Pacific Image PrimeFilm 120 ongoing review

bibowj · Oct 1, 2011

Hello all- I think Im one of the first folks to get the new dedicated (non flatbad) negative scanner by Pacfic Image, and I wanted to take the opportunity to answer questions if there are any because i know there are next to no reviews out there. I was so desperate for a MF scanner that I took the chance.

I just received the box in the mail this morning and have unpackaged it/ read the manual. My first impressions are:

- The packaging is well done, not like APPLE well done..but decent.
- The software drivers disk is actually on a DVDR with the version number written on it with a sharpy... i found this odd.
- I read through the manual, and it seems to be pretty straight forward
- The film holders are of good quality though Im not sure how flat the negs will be once I start scanning

Im going to start working with it today, and see what its able to do. I will eventually write a full review of it on my site Hampton Roads Wedding Photography- James Bibow but in the mean time, if there are specific questions for it, please ask away. Just keep in mind that Im not the most "scanner smart" person, so if you start asking about lines per square whatever, i might be lost. Ill do what I can though, because i know what a decent dedicated scanner could do for us..

Heres a link to a translated German review..

Google Translate

Cheers!

Rudeofus · Oct 2, 2011

One thing which has prevented me from even considering this scanner was it's apparent poor support for 6x7 slides/negs. From the little information I have read so far this scanner can not batch scan more than one 6x7 image at once. Since my film strips have 2-3 images I'm worried that I can't even scan the middle image on film strips with 3 images without cutting them first.

Can you please provide some details about how this scanner handles 6x7 and 6x9 image sizes?

bibowj · Oct 2, 2011

6x7s... yes youre right. You CANT do batch anything really in 120. In 645, you can do two at a time and Im not sure about 6x6, but 6x7 yould have to cut the negative (same for 6x9)

My first scan impressions are ok so far. Ive been scanning old (and I mean OLD...15-20 year old) negs to see what it would do and so far the 35mm have been more than decent, and the 120s have been ok. These negs are poorly rendered,and poorly stored (from my not caring so much days) so I blame it on that as well.

So, far I like it..it IS very fast. Im still unsure about the true resolution. Setting it up for each negative is easy, and takes little prep. If the neg is flatish, the holder does fine... I do think the holder could be a little better. Im not sure how the Nikons deal with curved negs? I looked in youtube and it seems that the units are very similar in loading, minus any batch option.

What I DONT like is the software. It might be me , but it seems like I have less control than id like in the pre scan option and the only Ive been able to get a decent color scan is using auto for everything. At the moment it seems that none of the Vuescans out there support this scanner, but if they ever do..id certainly jump ship..

Rudeofus · Oct 3, 2011

bibowj said:
6x7s... yes youre right. You CANT do batch anything really in 120. In 645, you can do two at a time and Im not sure about 6x6, but 6x7 yould have to cut the negative (same for 6x9)

That's a real bummer and closes the chapter on this scanner - for me at least. I have no idea why it is so damn hard to batch scan a whole 120 film, with a scanner that has already some form of transport mechanism. Even the Coolscans supported this only poorly and only for 35mm films :angry:

bibowj said:
So, far I like it..it IS very fast. Im still unsure about the true resolution.

I have read rumors somewhere that this is the same thing as the Reflecta MF5000, which is reviewed here. Since you indicated that you know German you should be able to read this review, the rest will have to live with some automatic translation. And since you own the Pacific Image scanner you could confirm whether these two scanners do indeed look exactly the same.

bibowj said:
What I DONT like is the software. It might be me , but it seems like I have less control than id like in the pre scan option and the only Ive been able to get a decent color scan is using auto for everything. At the moment it seems that none of the Vuescans out there support this scanner, but if they ever do..id certainly jump ship..

Since other scanners made by Pacific Image are indeed supported they seem to share their specs with Ed Hamrick. I assume that support for your scanner will come eventually.

pschwart · Oct 3, 2011

from the specs:
Medium-format film: 1-2 frames (6 x 4.5), 1-2 frames (6 x 6),
1 frame (6 x 7, 6 x 8, 6 x 9, 6 x 12 )

I don't mind scanning one negative at a time, but it is completely unacceptable to have to cut strips into single negatives, especially for a $2000 scanner.

Jeremy · Oct 3, 2011

pschwart said:
I don't mind scanning one negative at a time, but it is completely unacceptable to have to cut strips into single negatives, especially for a $2000 scanner.

At many archives the negatives are cut down to singular frames. Many times strips are cut to the single image to be drum-scanned. Imacon film holders don't all accept strips of negatives....

So is it acceptable to cut strips into single negatives if you have a $15,000 scanner?

pschwart · Oct 3, 2011

Jeremy said:
At many archives the negatives are cut down to singular frames. Many times strips are cut to the single image to be drum-scanned. Imacon film holders don't all accept strips of negatives....

So is it acceptable to cut strips into single negatives if you have a $15,000 scanner?

The PrimeFilm 120 is *not* a drum scanner -- the Nikon 9000 is a better comparison in terms of features and cost.
If the PrimeFilm can match Imacon quality scans for $2000 I will buy one and cut my negatives.

Rudeofus · Oct 5, 2011

Jeremy said:
So is it acceptable to cut strips into single negatives if you have a $15,000 scanner?

No, it's not. I consider it a severe design flaw and it speaks for the unique image quality of the Imacons that people are willing to put up with this.

BTW I have used a drum scanner and you can easily mount a whole strip of 3 6x7 slides on the drum.

Aristophanes · Oct 5, 2011

Thanks for posting this information. Sadly this equipment sounds like it is designed for inexpensive archival work and not quality discerning hobby or pro imaging.

glhs116 · Oct 6, 2011

I understand that there must be significant cost savings involved but, to me, the ability to batch scan existing strips of film is far more important than any single-frame speed increase. As for cutting my strips into frames, that sounds like an archiving nightmare.

Shame. I really want someone to step to the plate. It seems to me that all the advances in digital imaging this last decade ought to be capable of improving the state of the art in scanning.

edwardkaraa · Oct 9, 2011

I have bought the cheaper 35mm version and am very pleased with the results. I would advise to scan the emulsion side, even if the manual says otherwise. Also I have used Vuescan extensively, but ultimately found that taking a straight scan at 16 bit with the supplied software cyberview and then working in Photoshop gives the best but most time consuming results. Just my 2 cents.

NM_Amateur · Nov 2, 2011

Hello, Just an FYI, Hamrick "VueScan" Has almost completed the drivers for this model, also the Cyberview X5 drivers have a new version posted last week on the Pacific Image website

artobest · Nov 14, 2011

How are you getting on with this scanner? Anything to add to your first impressions?

photomy · Jan 4, 2012

Rudeofus said:
That's a real bummer and closes the chapter on this scanner - for me at least. I have no idea why it is so damn hard to batch scan a whole 120 film, with a scanner that has already some form of transport mechanism. Even the Coolscans supported this only poorly and only for 35mm films :angry:

........

My guess for two main reasons they do not have batch scan of 120 film in this price and size of scanner.

1) 120 film has no sprockets to make sure each frame is consistent. Even med. format cameras have trouble with this so exposure frames are often not consistent. So this would require some kind of pre-scan and smart software to guess the desired borders for each frame.

2) Needs a rather large additional mechanism and motor, control, software, etc. for this large of rolled film to feed from a spool and then back. Again, very good auto detect software required.

Anyway, I believe it is more expensive and difficult than it may appear - to do it correctly and reliably.

Some facts to consider. Both Nikon and Minolta had very good sub-$2000 scanners for med. format film. Neither one offered true batch med. format roll film scanning. Both models are no longer made, presumably because they were no longer profitable at this price point. The next option up in price range today: Imacon/Hasselblad now makes just 2 models that offer some batch film scanning options. The basic model is about $13,000 the advanced model is about $20,000.

= tommy

Rudeofus · Jan 6, 2012

photomy said:
1) 120 film has no sprockets to make sure each frame is consistent. Even med. format cameras have trouble with this so exposure frames are often not consistent. So this would require some kind of pre-scan and smart software to guess the desired borders for each frame.

2) Needs a rather large additional mechanism and motor, control, software, etc. for this large of rolled film to feed from a spool and then back. Again, very good auto detect software required.

Anyway, I believe it is more expensive and difficult than it may appear - to do it correctly and reliably.

I don't mind a preview/readjust/scan work flow. It may not be trivial to build a transport mechanism for roll film but neither is building a scanner head.

photomy said:
Some facts to consider. Both Nikon and Minolta had very good sub-$2000 scanners for med. format film. Neither one offered true batch med. format roll film scanning. Both models are no longer made, presumably because they were no longer profitable at this price point. The next option up in price range today: Imacon/Hasselblad now makes just 2 models that offer some batch film scanning options. The basic model is about $13,000 the advanced model is about $20,000.

Even those Imacons which can handle only single 6x7 frames are in that price range, so the transport mechanism should not be the reason for their high cost.

Unfortunately the market for MF scanners seems to be so weak that this is an unlikely field for new ideas or disruptive technology, and this Pacific Image scanner is just one more piece of evidence for this

thompsonkirk · Jan 23, 2012

Just checking, though I guess the answer will be Bad News: I understand the scanner will hold only 2- 6x6 negatives at a time. But is it literally true that you have to cut 6x6 frames into strips of just two? Can't you use a strip of 3 or 4 and have the rest of the film protruding from the scanner (as with several other kinds of scanner - including Imacon)?

artobest · Jan 24, 2012

OP seems to have left the building.

Pacific Image PrimeFilm 120 ongoing review

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