Home Scanning (Epson V550) vs. In Store Scanning

Thomas Keidan · Dec 12, 2017

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about getting a flatbed scanner down the line but have been reading about how difficult it is to scan negatives on them. I'd be looking to get something like the Epson V550 and would like to know if the improved image quality would make up for the fiddly nature of using a flatbed scanner. Currently, I send my negatives off to Photo Express in Hull and get around 2mb images back on a CD. Although this is OK for posting online I would quite like to start using lightroom to post-process my images. If I were to get the scans sent to me via high quality TIFF format, the price would increase exponentially. If anyone has any experience with home scanning vs store scanning and which I should go for I would really appreciate it!

Thanks as always!

NJH · Dec 12, 2017

I see you are a 35mm shooter. IMHE a good lab's large scans from 35mm made on the latest Noritsu or Frontier equipment can be really rather good, I am lucky I have the Minolta 5400 to compare against and apart from slides I couldn't really surpass by much my local labs large Noritsu scans. The real problem with those scanners is that they are pretty rubbish with medium format film, you get about 20 Mp from 6x6 and the results IMHO don't look any better at a pixel level than say 35mm Ektar shot in a Leica with a top lens (which is also much bigger files than the MF film scans, thus ultimately less good than what is possible from 35mm via that route). You are right though the costs can ramp up rapidly and of course one can purchase a Plustek 35mm scanner for a few hundred pounds that will surpass the flatbed by some margin. Flatbeds are of more interest with scanning larger formats where the costs of dedicated solutions goes through the roof.

OTOH I haven't used my scanner for about a year, much prefer to print my negatives in the darkroom.

dabsond · Dec 12, 2017

By scanning at home you will be able to scan to tiff. Just that fact will give you much more room for processing your images.

Thomas Keidan · Dec 12, 2017

NJH said:
I see you are a 35mm shooter. IMHE a good lab's large scans from 35mm made on the latest Noritsu or Frontier equipment can be really rather good, I am lucky I have the Minolta 5400 to compare against and apart from slides I couldn't really surpass by much my local labs large Noritsu scans. The real problem with those scanners is that they are pretty rubbish with medium format film, you get about 20 Mp from 6x6 and the results IMHO don't look any better at a pixel level than say 35mm Ektar shot in a Leica with a top lens (which is also much bigger files than the MF film scans, thus ultimately less good than what is possible from 35mm via that route). You are right though the costs can ramp up rapidly and of course one can purchase a Plustek 35mm scanner for a few hundred pounds that will surpass the flatbed by some margin. Flatbeds are of more interest with scanning larger formats where the costs of dedicated solutions goes through the roof.

OTOH I haven't used my scanner for about a year, much prefer to print my negatives in the darkroom.

Thanks for this advice, it seems as if I am leaning towards a flatbed scanner! I'm a student so a plustek is not financially viable but neither is sending off to my lab to have HQ TIFF files sent over (it would work out about £10-£12 a roll).

Thomas Keidan · Dec 12, 2017

dabsond said:
By scanning at home you will be able to scan to tiff. Just that fact will give you much more room for processing your images.

Thanks, it seems as if the reported inconvenience of home scanning would be worth it then! I think i'll invest in a scanner when my finances permit. Thanks!

macfred · Dec 12, 2017

Those flatbed scanners in the price range of a V550 will always be a stopgap - I have a V600 and I like it for 120 film but not so much for 135. Good enough for sharing your work on the web - nothing more.

TooManyShots · Dec 12, 2017

Look for a dedicated 35mm scanner. I use the Plustek 8100. Is about $300+ now. The feed is manual. So, don't expect to scan the entire roll. Preview the negatives and to see which one you want to have it scanned. Flatbed scanners SUCK....they are only barely passable for medium format negatives.

The advantage with home scanning is of course your turn around time is within few hours.... If you develop your own negatives....is no brainier that you HAVE to scan your negatives yourself. If you have a lab processing your negatives, you may as well have them scanning them since your turn around time IS THE SAME...

Scanning BW negatives aren't that difficult at all. With color negatives?? Is another story. The color inversion is a bit difficult to nail correctly. I use the ColorPerfect Photoshop plugin to convert my color negatives. Is pretty good since the plugin has various color film profiles you can choose....

My recent shots..N80 + Tamron 45 f1.8. Ilford fp4+ HC110

n80tam45_22 by vracing, on Flickr

And a while back..N90s + Vivitar 28mm. Fuji Superia...400

mugandyashica by vracing, on Flickr

Thomas Keidan · Dec 12, 2017

TooManyShots said:
Look for a dedicated 35mm scanner. I use the Plustek 8100. Is about $300+ now. The feed is manual. So, don't expect to scan the entire roll. Preview the negatives and to see which one you want to have it scanned. Flatbed scanners SUCK....they are only barely passable for medium format negatives.

The advantage with home scanning is of course your turn around time is within few hours.... If you develop your own negatives....is no brainier that you HAVE to scan your negatives yourself. If you have a lab processing your negatives, you may as well have them scanning them since your turn around time IS THE SAME...

Scanning BW negatives aren't that difficult at all. With color negatives?? Is another story. The color inversion is a bit difficult to nail correctly. I use the ColorPerfect Photoshop plugin to convert my color negatives. Is pretty good since the plugin has various color film profiles you can choose....

My recent shots..N80 + Tamron 45 f1.8. Ilford fp4+ HC110

n80tam45_22 by vracing, on Flickr

And a while back..N90s + Vivitar 28mm. Fuji Superia...400

mugandyashica by vracing, on Flickr

Are there any options for me around the £200 mark?

TooManyShots · Dec 12, 2017

Well, I am not going to recommend a scanner that I haven't used. You can't go wrong with the Plustek Optic Film models. I have it for 3 years and I used it enough. It is working great. I am not sure how much the 8100 model or the 7600 model would cost in Europe. In the US, you can get one for about $300. Maybe less for the 7600 model. The difference isn't in the hardware but the software included. I used VueScan instead although it comes with SilverFast 8 SE though. I think you should save up for the Plustek model or if you can find an used one on Ebay.

pbromaghin · Dec 12, 2017

I have a V550 and it does significantly better than my local lab for 35mm and 120 C-41 and E6. From what I read, the V550 has about a 2400 lpm resolution which is way higher than what my lab will bother to do. And yes, the scan to tiff option is especially advantageous.

Colin Corneau · Dec 12, 2017

I have an older Epson v700 that works wonderfully - in general, I've found the larger the negative, the better it does (4x5 negs are dreamy, and medium format are very good) but even 35mm does pretty well as long as they are flat. I think the BetterScanning glass inserts would do very well, on that front.

I've scanned my negs in pages to make a quick contact sheet, also, and it's given great results. I'm thinking once I work through my boxes of RC 8x10 paper, that'll be the route I go.

Chan Tran · Dec 12, 2017

Home scanning definitely as the person at the store wouldn't know how you want your negative scanned.

tedr1 · Dec 12, 2017

I have owned the V600 for five years and made hundred of scans with it. It is really easy to use, having I think three modes, fully automatic, semi-automatic, and full manual, as you gain experience you can chose the mode most comfortable for your skill level and the quality you want. It not only does TIFFs but there is a choice of 8 and 16 bit formats. I wouldn't hesitate to commence DIY scanning with an EPSON.

TooManyShots · Dec 12, 2017

My first flatbed scanner was the V600 and then I switched to Canon 9000f. I even used a anti-reflective glass to flatten the negatives and to scan them directly. The quality is only so so under 1024 resolution for 35mm. You can scan larger but it would only make the file bigger but your scan isn't getting sharper....

OlyMan · Dec 13, 2017

If you’re serious about shooting a lot of film and you want it scanned at high resolution to post-process digitally, a dedicated scanner will soon pay for itself because the price that labs charge for anything but forum-quality scans is a piss-take considering there is no real extra cost involved at their end.

Instead of a V550 I’d go for a Plustek 8100, which is commonly cheaper than the Epson. If you can find just a little more money (try sweet-talking a loved one with deep pockets: it’s Christmas after all), go for the 8200 instead, which has infrared dust-removal.

_Manu_ · Dec 13, 2017

Thomas Keidan said:
Are there any options for me around the £200 mark?

Among the many I tried, this one is now my go-to for 35mm. Decent performance with convenience of auto-loading.

https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Image-PrimeFilm-7250uPro3-Windows/dp/B000QW9DL4

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...ta-rps-7200-professional.155495/#post-2015024

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

TooManyShots said:
Well, I am not going to recommend a scanner that I haven't used. You can't go wrong with the Plustek Optic Film models. I have it for 3 years and I used it enough. It is working great. I am not sure how much the 8100 model or the 7600 model would cost in Europe. In the US, you can get one for about $300. Maybe less for the 7600 model. The difference isn't in the hardware but the software included. I used VueScan instead although it comes with SilverFast 8 SE though. I think you should save up for the Plustek model or if you can find an used one on Ebay.

I've just had a quick check and the plustek is going for around the same price as the V550 here in the UK, so that provides some food for thought!

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

_Manu_ said:
Among the many I tried, this one is now my go-to for 35mm. Decent performance with convenience of auto-loading.

https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Image-PrimeFilm-7250uPro3-Windows/dp/B000QW9DL4

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...ta-rps-7200-professional.155495/#post-2015024

Looks very futuristic, i'll see if i can find one in the UK, thanks!

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

OlyMan said:
If you’re serious about shooting a lot of film and you want it scanned at high resolution to post-process digitally, a dedicated scanner will soon pay for itself because the price that labs charge for anything but forum-quality scans is a piss-take considering there is no real extra cost involved at their end.

Instead of a V550 I’d go for a Plustek 8100, which is commonly cheaper than the Epson. If you can find just a little more money (try sweet-talking a loved one with deep pockets: it’s Christmas after all), go for the 8200 instead, which has infrared dust-removal.

I know I can't work out myself why Photo Express charge an extra £2 for HQ JPEGS and an extra £2 for TIFFS, I don't see how that cost equates to the extra 5 minutes of work they have to do! Thanks, I won't be able to sweet talk as i've already asked for a panasonic lumix gx800! But i'll get saving and take the plunge

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

tedr1 said:
I have owned the V600 for five years and made hundred of scans with it. It is really easy to use, having I think three modes, fully automatic, semi-automatic, and full manual, as you gain experience you can chose the mode most comfortable for your skill level and the quality you want. It not only does TIFFs but there is a choice of 8 and 16 bit formats. I wouldn't hesitate to commence DIY scanning with an EPSON.

Thanks for your advice!

_Manu_ · Dec 13, 2017

Thomas Keidan said:
Looks very futuristic, i'll see if i can find one in the UK, thanks!

This model is not in production anymore, replaced by a new model. Including shipping from US, it was still interesting to me. You may want to also budget for Vuescan or Silverfast, they can bring a lot in quality (at least for the models I tried).

nsurit · Dec 13, 2017

I've used an Epson V700 for a number of years for scanning anything from half frame 35mm to 8X10 and have been very pleased with the results. Have used the scans for printing enlarged negatives and prints on a digital printer.The better scanning glass holders are a good investment. The V700 is selling on eBay around $200 to $400.

OlyMan · Dec 13, 2017

Thomas Keidan said:
I know I can't work out myself why Photo Express charge an extra £2 for HQ JPEGS and an extra £2 for TIFFS, I don't see how that cost equates to the extra 5 minutes of work they have to do!

Quite; it's annoying. Some places charge even more. It's just driven by market forces. The machine they use at my local Max Spielman scans and saves the negatives pretty-much unattended; if they pick the highest quality setting and it takes say ten minutes longer, they just simply serve another customer while it gets on with it. The illusion that you’re paying them to compensate for the extra time it takes to scan your negs in ‘HD’ or lossless is just that: an illusion, and is just merely conforming with the capitalist norm that one always needs to pay a premium for a higher quality product, even if the additional cost of producing the quality is in this instance incalculably minuscule.

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

OlyMan said:
Quite; it's annoying. Some places charge even more. It's just driven by market forces. The machine they use at my local Max Spielman scans and saves the negatives pretty-much unattended; if they pick the highest quality setting and it takes say ten minutes longer, they just simply serve another customer while it gets on with it. The illusion that you’re paying them to compensate for the extra time it takes to scan your negs in ‘HD’ or lossless is just that: an illusion, and is just merely conforming with the capitalist norm that one always needs to pay a premium for a higher quality product, even if the additional cost of producing the quality is in this instance incalculably minuscule.

I completely agree, it would take Photo Express an additional 5 minutes to upload the pictures in a much higher quality form. I simply can't afford the premium price and have to settle for 'ok' JPEGs which I can't do anything with

Thomas Keidan · Dec 13, 2017

nsurit said:
I've used an Epson V700 for a number of years for scanning anything from half frame 35mm to 8X10 and have been very pleased with the results. Have used the scans for printing enlarged negatives and prints on a digital printer.The better scanning glass holders are a good investment. The V700 is selling on eBay around $200 to $400.

Thanks, unfortunately 700 is out of my budget but I guess a 550 would't be that much different!

Home Scanning (Epson V550) vs. In Store Scanning

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