Economical way to scan 120 negatives?

[Agulliver]

Apologies if this has been asked, I have had a look and not found anything.

I shoot a small amount of 6x6 120 format film, perhaps 4-5 rolls a year. Not a huge lot compared to the 35mm and digital that I also shoot. Is there an economical and preferably compact scanner that can handle 120 negatives? I'm in the UK if that makes any difference. Not looking for anything professional grade, even something with the capability of producing 1200dpi would be sufficient.

 

[jeffgla]

My "ancient" Epson 4870 with SilverFast Studio 8 software does an excellent job of scanning 120 and 4x5 film. Not what a drum scan might do but easily enough for very sharp 16x20 and even a couple of 30x40 prints. i don't really shoot 35mm so that is not an issue for me.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Doug Fisher]

Like Jeff said, used could be the way to go as long as you get one that is still in good condition. Craigslist has a presence in the UK. There might be similar services that are better. Look in the far right column:

https://london.craigslist.co.uk/

The EpsonStore for you country may have a clearance center link on its website. In the US, they have great deals on refurbished scanners that come with a full warranty.

Doug

 

[L Gebhardt]

If all you require is 1200ppi then Epson flatbed scanners like the 4870 will work fine. I get about 1800ppi out of mine. Certainly not up to the quality of the drum scanner, but 1800ppi from medium format will give a decent sized print. You can also use a macro lens with your DSLR to get decent scans from black and white film.

 

[Doyle Thomas]

"You can also use a macro lens with your DSLR to get decent scans from black and white film."

I was thinking about this for color negatives. if you DLSR an unexposed frame and the image on the same light box at the same exposure the color balance will match. Bring both to Photoshop with the unexposed on top, make a background copy and invert both. Change the mode to color on the unexposed. That should remove the color cast. If needed you can go back to your color mask and make adjustments to optimize the color balance although it will most likely need more work.

I remember having to do this kind of thing with negatives on my first (Agfa) scanner.

 

[L Gebhardt]

"You can also use a macro lens with your DSLR to get decent scans from black and white film."

I was thinking about this for color negatives. if you DLSR an unexposed frame and the image on the same light box at the same exposure the color balance will match. Bring both to Photoshop with the unexposed on top, make a background copy and invert both. Change the mode to color on the unexposed. That should remove the color cast. If needed you can go back to your color mask and make adjustments to optimize the color balance although it will most likely need more work.

I remember having to do this kind of thing with negatives on my first (Agfa) scanner.

I've experimented with color negatives and a DSLR, but I never felt the colors were as good as I got with a dedicated scanner. The best results I got were with a color head adjusted to eliminate the orange mask (all histogram peaks aligned for the film base). Still some colors seemed off, though I never really tried to quantify it and just went back to using the drum scanner. I suspect it was a mismatch of the bayer filters and the film dyes. Maybe some cameras work better than others, and maybe I just didn't work at it enough to give it a fair shake. I have had pretty good luck with black and white and color slides.