scanning holders

nwilkins · Sep 10, 2013

Hi there,

what are the options out there for upgrading the stock film holders that came with my v700? Apparently betterscanning no longer supplies the film holder with T locks - you have to buy the ANR glass which makes them a fair bit more expensive. Any other options? Can anyone who has used the betterscanning holders with the ANR glass comment on their experience with them?

thanks!

Nick

artobest · Sep 11, 2013

My comment is: don't think, buy! With or without the ANR glass, these are essential to get the best out of your scanner - if you have the time and inclination to get them set up right (and if you don't, why would you buy such a scanner?).

selmslie · Sep 11, 2013

For 120 film, the betterscanning holder with ANR glass is rock solid and well worth the money since the Epson 120 holder can't hold some films flat. Besides, it is easier to get the focus adjusted to precisely the right height.

For 35mm film the Epson holder is a little more convenient although it is pretty flimsy. But if you have difficult film, the betterscanning ANR glass will flatten it better than the original plastic piece.

DaveO · Sep 11, 2013

Does anyone know on the Better Scanning film holders, does the film have to be taped down?

Any opinions on how good the Lomography film holders are? I have heard that they are very quick and easy to use.

pschwart · Sep 12, 2013

The Lomography holders are clever, but I don't find them any easier to use than ANR glass, and they are certainly not a replacement for glass which I always use for my best scan.

Arctic amateur · Sep 15, 2013

The Lomography holders have problems with cupping 135 film (film perforation edges bending towards each other to form cylinder sections), but are fine with curl (film rolling up as on a spool).

DaveO · Sep 15, 2013

Thanks for that answer, AA. I'm leaning more and more toward the Better Scanning holders with the ANR glass. I might just order the 120 version to try it out. I am very satisfied with the results I am getting with the V 600 and the Epson holders. I just don't think the Epson holders will last long enough to scan all of my negatives.

nwilkins · Oct 4, 2013

well after a day of calibrating the height of the betterscanning holder I found the optimum position, then did a side by side comparison with the old Epson holder. alas they looked identical, even at 100%. I suppose the betterscanning holders will be better for curled film though, and will probably last longer, but I was hoping for an image improvement too.

xtolsniffer · Oct 9, 2013

I've not been able to try the betterscanning holders, but I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the Epson holders for 120. I've got prints up to 12"x16" from them without any apparent sharpness issues. The 35mm holders are pretty good too. Flimsy yes, but you just have to take your time with them and be careful. I quite like the Epson software as well. I've used Silverfast with the V700, but I tend to come back to the Epson software as it's more logical in layout and crashes less often.

pschwart · Oct 9, 2013

xtolsniffer said:
I've not been able to try the betterscanning holders, but I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the Epson holders for 120. I've got prints up to 12"x16" from them without any apparent sharpness issues.

If you are satisfied, no problem, but the Epson holders don't hold the film very flat, so images are not sharp edge-to-edge. This is true for the hefty Nikon 9000 holders, too. When I switched to using glass, sharpness improved dramatically -- no more soft edges.
Manufacturers insist on shipping flimsy and poorly designed holders knowing that this degrades the performance of their product. Go figure.

P C Headland · Oct 11, 2013

Another option is to get some anti-reflective framing glass cut to fit in the channels of the Epson holders. Remove the top clip/frame from the holders, lay the negative down in the holder's channel, then lay the anti-reflective glass on top. Alternatively, for very curly film, tape the film to the glass, then lay the glass+film down in the channel.

I also use a similar method for scanning 9x12cm sheet film with the 4x5" holder.

StoneNYC · Oct 12, 2013

Get the betterscanning holders AND the ANR glass. If you weren't able to calibrate them the same with the glass, then you're doing something wrong OR you got a bad copy of the scanner (my first one has so much out gassing it was like a cloud on the glass and had to send it back).

Any old film, curly film, etc you need the glass. It makes a big difference edge to edge.

I have both, I use the ANR glass sometimes on the wet scanning glass with off film sizes and it's just the right thing.

Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

Pioneer · Oct 13, 2013

I have both the 120 holder with ANR glass as well as the ANR inserts for the Epson 35mm holders. They are both worth the investment if you do much scanning. Usually they hold things flat pretty well, and can be used to tape things down if not.

pasiasty · Oct 17, 2013

nwilkins said:
well after a day of calibrating the height of the betterscanning holder I found the optimum position, then did a side by side comparison with the old Epson holder. alas they looked identical, even at 100%. I suppose the betterscanning holders will be better for curled film though, and will probably last longer, but I was hoping for an image improvement too.

In most cases you reach scanner resolution limitation rather than softness due to curled film. In my case it's usually cut between frames of 120 film, where it's most curled, using Epson holders you can't hold both ends of a strip.

I needed a solution for scanning 5x7" negatives, which fit in hi-res area but there is no Epson's holder for this. Scanning them just on the scanner's bed wasn't good because of Newton rings (yes, I put them emulsion down, but I had a film that caused NR even though). BS holders seemed too expensive when calculated with shipping and VAT, so I made EvenBetterScanning holder designed for undermounting. Total cost about 15 Euro. One can use it for strip films as well.

GRHazelton · Jan 14, 2014

nwilkins said:
Hi there,

what are the options out there for upgrading the stock film holders that came with my v700? Apparently betterscanning no longer supplies the film holder with T locks - you have to buy the ANR glass which makes them a fair bit more expensive. Any other options? Can anyone who has used the betterscanning holders with the ANR glass comment on their experience with them?

thanks!

Nick

Do it! The stock holders are c**p. While set up of the betterscanning holder is a bit fiddly the results are worth it. Watch the dust with the ANR glass, though.

scanning holders

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