Scanner recommendations

RaglanSurf said:
Silverfast in my experience is one of the worst pieces of software I've ever had the misfortune to try and use
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Agree with that, very unfriendly...out of Silverfast, Viewscan and Epson, Epson is the most easy to use.
But I don't get the OP problem re time, as unless you are a pro or can be certain every shot is a winner...then all you have to do is get a cheaper low scan from a lab (or Asda) who develop the film at the same time AND then select the winnining shots to scan yourself to how you like it. I've proved a Asda low scan can give a good A4 print, well if you are only going to 8 X 10" print can get by with a cheaper scanner for 35mm (pentaxpete does with a scanner out of the ark), but if you have the money................
And if you are very short of money e.g. student you can get by with a Epson 2480.....A kodachrome shot taken about 45 years ago scanned by a Epson 2480 (my first scanner)...when I scanned again with a V750 there wasn't much difference....Pentax tak 55mm,
 
Thanks for all the help guys.

I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and get something good, if I get something cheap I'll only end up buying again when I inevitably want to upgrade and I definitely don't want to have to rescan any archives I've built up. It's a toss up between the pakon 135 and the reflecta rps 10m with (against all advice) silverfast.

What's the best way to catalogue and store your negs?
 
Oatcake said:
Thanks for all the help guys.

I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and get something good, if I get something cheap I'll only end up buying again when I inevitably want to upgrade and I definitely don't want to have to rescan any archives I've built up. It's a toss up between the pakon 135 and the reflecta rps 10m with (against all advice) silverfast.

What's the best way to catalogue and store your negs?
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Well I got something cheap (Epson 2480 first for £8) and realised I didn't like scanning ;) ...later forced to get a V750 to scan all my 120 negs (also boring)......I'd been happy with a Epson 3200 or 4990 but the V750 come along cheap.
 
Oatcake said:
Thanks for all the help guys.

I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and get something good, if I get something cheap I'll only end up buying again when I inevitably want to upgrade and I definitely don't want to have to rescan any archives I've built up. It's a toss up between the pakon 135 and the reflecta rps 10m with (against all advice) silverfast.

What's the best way to catalogue and store your negs?
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Good luck with Silverfast, I fear you may need it.

As far as cataloging the negs I use Lightroom to tweek and catalogue all my film and use Kenro glassine sleeves for storage.
 
I use a V500 and the software that come with the machine,yes that is the Epson software. I think that if you want something else then you are shooting at the stars.

The Epson software is intelligent,intuitive and responsive.

Save your money until you have tried.

(y)(y)(y)
 
Oatcake said:
The main thing I am concerned about is speed.
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excalibur2 said:
I don't get the OP problem re time, as unless you are a pro or can be certain every shot is a winner...then all you have to do is get a cheaper low scan from a lab (or Asda) who develop the film at the same time AND then select the winnining shots to scan yourself to how you like it.
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Without doubt, scanning ( and printing) can be time consuming, however as Brian says, many shots are not worth bothering with.

Personally, with a 36 exposure roll, I'll scan the job lot as a batch at a really low resolution ( basically set for attaching to emails etc) then view the images ( I print off a contact sheet too but that is more for putting with the negative sleeve when i file it.)

Viewing the results, allows me to quickly decide which scenes appeal, then from there choosing which ones have the potential to give me the print that i want with a minimal amount of PP.

Perhaps I'll get half a dozen frames if I'm lucky that I may consider printing A4

They get tagged and rescanned one by one at a higher res and processed accordingly as and when i have the time and urge to do them.

Out of the remaining frames, there may be several that appeal simply as 10x15 snapshots, which even at the original low res, will be sufficient either as a print or on screen.

I may spend 10 mins on each of those A4 prints doing PP , very rarely more....If i can't get a result in that time, i'll consider reshooting the scene or scrapping the photo.

As for the snapshots, it's nothing of a job, ...perhaps a sharpen and straighten.......Takes a half minute / frame
 
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Having read your requirements and priorities, I think your best bet would be the Pakon. I've owned both the plus and non-plus models and they are both fine for prints at least up to A4. The non-plus scans at the same resolution as the higher spec (and much more expensive) model, but you have to use a clunkier bit of software. To be honest, all the Pakon software is clunky, so it makes little difference! I wouldn't buy a 135+ again having used the non-plus, but others may disagree. The 135+ scans rolls a bit faster, but they are both quick. Colour negative is the Pakon's forte and it's also great for B&W negative. It's fairly hopeless at scanning slides in my experience, so consider that before investing. The Pakon Facebook group is worth joining for all the latest software, plugins, service guides and a great community that will get you up and running in no time.
 
Nice review of the Reflecta RPS 10M on 35mmc here... worth reading through the comments as well, as the reviewer seems to have a change of heart. A good point: you can scan a whole roll of 135. A bad point: any batch scan (whole roll or strip of 6) is apparently on the most basic of settings, and would not allow dust removal, for instance. Not so much of a problem for freshly-shot film usually, but a big deal for older films.
 
I did end up getting the reflecta, and I did read that review - I think someone posted the link earlier on.

That guy was using the SE version of silverfast I believe. If you get the archive suite version then I am told that you can scan in silverfast raw format with the IR dust removal layer and then post process at a later date when the scan is done. That's the theory anyway. I'll let you know whether that's the case when it turns up. If not, then it'll be going back and I'll be saving even more pennies for a Pakon.
 
FYI in case anyone is interested...I scanned a roll of film with the Pakon F135 (non-plus) yesterday using TLXClient, and timed exactly how long it took. I switched the Pakon on at 8:27pm. Started up TLXClient and a couple of helper scripts. Gave the roll a dust off and fed it into the scanner. The scanning itself took 11 minutes. I made minor adjustments to the scans in TLX (rotation and a few which needed the contrast reducing). Exported the files as TIFFs. Copied them into Lightroom, added keywords to the batch and cropped most of them. I cut the negatives up into strips and filed them away in a plastic sleeve. I stopped the clock at 9:09pm. 42 minutes from start to finish for 35 frames.
 
Dads for the V700 Epson and the old Nikon Slide scanner CoolScan but its SCSI and thats long gone nowadays. So he relies on the V700 mainly, much faster anyway.
 
littleted said:
Dads for the V700 Epson and the old Nikon Slide scanner CoolScan but its SCSI and thats long gone nowadays. So he relies on the V700 mainly, much faster anyway.
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Plenty of old computers going for peanuts that you can use for scsi..I've still some old motherboards (thrown many away over the years) for testing graphic cards etc that I sometimes pick up at the bootie....still got install disks for win 3.1, XP and win 98 o_O
 
FujiLove said:
FYI in case anyone is interested...I scanned a roll of film with the Pakon F135 (non-plus) yesterday using TLXClient, and timed exactly how long it took. I switched the Pakon on at 8:27pm. Started up TLXClient and a couple of helper scripts. Gave the roll a dust off and fed it into the scanner. The scanning itself took 11 minutes. I made minor adjustments to the scans in TLX (rotation and a few which needed the contrast reducing). Exported the files as TIFFs. Copied them into Lightroom, added keywords to the batch and cropped most of them. I cut the negatives up into strips and filed them away in a plastic sleeve. I stopped the clock at 9:09pm. 42 minutes from start to finish for 35 frames.
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Wow that is quick.

The reflecta rps 10m is about 2 hours for scanning 36 frames. That's at 5000dpi though. It'll do it unattended most of the time. On a couple of occasions it's screwed up the frame alignment. I've asked the supplier if they have any tips to help avoid this. On some particularly curved negs I had to cut the roll so I could press them flat over night.
 
Oatcake said:
Wow that is quick.

The reflecta rps 10m is about 2 hours for scanning 36 frames. That's at 5000dpi though. It'll do it unattended most of the time. On a couple of occasions it's screwed up the frame alignment. I've asked the supplier if they have any tips to help avoid this. On some particularly curved negs I had to cut the roll so I could press them flat over night.
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The Pakon is only about 2100dpi (3000x2000), so that would partly explain why it's quicker. And with a retail price of $12,000 when sold new in 2004, it should be damn quick! :D
 
Depends on your budget and format you scan!

Pro scanners starts from Pakon Non Plus to Pakon Plus, Frontier 500 For a pestel look and then Noritsu LS600 a great 35mm tool as well.
 
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