Which scanner for 4x5?

Chan Tran · Mar 10, 2024

I am thinking of shooting 4x5 color negative. Which is a good scanner for reasonable amount of money? Camera scanning won't do as I will have to have very high res camera to justify 4x5. I have the Konica Minolta Dimage IV wihich is good for 35mm but not for anything larger.

albireo · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
I am thinking of shooting 4x5 color negative. Which is a good scanner for reasonable amount of money? Camera scanning won't do as I will have to have very high res camera to justify 4x5. I have the Konica Minolta Dimage IV wihich is good for 35mm but not for anything larger.

I've seen some incredible 4x5 scans done via wet mounting on a humble Epson V750.

At those negative sizes, many of the downsides of consumer flatbed negative scanning tend to fade away, unless the operator is unexperienced or the device is not operating according to spec. The latter is VERY common with used Epson flatbeds which get shipped around with no transport lock engaged and end up misaligned. So if you go down this route get a new unit or one you trust it hasn't been moved around a lot.

Don_ih · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
Camera scanning won't do as I will have to have very high res camera to justify 4x5.

Not if you "scan" segments and "stitch" them together. I'd find that annoying, but you can get very high resolution from a modest digital camera.

I use an Epson Perfection 3200 - which is over 20-years-old, now.

Alan Edward Klein · Mar 10, 2024

I upgraded from an Epson V600 to an Epson V850 when I started shooting 4x5s. But I shoot chromes and BW as I find it hard to get the colors right with color-negative film.
Samples: chromes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums/72157715763486212
BW negatives https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums/72157714124881023

Bronson Dugnutt · Mar 10, 2024

albireo said:
I've seen some incredible 4x5 scans done via wet mounting on a humble Epson V750.

Alan Edward Klein said:
I upgraded from an Epson V600 to an Epson V850 when I started shooting 4x5s.

Ditto; The V8** series has a dedicated 4x5 single-sheet holder for dry scanning. For best results get the wet mount, some mylar sheets, and a bottle of Gamsol.

Chan Tran · Mar 10, 2024

I heard that the Epson software doesn't work with current OS like Windows 10 or 11 is that true? I have no problem getting the color right using the Konica Minolta software but I don't have much luck with Vuescan.

Chan Tran · Mar 10, 2024

Don_ih said:
Not if you "scan" segments and "stitch" them together. I'd find that annoying, but you can get very high resolution from a modest digital camera.

I use an Epson Perfection 3200 - which is over 20-years-old, now.

If you stitch in Photoshop how would you do it? Although I did fine with panorama but when I tried to scan a large technical drawing in sections then stitched I couldn't line it up correctly. The software tried to line it up but ended up distort the drawing.

Don_ih · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
If you stitch in Photoshop how would you do it?

No idea - I don't use Photoshop. Last I tried to stitch photos together was with some photostitch thing built into Windows (not sure if it's still there) .... or maybe it was Canon software? Anyway, there must be something automated to do it.

dokko · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
I am thinking of shooting 4x5 color negative. Which is a good scanner for reasonable amount of money? Camera scanning won't do as I will have to have very high res camera to justify 4x5. I have the Konica Minolta Dimage IV wihich is good for 35mm but not for anything larger.

depends a bit on your budget, how much you're planning to scan, and the resolution requirements...

for color negative, personally I'd recommend an Epson V850 with Silverfast (that's what I used for a long time).
that will allow for prints up to 30"/80cm wide, has infrared dust reduction, and rather good color negative rendering.

camera scanning is also an option if you do stitching, but it takes quite a bit more effort, color inversion is very challenging and dust rather time consuming to retouch.

Chan Tran · Mar 10, 2024

I figure for 4x5 a resolution of 2400dpi is plenty as it would give an image of more than 100MP. So scanner resolution doesn't need to be very high.

koraks · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
I heard that the Epson software doesn't work with current OS like Windows 10 or 11 is that true?

I use a 20-year old Epson 4990 with Epson software on Win10. So no, it's not true. Likewise, the EpsonScan versions for the v600-700-800 series will also work fine on Win10 etc.

Chan Tran said:
I figure for 4x5 a resolution of 2400dpi is plenty

Good flatbed scanners top out at around 2000-2400dpi, even if they tout higher resolutions. As you observed, that's plenty in the real world.

Alan Edward Klein · Mar 10, 2024

Bronson Dugnutt said:
Ditto; The V8** series has a dedicated 4x5 single-sheet holder for dry scanning. For best results get the wet mount, some mylar sheets, and a bottle of Gamsol.

I've never tried it but I'm curious. Scans of glass-mounted film use the second more inferior lens as opposed to the better lens used for film in their holders. Have you compared scans of the same shot and what have you found?

Alan Edward Klein · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
I heard that the Epson software doesn't work with current OS like Windows 10 or 11 is that true? I have no problem getting the color right using the Konica Minolta software but I don't have much luck with Vuescan.

I'm running Windows 11 64 bit with no problem with the V850 Epsonscan program.

jeffreyg · Mar 10, 2024

Although I contact print most of my 4x5 negatives in platinum/palladium I do enlarge some and scan some with an Epson V850 and Silverfast Studio Ai8. Here's an unedited example except turned to be horizontal. size 30x37 and section is 9x8.5. Ilford HP5 in ID11

ABOUT | JEFFREY GLASSER

HOME | SCULPTURE and PHOTOGRAPHY

Alan Edward Klein · Mar 10, 2024

Chan Tran said:
I figure for 4x5 a resolution of 2400dpi is plenty as it would give an image of more than 100MP. So scanner resolution doesn't need to be very high.

That's what I use for my V850 and former V600. Beyond 2400 really doesn't give more resolution.

I did a comparison of the V850 with a Howtek HiResolve 8000 drum scanner. The results for the Epson were very favorable.

Howtek 8000 Drum vs. Epson V850 flatbed scanners

Here's a comparison between Howtek HiResolve 8000 drum scanner and Epson V850 flatbed. Negative is mine, Tmax 100, processed normal by North Coast Photo dip and dunk with Clayton F76+ developer (similar to Kodak D76). Taken on a Chamonix 45H-1, Schneider Symmar APO 150mm with B+W orange...

www.largeformatphotography.info

blee1996 · Mar 10, 2024

I have been using Epson V700 for scanning 4x5 over many years, and it is more than adequate.

- Yes 2400 dpi is plenty for 4x5
- Epson Scan software works well on Windows 10 and 11. I use it in Professional mode. I experimented with VueScan and SilverFast, but still like Epson Scan software most.
- V700 comes with a negative holders for 2 sheets of 4x5, dry scanning. Once my film dry flat, the holders can keep them flat for scanning. I never bothered with wet scanning.

Mark_S · Mar 10, 2024

blee1996 said:
I have been using Epson V700 for scanning 4x5 over many years, and it is more than adequate.

- Yes 2400 dpi is plenty for 4x5
- Epson Scan software works well on Windows 10 and 11. I use it in Professional mode. I experimented with VueScan and SilverFast, but still like Epson Scan software most.
- V700 comes with a negative holders for 2 sheets of 4x5, dry scanning. Once my film dry flat, the holders can keep them flat for scanning. I never bothered with wet scanning.

Ditto. I mostly shoot B&W and do all wet, but when I am doing color I shoot 4x5 E-6 and scan on an Epson V700 which I have had for years and have never found the scans to fall short.

250swb · Mar 11, 2024

I've used my Epson V700 in the past and got some very nice 4x5 scans but nowadays I have a suitable camera that does even better. However if price (or the fact you don't want a digital camera and additional paraphernalia) is a concern the Epson route is pretty fool proof and you don't need any extra software, Epson Scan is fine for the task.

Which scanner for 4x5?

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