lb1800 Posted January 24, 2018 Share #1 Posted January 24, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) OK, not strictly Leica - hope admins will forgive - but just wondered if anybody has any thoughts... I currently have a Plustek scanner for my Leica 35mm scanning but, having just ventured into 120 film, I need a new scanner. Anybody have experience of the Plustek 120? Anybody know the best channels for buying one in the UK? Is there any merit at all in the idea of putting the £1,500 towards a Nikon D850 and using that to scan instead? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 24, 2018 Posted January 24, 2018 Hi lb1800, Take a look here Scanning 120 film - Plustek Opticfilm 120?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
shaneferguson Posted January 24, 2018 Share #2 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) I had a look at that scanner back when it first came out, for my 120 format scanning. However, I found the reliability/build quality to be not the best - really cheap feeling compared to their other scanners - and the software to be lacking. I’m sure the software has moved on by now (and there are 3rd party software available now). In the end I went for a Epson flatbed scanner - takes longer than the Plustek, and is more fiddly but better results. Available reviews online seem to suggest the same. It’s a shame because an automated 120 scanner that works like it should would be a fantastic device. Hopefully, Plustek will upgrade it. Ta, Shane. Edited January 24, 2018 by shaneferguson 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rent Posted January 24, 2018 Share #3 Posted January 24, 2018 TLDR; crappy software, decent hardware, will do the job, especially if you have time on your hands. I recently got the Plustek OpticFilm 120 and have been using it for both 135 and 120 scanning. The bundled SilverFast 8 software sucks balls. The user interface is confusing as hell. It crashes / hangs every now and then which is annoying. That said, after I finally figured out how to coax it to work, it does what it supposed to do and produces respectable results. Hardware-wise, I have no major complaints. The film holders, with magnetic closure, all work well (better than the Epson flatbed's flimsy holders). Scanning time is long. With infrared scratch and dust removal, and multi-exposure enabled, it can take hours to finish 12 exposures of 120. I haven't timed it, but plan to have other things to do while you are scanning. I've also run into an issue with the infrared scratch and dust removal feature recently. It produced digital artifacts in dark areas of scanned Velvia images. I suspect it's mostly a settings issue but have not yet investigated fully. Alex 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted January 24, 2018 Share #4 Posted January 24, 2018 On the software issue, I found Vuescan Pro to be so versatile and with a relatively short learning curve, that I'd highly recommend it to any scanner users (BTW I have no financial interest in Vuescan). 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted January 24, 2018 Share #5 Posted January 24, 2018 I agree with spydrxx, Vuescan makes a plustek easy to use. Cheap software for eternal upgrades too. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 24, 2018 Share #6 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) May I ask what the actual capture dimensions are for 6x9cm? One camera I use is 5.4x10cm; I would like capture the whole frame. Thank you! Edited January 24, 2018 by pico Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb1800 Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted January 24, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks all. Appreciate your feedback. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 25, 2018 Share #8 Posted January 25, 2018 May I ask what the actual capture dimensions are for 6x9cm? One camera I use is 5.4x10cm; I would like capture the whole frame. Thank you! It has a 6x12 film holder which would work if the film is wide enough to be supported. I've had my Plustek 120 for a long time now and never had any problems with it. Complaints about software that come with it are justified, Silverfast is awful, but Vuescan is the best anyway so just use that. Problems with the dimensions of the plastic film trays were long ago solved but many early reviews haven't been revised, so some complain of not being able to get proper focus. You need a good PC to handle the large files you can generate at the highest scan resolution. Pixel peeping scan quality is noticeably better than an Epson, but scanning is a skill, and with good technique you can end up with very good prints from an Epson V700/V850, so don't discount the idea. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb1800 Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted January 25, 2018 Anyone used the Reflecta MF5000? Reviews suggest its much faster than the Plustek, though with lower resolution. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted January 26, 2018 Share #10 Posted January 26, 2018 Anyone used the Reflecta MF5000? Reviews suggest its much faster than the Plustek, though with lower resolution. Speed and resolution are largely linked, higher resolution scans more lines so takes longer. You can scan the Plustek at lower resolution for increased speed, but you can't scan the Reflecta slower for increased resolution. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted January 26, 2018 Share #11 Posted January 26, 2018 Before diving into a Nikon850 I would give the EPSON V850 a chance for less than half the money and hussle. I am perfectly happy with it for middle and large format. And, with all the impressive presentation of Silverfast, I prefer Vuescan too. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb1800 Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share #12 Posted January 26, 2018 Before diving into a Nikon850 I would give the EPSON V850 a chance for less than half the money and hussle. I am perfectly happy with it for middle and large format. And, with all the impressive presentation of Silverfast, I prefer Vuescan too. Thanks Otto. Some fabulous shots on your website... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted January 26, 2018 Share #13 Posted January 26, 2018 Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsprow Posted January 26, 2018 Share #14 Posted January 26, 2018 I had this Plustek briefly but was not happy with its quality. Would strongly recommend finding a used Nikon 9000ED in good condition and using with Vuescan. The Nikon software is not consistent with today's PC operating systems, thus the Vuescan. Scans are reasonably rapid if using a computer with a fast processor. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted January 27, 2018 Share #15 Posted January 27, 2018 I see absolutely no problem, restrictions with 120 film scans from Epson V500. It has best in the industry software as well. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveBK Posted January 30, 2018 Share #16 Posted January 30, 2018 How is the plustek 120 for batch scanning 35mm? I have the plustek 8200 (used with Vuesecan and Silverfast..) and like the results but find the manual advance / prescan / scan to be time consuming. Can you have it pre-scan a whole batch, mark the ones you want, and let it final scan a 20+ images while you walk away? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rent Posted January 30, 2018 Share #17 Posted January 30, 2018 The 120 can batch scan up to 12 frames (2 strips of 6) at one go. You can pick which ones out of the 12 to scan. Alex 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoinC Posted January 30, 2018 Share #18 Posted January 30, 2018 I have a Plustek 120 and an Epson V800. I use both with Vuescan software. I did have a problem with the 120 a year ago, and the Taiwanese company was excellent in dealing with it - initially attempting via TeamViewer, then providing a replacement scanner. No problems with it ever since. For 120, I prefer using it to the V800 (which I bought primarily for LF). 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb1800 Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share #19 Posted January 30, 2018 I have a Plustek 120 and an Epson V800. I use both with Vuescan software. I did have a problem with the 120 a year ago, and the Taiwanese company was excellent in dealing with it - initially attempting via TeamViewer, then providing a replacement scanner. No problems with it ever since. For 120, I prefer using it to the V800 (which I bought primarily for LF). Eoin, how us the scanning time for 120 on the Plustek? Is it hours? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoinC Posted January 30, 2018 Share #20 Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) Eoin, how us the scanning time for 120 on the Plustek? Is it hours?Not for me. I usually go for single pass at 5300, and work on other stuff on the same computer while it’s scanning. The ‘hours’ come in if you are doing multiple pass / multiple exposure scans, which I haven’t seen any positive differences on (and have sometimes seen negative differences).If I’m doing 120, Hasselblad frames need readjusting (due to inconsistencies with Hasselblad magazines, not with the Plustek negative carriers), but this is easy to do. I batch preview, then do individual frame scans. For 135, I just batch scan the 12 frames. Plustek negative carriers are very good. The Epson is good for the larger formats, although I haven’t used it much yet. Here’s a 4x5 Tri-X 320 shot scanned on the V800... https://www.flickr.com/photos/127789682@N04/38897055125/ Edited January 30, 2018 by EoinC 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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