Looking for a new 120 holder with borders for DSLR scanning, what's your take?
What's the cheap-best 120 holder with borders for DSLR scanning?
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You could spend big for Negative Supply or try this from Lomo:
https://shop.lomography.com/eu/digitaliza-120-scanning-mask
https://shop.lomography.com/eu/digitaliza-120-scanning-mask
OP
OP
The Lomo 120 film holder leaves enough of a border to show the corners and notches of a Hasselblad frame with a bit left over.
OP
OP
I think this might be it, Pixl-latr with this custom gate by Simon Forster, $50 ish for the pixl-latr and $15-20 for the gate
After trying many holders I decided to make my own using a sheet of black 60 thou plastic card from the model shop. The border can be very tight on many 120 cameras but if you measure accurately when cutting the hole it can be done. Cut down the sheet to a size that your negative strip can lay across and after cutting the hole glue a strip of plastic sheet on the top as a guide/stop along one edge to square the neg strip when scanning, hold the negative down with a sheet of ANR glass. Choose the size of the glass wisely so it can cover all the formats you may use now or in the future. The initial expense is the ANR glass but it's not vastly expensive considering it's a very versatile holder system you are making. I use the same idea for 35mm, 6x12 and 4x5 but it costs only a few $ to make any new format. I suppose it helps if you are DIY minded and know how to use a scalpel/sharp knife, and remember to always measure twice and cut once.
In my experience, even though the Negative Supply holder isn't the least expensive option, it is definitely the best one for also holding the film the flattest. I have my 120 film holder set up with the borderless kit (which comes with modified film hold downs and a glass ANR back) and for film flatness and speed of scanning, it's pretty hard to beat.
The way I see it is you can either pay for the equipment and have a really good experience that is pretty fast, or you can pay with your time and maybe have just as good as an experience, and potentially spend nearly as much money getting there (through trying multiple solutions). If your situation values your time lower than your money, then pay with your time, otherwise, pay with your money and get on with your life. Either way, you're gonna pay.
The way I see it is you can either pay for the equipment and have a really good experience that is pretty fast, or you can pay with your time and maybe have just as good as an experience, and potentially spend nearly as much money getting there (through trying multiple solutions). If your situation values your time lower than your money, then pay with your time, otherwise, pay with your money and get on with your life. Either way, you're gonna pay.
"Either way, you're gonna pay" - That is what I'm coming to the conclusion with also. I use the ESF but want something better, less finicky, and will allow borders to be scanned.
I keep coming back to the NS kits. Expensive as ever, but I'm thinking it will be worth it. Now to talk my bank account into it.
I keep coming back to the NS kits. Expensive as ever, but I'm thinking it will be worth it. Now to talk my bank account into it.
OP
OP
I ended up getting the Pixl-Latr with The Forster UK Gates and I could not be happier!
"Either way, you're gonna pay" - That is what I'm coming to the conclusion with also. I use the ESF but want something better, less finicky, and will allow borders to be scanned.
I keep coming back to the NS kits. Expensive as ever, but I'm thinking it will be worth it. Now to talk my bank account into it.
Yep. I've scanned a lot of film, and the NS kit isn't the first thing I went with, but rather where I ended up after trying many other solutions.
That being said, the NS kit isn't perfect, but it is by far the least painful to use and gives the the most consistent results the fastest if you have it configured to meet your needs. I liken it a lot with like buying an appliance. You can spend a good chunk of money on a new washer and dryer that is super efficient and costs you less to operate over time and has a really long warranty and never really breaks down, or you can get the "rental unit" model that has a 90 day warranty, costs very little to acquire up front, but it costs a fair amount to operate and you're only going to get a couple years out of it before it breaks and you either have to spend money to repair it or replace it. Either way you go, you're paying, it's just a matter of when and how you pay. The same goes for scanning film. It's just a matter of when and how you pay.
That's great! If it works to your satisfaction, even better.
True. But fair warning, it IS fussy. Doesn't grab the front of the film roll for the first frame or two (depending on format) and is hard to feed without getting fingers all over the film. And there's no 6x8 adapter, if you have a weird camera like me.
Also, you have to deal with Negative Supply, and their customer service is so awful just thinking about it right now makes me want to take a shower.
But it does hold film flat. And you can whack a robber in the head with it if he tries to take it from you, it's a solid hunk of metal like that.
I don't find it to be particularly finicky relative to other solutions, but I just scan with it set up for borderless 6x9 and never change it from that, and don't change the height of the camera either. If I'm scanning 120, with that setup, it's basically just scan it that way and crop down to the actual exposed area and rotate as needed later. You can still scan the first frame or two of 645 that way and have the film held flat as long as you don't require that the first frame be perfectly centered in your capture area, which unless you're rotating your camera and moving it as close as possible to get as much resolution as possible, it's not really an issue. But... I am scanning it in with a 45MP camera and a very good macro lens, and it delivers a solid 2000+ dpi with that setup, which is quite a bit more resolution than most people want or need for medium format, and other people may have different setups.
I also wear gloves when handling film, so the other issue of fingers etc hasn't really been a problem either.
I've never had to deal with their customer service, so I can't comment on that, but just out of curiosity, what issue were you having that precipitated a call to customer service? I'm having a hard time coming up with reasons I'd even want to call them, as everything I've gotten from them has just plain worked and has been extremely reliable.
Just ordered the NS 4x5 99CRI light source. Hopefully it will help with scanning my color negatives. Still using the ESF for the holder. Film flatness does seem to be an issue with this holder though, specifically when scanning the boarders.
And just received the NS 4x5 99 CRI light source. Defective right out to the box. You could see a black spot on the inside of the diffuser, plugged it in and yep. Hot spot on the black spot and poor output everywhere else. Returning it for a refund. Highly disappointed. Hopefully the replacement is better than this.
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Follow up. The good news is this isn't what Negative supply calls, normal. Even after getting two in a row from B&H that had this issue.
Returned both for a refund, (B&H is good with customer service)
And after getting support directly from Negative Supply, I've purchase another directly from negative supply.
Fingers crossed it arrives in good shape and lives up to its advertising.
Returned both for a refund, (B&H is good with customer service)
And after getting support directly from Negative Supply, I've purchase another directly from negative supply.
Fingers crossed it arrives in good shape and lives up to its advertising.
Update, the third time worked. Thanks to negative supply for being prompt with shipping.
I second what Adrian said about the NS holder, truly the best 35mm and 120mm film holders you can buy, but their lights are absolute trash. In my opinion, edge-lit lights are not bright enough for scanning. The exposure times end up being too long, and your scans end up suffering as a result of small vibrations. The NS light is literally just two commercial high-CRI aluminum LED strips installed in a fancy case. No dimmer, no custom electronics, just a few parts you can buy elsewhere for a lot less than NS sells them for. Hell if you want, you can buy the "cheap" $99 version and just buy and install the 99 CRI version of the same strips and transform it into the more expensive version. Avoid this junker at all costs.
My recommendation for the lighting currently is either the Raleno light panel or the cheap and highly available CN-T96 panels you can buy on eBay. Fun fact about those, they contain the exact same light panel and driver as the ~$200 skier copy box.
Also if you really want to save money on a film holder, I recommend just getting a high-end negative holder for an enlarger. Durst made some really nice ones.
The exposure times end up being too long
Other than that, I like the overall build and the evenness and quality of the light. I will say that in my opinion, the cost is a bit high for what you get. Overall though, I'm happy with it.
This is the only thing I have not liked about the NS 99CRI Light Source. Its so dim that your scanning set up stability will be put to the test! I use a remote, mirror lock up and electronic first curtain shutter to help ensure stability.
Other than that, I like the overall build and the evenness and quality of the light. I will say that in my opinion, the cost is a bit high for what you get. Overall though, I'm happy with it.
I feel like Rip Van Winkle. DSLR film scanning? Is there a good reason to scrap my Epson 4990?
Nobody has made a new scanner in forever. The technology is all... old. No progress has been made there for 15 years or more despite the massive improvement in things like sensors.
So for someone getting into it now, who already has a DSLR or two, there's a temptation to spend a little on a good light source and holder rather than go out and buy a scanner.
I get better scans with my z7 than I can get from the piece of shit Noritsu my lab uses, by far, because the only advancements in scanners during the 21st century were in film transport to make them fast, not in the actual quality of the scanned image. But it was a substantial effort to get set up and learn how to use my DSLR rig. A dedicated scanner came with dedicated software and you likely already have a good workflow going.
My opinion, if you like your 4990, you should keep your 4990. If you don't, DSLRs work great. But it's not worth chasing what may or may not please you slightly more if you're already happy.
MattKing
Moderator
Sanders,
If you are scanning 8x10 negatives, absolutely not.
If you are scanning 35mm negatives, there are excellent arguments for scanning using a digital camera.
Given what I've seen of the quality of your scans from 6x6 negatives, I would say why change?
Unless the volume of scanning you need to do makes the switch advantageous.
Case in point re: the existing quality of your photography (hope you don't mind):
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