Wolverine film scanner or flatbed scanner?

[NZDavid]

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Another scanner question: I have used my Canoscan 9000F for documents as well as a collection of prints. Quality was OK, software and auto scan buttons failed to work on my Mac after a system upgrade but I used third party software. Three years later, the scanner seems to have given up the ghost. No power, it just won't go. Disappointing and a poor quality product. Reviews of other flatbed scanners (and there are very few available now) don't give me much confidence.

I don't need to scan many documents, copying with the old D-Lux 5 is fine. As for slides, which I was wanting to do, I was thinking about a Wolverine scanner. The design looks surprisingly simple, no complex menu to try to figure out. Worth getting?

https://www.wolverinedata.com/

 

 

[giannis]

2 hours ago, NZDavid said:

As for slides, which I was wanting to do, I was thinking about a Wolverine scanner. The design looks surprisingly simple, no complex menu to try to figure out. Worth getting?

 

This type of device, no matter the brand and specs, operate very differently to a scanner and are universally crap. They cram in a smartphone camera-sized sensor and lens, a light, and they take a photo of your film. The resolution they give is abysmal. If your phone focuses close enough, and you take a photo of your film, you'll get similar results to this device, if not better.

In reality the only realistic option is a flatbed or a dedicated scanner. A, entry level flatbed is cheaper (especially if you also want to do medium format), a dedicated film scanner is much higher (true optical) resolution. Check the Epson V550 and the Plustek 8100. 

Edited June 1, 2020 by giannis

[wlaidlaw]

The problem with all these modern cheap scanners is that unlike the quality scanners of the past from Artix, Canon and Nikon, is that the film to sensor distance/register is fixed. The older scanners had autofocus. You can be lucky and get one where it is accurate or you can get a Plustek like mine, which is as soft as putty. Same applies to 35mm flat bed scanners. You can get variable height holders for 120 film but not for 35mm, that are accurate enough. I think the various devices that enable you to use a digital camera are a far better option. I  use a Leitz BEOON, where I can scan a whole film to full frame DNG's, all in perfect focus, in 2 to 3 minutes, using my SL601 wire tethered to my MacBook Pro. 

Wilson