Which film scanner can you recommend?

[BjarniM]

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I have spent hours on Google trying to get closer to which film scanner is a safe buy, but I am more or less a little confused.

I need a scanner that can scan in such a quality, that it looks pristine when printed up to 60 x 40 cm.

Which film scanner can you recommend from your own experiences?

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[rogxwhit]

For 35mm, or larger?

[spydrxx]

I assume you are talking about scanning 35mm film, not 120 or larger. Having used and owned several over the years, I've found for 35mm, that a high resolution camera works far better and with less work than a consumer grade scanner.To get the best out of a scanner requires quite a learning curve whereas using a camera is less of an issue.  Suggest you read some of the posts in the Leica Forum for peoples' experiences. I have my best of best printed on canvas up to 5 ft wide and used my Sony A7rii for scanning. Unable to get as good quality using consumer grade scanners. I've had professional scanners do a great job and printed on non-textured surfaces by specialty printing companies, but those are relatively expensive. 

[Einst_Stein]

After you find such scanner, your trouble might just begin. You need to find the computer, adapter, OS, and software to support it. Most likely you need SCSI or FireWire adapter and cable, and your computer if not ancients enough might not support it. 

Edited June 1, 2024 by Einst_Stein

[BjarniM]

1 hour ago, rogxwhit said:

For 35mm, or larger?

35mm.

[250swb]

A full frame digital camera (24mp or more) and a macro lens does a far better job than any dedicated film scanner has ever achieved. It is clearly not as simple as that because you need a few other things, like a copy stand, light source, and a negative carrier. But there are other threads that deal with this. 

[hansvons]

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21 hours ago, BjarniM said:

I have spent hours on Google trying to get closer to which film scanner is a safe buy, but I am more or less a little confused.

What @250swb and @spydrxx said. I have an SL2-S (could be any DSLR), a Sigma 70mm Macro (must be of the highest quality in 1:1 mode), and a Valoi Easy35 scanning device. For 35mm, it can't get better. Tried everything: film holders, copy stand, etc. The Easy35 is super convenient and makes all other legacy devices obsolete. 

[BernardC]

22 hours ago, BjarniM said:

I need a scanner that can scan in such a quality, that it looks pristine when printed up to 60 x 40 cm.

Don't forget that it's really difficult to make a pristine 60cm (24") print from 35mm film in the darkroom. Using a scanner won't make it much easier.

[Doug A]

Whether a print is pristine or not depends on the context. Are we looking at it with a 10x loupe or at a comfortable viewing distance? Once a print is too large to take in as a whole at arms length the size is pretty much irrelevant as a practical matter. The bigger it is the further away the viewer will be. A 24MP sensor is perfectly adequate for prints of any size from 35mm negatives in this context. 

And I think a good argument can be made for using a 24MP APS-C sensor rather than a 24MP FF sensor. As far as I know, the only significant advantage of FF over APS-C is greater sensitivity in low light which is not an issue for camera scanning. The shallower depth of focus of FF has its uses but it is irrelevant for copy work. Two advantages of APS-C for scanning 35mm negatives are that the 1:1.44 reproduction ratio works better with many affordable macro lenses than the 1:1 ratio of FF, and that the whole scanning rig can be smaller. And if an APS-C sensor is used with a FF lens the corner sharpness will be better and vignetting will be reduced everything else being equal. 

Edited June 2, 2024 by Doug A

[mdarnton]

I started scanning with a camera about 15 years ago, and eventually switched to a Nikon Bellows pb5 with the slide/film copying stage and a 75/4 EL-Nikkor lens after a LOT of lens testing. I see that they are just dirt cheap now!

It's a great setup that I've used on a D300, D7200, and now my Z5. I keep it in a box with all of the other things I'll need (led light, dust brush and blower, etc.) set up, dialed in and ready to go, so there's no fuss involved. If your digital camera adapts Nikon F lenses it probably would fit.

Most pix here were scanned with some generation of this rig.. https://flickr.com/photos/mdarnton You can click through to full resolution images, I think. I don't have anything up from the Z5 (24Mp) yet.

Edited June 3, 2024 by mdarnton