120/35mm Plustek OpticFilm 120 Roll scanning. Does it work?

[BWColor]

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This scanner is once again on the market. Do any of you have experience with scanning uncut rolls of 35mm 120/220 on the newly released model?  The latest release may or may not have improved software/hardware.  Evidently this most attractive feature really didn’t work.  The “Pro” version with USB 3.0 never came to market.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[BWColor]

I spoke with B&H ..  This “New Release” is identical with what was previously available.

[250swb]

I’m not sure you are asking the right question, there isn’t a Plustek scanner that can scan uncut rolls of film. If you simply mean does the reissued Plustek 120 work,  well the old one worked brillliantly, but it’s now been surpassed by a good camera scanning outfit.

[BWColor]

Thanks.. I was confused.  I already have a Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED and hope overcame reality.  I was looking for a solution that automatically scans a roll of film.  I guess that all that we have are used Norita and Frontier scanners.

[250swb]

@BWColor you can manually scan an entire roll pretty quickly with a camera (the gear needed probably costing far less than a Plustek 120 even it it could do it) but unlike a dedicated film scanner you'd then need to invert the negative files into a positives with software such as NegMaster or Negative Lab Pro so there's a bit of work on the back end even before any post processing. For myself I do a digital contact sheet with an Epson V700 and then do a full resolution 45mp scan of the best negative(s) with a Nikon, but you are right, there's never been an automatic way to do a full roll other than lab machines. 

[gbpost]

Around 10 years ago, I scanned around 30,000 negatives and slides with the original Plustek 120. I stored "raw" files of the scanner data without post processing with the max. optical resolution. Scanning up to 12 negatives of 135  film or 3 negatives of 120 film took about 15 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the connected PC. So I scanned like a dumb background batch process: I put the negatives in the film holder, pressed a butten and went away to do other things. When I came back after some time, I started the process again with the next negatives. No creative decision like in post processing was needed.

Later I used Silverfast to convert the stored "raw" data to pictures using Silverfasts automation tools. So I have all my negatives and slides scanned and at least a decent picture of each. In case I like to have a better version of the picture, I can postprocess the  stored "raw" data manually. The only drawback ist the large amunt of data. One color negative 6x6 needs about 1 Gbyte of storage.

I still would use this process to scan a large amount of negatives or slides, today. However, for a small number of negatives or slides a makro lens with a camera does a simpler job.

 

[BWColor]

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4 hours ago, gbpost said:I still would use this process to scan a large amount of negatives or slides, today. However, for a small number of negatives or slides a makro lens with a camera does a simpler job.

 

Separating shots taken and shots worth archiving seems like an important part of staying sane.

Mark at Plutek corrected what I was told by  B&H:

”First off, this version of the OpticFilm 120 shares very little with the original version except the cabinet and some mechanical parts.  The sensor, lens and associated circuitry are new.”

[BWColor]

I thought that the Plustek scanner used a monocular sensor and multiple scans with different color filters, but this is not the case.  So, I can see where using high-quality digital camera could produce quality results comparable to this scanner. It has been years since I’ve used the Nikon, but I thought it used a monocular sensor and multiple filters in which case giving up the Bayer sensor filter is an advantage.

Edited May 30, 2024 by BWColor

[Smudgerer]

On 5/30/2024 at 8:47 AM, 250swb said:

@BWColor you can manually scan an entire roll pretty quickly with a camera (the gear needed probably costing far less than a Plustek 120 even it it could do it) but unlike a dedicated film scanner you'd then need to invert the negative files into a positives with software such as NegMaster or Negative Lab Pro so there's a bit of work on the back end even before any post processing. For myself I do a digital contact sheet with an Epson V700 and then do a full resolution 45mp scan of the best negative(s) with a Nikon, but you are right, there's never been an automatic way to do a full roll other than lab machines. 

Well there is a scanner that can automatically scan a complete uncut 35mm negative strip, this is the Reflecta RPS 10M, ( here's a review: https://www.filmscanner.info/en/ReflectaRPS10M.html ).

I have one of these RPS M10 scanners and I do find it very useful at times to be able to auto scan a roll at low resolution then make your selects and the scanner will return to those selects and run a higher resolution scan of those frames, very useful. Though frankly I have rarely done it that way. It's handy to be able to walk away whilst it's doing the low res full roll scans and I generally save them and make my selects later. The full scan quality is pretty good, good enough for most needs but I prefer the individual scan files from the Plustek 8200i, resolution output is roughly the same but the "look" of the Plustek 8200i files are better for how I want my results to be. 

My film to digital post production and printing now is basically a cut-up and "bagged" roll to flatbed or camera scan that gives me a "contact sheet", print it and make my selects in the old fashioned way by marking the frames I choose with a white china-graph pencil, ( I "contact print" 35mm to A4 or sometimes to A3 or larger if subject matter demands ), then scan those frames individually in the 8200i if it's 35mm we are talking about. The neg's are then filed away with the "contact sheet", very handy, like we did in the olde days at the lab' before getting our pony from the ostler and riding home in the rain.

Regarding the Plustek 120 Optic Film I have just ordered one because I wish to use MF more nowadays. My hope is that this will improve the scanning needs / process/ workflow  for the medium format film work. I have an Epson V700 and although the final scan results are acceptable I find the process fiddly, the neg' carriers messy to use even the Better Scanning ones and I found that I would prefer a dedicated MF scanner, hence the leap into ordering one. Boy I hope it works out, it's an expensive option but there's few others out there.

[Steve Ash]

Am 30.5.2024 um 04:44 schrieb BWColor:

Thanks.. I was confused.  I already have a Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED and hope overcame reality.  I was looking for a solution that automatically scans a roll of film.  I guess that all that we have are used Norita and Frontier scanners.

I have a Nikon 5000 with a roll scan apdapter that I offered on this forum recently.