processing/developing but prefer to scan on my own given the fact that scanning cost a lot more when I bring them to the shops and I can use them for Photoshop purchases, should it arises.

justinlau92 · 8th December 2008

Hmmm, regarding the film scanner. It's a tough choice to make however I bought one and it was a bad mistake and now it's like sitting on my table like a paper weight.

If you wanna get one, I suggest that you get a good one like the Epson V500 and make sure you be shooting film for a long while or not don't get one.

Because ...

1. If you know that you'll shooting film for only a while and then maybe jump to dSLR or something that is not film, i suggest you better not buy the film scanner and might as well save the money for your new camera and continue with the lab.

2. Doing your own film scanning may take a very long time to get everything done. Getting a high detailed (Tried a 1000+ dpi) scan from a 36 exposures 35mm film from my canoscan almost took like 5-10 minutes. On top of that, there were scratches and dust*

3. You just don't want to be in my situation, it just sucks. The feeling of the scanner being a white elephant that can't get good scans and just can't be get rid off is just a plain sucky feeling.

* I bought my scanner for around $200 without ICE (Some Dust, scratches and light, etc adjustment software) so it's kinda sucky. If you still wanna get one, get the scanners with the ICE software with it. Although it maybe more expansive, it will be worth the extra cash invested.

frametology · 8th December 2008

Originally Posted by justinlau92

Hmmm, regarding the film scanner. It's a tough choice to make however I bought one and it was a bad mistake and now it's like sitting on my table like a paper weight.

If you wanna get one, I suggest that you get a good one like the Epson V500 and make sure you be shooting film for a long while or not don't get one.

Because ...

1. If you know that you'll shooting film for only a while and then maybe jump to dSLR or something that is not film, i suggest you better not buy the film scanner and might as well save the money for your new camera and continue with the lab.

2. Doing your own film scanning may take a very long time to get everything done. Getting a high detailed (Tried a 1000+ dpi) scan from a 36 exposures 35mm film from my canoscan almost took like 5-10 minutes. On top of that, there were scratches and dust*

3. You just don't want to be in my situation, it just sucks. The feeling of the scanner being a white elephant that can't get good scans and just can't be get rid off is just a plain sucky feeling.

* I bought my scanner for around $200 without ICE (Some Dust, scratches and light, etc adjustment software) so it's kinda sucky. If you still wanna get one, get the scanners with the ICE software with it. Although it maybe more expansive, it will be worth the extra cash invested.

to TS, you need to know how much mileage your film scanner's going to give you.
how often do you shoot film? and what film cameras do you have?
if you're into toy cams, i think a film scanner would be worth your money (especially if you shoot a lot of 120mm film, it cost more scanning outside)

to justin, i'm using a canon scanner too. and i agree that it takes quite a long time to get good resolution scans, but patience is a virtue, yes?
as for the dust and scratches, it really depends on you. before i scan my negs, i always clean the glass (by blowing away the dust and then wiping off the stains with a damp chamois cloth). also, scratches on your negs are either caused by your lab (highly unlikely) or yourself.
i've spotted dust and scratches on my scans done by labs before. so it's not really because you're doing the scanning yourself.

frametology · 8th December 2008

by the way, can the mods please move this thread to the appropriate place? thanks!

justinlau92 · 9th December 2008

@ Frametology:

Yeah, I've heard about the issue of where the scratches may have come from and I've agree to that. It's been a long time since I used my scanner and when I was using it, I was using an unreliable camera cause it didn't gave the correct exposure to the film. Maybe an underexspoure/ overexposure to the film may have cause these scratches to be more prominent. I think I should try scanning the film once I get a roll done.

Regarding the time taken by the scanner to get a roll of film done, I think that I prefer the lab cause it's more convenient (Better scans from them than my scanner and takes a lesser amount of time as in to get everything done in one shot) for me and I'm relatively an impatient guy, so the best choice is the lab. Haha.

Scudman · 10th December 2008

OK, I have gathered pretty much enough information already. Now the question is: If I am going to buy, which brand would be good enough? If all brands are the same, then it makes my job easier. I am using Holga 135 by the way, might want to go up to Pentex SLR in future if my interest in film (Holga) sparks on!

IamJeFfy · 10th December 2008

from my experience with flatbed film scanners, the results from flatbed compared to lab scanners are quite different in terms of colors, contrast, blah blah. so don't expect your results to be the same as those you scan from lab.

it also takes me hours to scan my negs, i find it too time consuming to sit infront of the PC waiting for the scanner to do its job and swapping the strips. i would rather pay 5 bucks to do that kinda job.

psssst, there are labs that does normal process + CD at only $5.

scanning uncut negs are only $2, negs that are cut cost you $3. i'm not gonna tell you where, go find them yourself!!

IamJeFfy · 10th December 2008

hmmmm, something to illustrate..
that's my ex Canon 8600F vs lab scans.
so see for yourself.

frametology · 11th December 2008

Originally Posted by IamJeFfy

hmmmm, something to illustrate..
that's my ex Canon 8600F vs lab scans.
so see for yourself.

could the difference be due to the settings of either scanner? you can tweak the settings and save them as 'profiles' for your different films.

and your scanned version of westin (it's westin right?) looks very blown, could it be due to your backlight correction being switched to high? both your scans look very much brighter than the lab's one.

IamJeFfy · 11th December 2008

i sold my scanner away about a year ago. but if i remember correctly, i left everything at default settings. i could not be bothered to do too much tweaking to my scans as i find it way too time consuming and as good as photoshop-ing. it took me on average about 1 to 2 hours to get a roll scanned, but i thought i would be better off doing something else more meaningful (like shooting or sleeping?

).

the problem i encountered using the scanner at default settings was the consistently over exposed scans (loss of details as you can see from my example), i was not able to determine if it is a camera metering fault or the scanner (or setting), so i thought better to just sell it away and get the lab to do the scanning while i drop my films for processing. for me, i think its more worth the money than the time wasted for that service.

however, i find that the scanner gives more consistent results as compared to the lab's (as you can see one is greenish and the other is not, same roll).

5th December 2008	#1
Scudman New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 24	Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? I am comtemplating whetehr to buy a film scanner or not. I asked uncle at Ruby, he said no point as those that I am looking at are not good at all (Budget of about S$200-S$300). They are those flat-bed which can scan film, from Canon, HP or Epson or Microtek. Anyone using any of those I mentioned above? How are they? Resolution good enough for the naked eye? cComparable to those scanned by shops?

5th December 2008	#2
denniskee Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: bukit batok Posts: 4,214	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285419 same discussion __________________ photography makes one sees things from all angles.

8th December 2008	#4
Scudman New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 24	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? Oh, I only use it for my personal hobby usage. Not for any professional usage, as of now maybe. I will still send my film for processing/developing but prefer to scan on my own given the fact that scanning cost a lot more when I bring them to the shops and I can use them for Photoshop purchases, should it arises.

8th December 2008	#5
justinlau92 Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 359	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? Hmmm, regarding the film scanner. It's a tough choice to make however I bought one and it was a bad mistake and now it's like sitting on my table like a paper weight. If you wanna get one, I suggest that you get a good one like the Epson V500 and make sure you be shooting film for a long while or not don't get one. Because ... 1. If you know that you'll shooting film for only a while and then maybe jump to dSLR or something that is not film, i suggest you better not buy the film scanner and might as well save the money for your new camera and continue with the lab. 2. Doing your own film scanning may take a very long time to get everything done. Getting a high detailed (Tried a 1000+ dpi) scan from a 36 exposures 35mm film from my canoscan almost took like 5-10 minutes. On top of that, there were scratches and dust* 3. You just don't want to be in my situation, it just sucks. The feeling of the scanner being a white elephant that can't get good scans and just can't be get rid off is just a plain sucky feeling. * I bought my scanner for around $200 without ICE (Some Dust, scratches and light, etc adjustment software) so it's kinda sucky. If you still wanna get one, get the scanners with the ICE software with it. Although it maybe more expansive, it will be worth the extra cash invested. __________________ My Humble Flickr.

8th December 2008	#7
frametology Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Upper Thomson Posts: 400	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? by the way, can the mods please move this thread to the appropriate place? thanks!

9th December 2008	#8
justinlau92 Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 359	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? @ Frametology: Yeah, I've heard about the issue of where the scratches may have come from and I've agree to that. It's been a long time since I used my scanner and when I was using it, I was using an unreliable camera cause it didn't gave the correct exposure to the film. Maybe an underexspoure/ overexposure to the film may have cause these scratches to be more prominent. I think I should try scanning the film once I get a roll done. Regarding the time taken by the scanner to get a roll of film done, I think that I prefer the lab cause it's more convenient (Better scans from them than my scanner and takes a lesser amount of time as in to get everything done in one shot) for me and I'm relatively an impatient guy, so the best choice is the lab. Haha. __________________ My Humble Flickr.

10th December 2008	#9
Scudman New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 24	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? OK, I have gathered pretty much enough information already. Now the question is: If I am going to buy, which brand would be good enough? If all brands are the same, then it makes my job easier. I am using Holga 135 by the way, might want to go up to Pentex SLR in future if my interest in film (Holga) sparks on!

10th December 2008	#10
IamJeFfy Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 1,088	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? from my experience with flatbed film scanners, the results from flatbed compared to lab scanners are quite different in terms of colors, contrast, blah blah. so don't expect your results to be the same as those you scan from lab. it also takes me hours to scan my negs, i find it too time consuming to sit infront of the PC waiting for the scanner to do its job and swapping the strips. i would rather pay 5 bucks to do that kinda job. psssst, there are labs that does normal process + CD at only $5. scanning uncut negs are only $2, negs that are cut cost you $3. i'm not gonna tell you where, go find them yourself!! __________________ BOOMZzz!

11th December 2008	#13
IamJeFfy Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 1,088	Re: Film scanner: to buy or not to buy? i sold my scanner away about a year ago. but if i remember correctly, i left everything at default settings. i could not be bothered to do too much tweaking to my scans as i find it way too time consuming and as good as photoshop-ing. it took me on average about 1 to 2 hours to get a roll scanned, but i thought i would be better off doing something else more meaningful (like shooting or sleeping? ). the problem i encountered using the scanner at default settings was the consistently over exposed scans (loss of details as you can see from my example), i was not able to determine if it is a camera metering fault or the scanner (or setting), so i thought better to just sell it away and get the lab to do the scanning while i drop my films for processing. for me, i think its more worth the money than the time wasted for that service. however, i find that the scanner gives more consistent results as compared to the lab's (as you can see one is greenish and the other is not, same roll). __________________ BOOMZzz!