Scanner

[Betty LaRue]

https://www.amazon.com/Epson-Perfection-Negative-Document-Scanner/dp/B002OEBMRU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1479484979&sr=1-1&keywords=v600&linkCode=sl1&tag=thebestscanners-20&linkId=07b44b180c3ebf3ac956e8635aabff2c#customerReviews
 

What do you think of this scanner?

[Harry Harrison]

It's going to depend what you want to use it for but it's quite old now and was pitched below the V700 & V750 flatbeds which have now morphed into the V800 & V850. I would say that despite the claimed resolution none are very good for 35mm because of their flatbed design. May possibly be just about  OK for the archive route here but I've no experience with either the scanner or the archive route.

 

Good results seem to be possible from medium format film from the V700/750/800/850, especially with the fluid mount accessory but I don't think that works for the V600 and is any case  time-consuming and somewhat messy. Here is a comprehensive review from 2009, I quite like the introduction:

 

https://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/V600/V600.HTM

[Marianne]

I used an Epson scanner to scan medium format transparencies for a photographer I worked for and there was a lot of cleaning up to do despite excellent prep. I then tried to to scan some of my 35mm negatives and couldn't get anywhere near the resolution stated. I used a Nikon negative scanner when I was taking a class and that was much better. Flatbed scanners really aren't worthwhile for 35mm negatives. Somewhat better with the handful of 35mm slides I had but nothing that would pass QC. 

 

 

[Harry Harrison]

Another review, but this time they test the actual resolution with the industry standard USAF test chart:

 

https://www.filmscanner.info/en/EpsonPerfectionV600Photo.html

 

So it seems it only achieves an actual resolution of 1560 ppi, which isn't a lot of good for medium format and for 35mm you're looking at only 2250 x 1500 'quality' pixels from 35mm.

 

They also test the V700, V750 & V850 and these all do better but not by much, all giving 2300 ppi, so more or less 3300 x 2200 px from 35mm.

 

What they are saying here is that although you can set it to scan at 6400 ppi it just takes longer, produces a bigger file but yields no extra detail than it would at lower resolutions.

 

It makes you wonder how Epson can begin to claim 6400 ppi optical resolution for all these scanners.

 

 

[Nigel Kirby]

Hi Betty

I have just looked at your link to www amazon there is a review comment from 2018 saying:

 

"If you are a Mac user, do not buy this product ...
... UNLESS you're totally cool with wandering hopelessly confused around the internet looking for the right software update for your computer.
Epson has had a *known* compatibility issue with Macs since at least 2014. My exact issue has been appearing on message boards and printer forums for years."

 

Nigel

[Allan Bell]

Thank you for the link Betty. I saw something in there that might be of beneficial use. It has given me an idea but will have to experiment with it though.

 

Allan

 

Not related to the scanner BTW.

 

ITMA

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by Allan Bell
Added another sentence.

[sb photos]

I would never use a flat bed scanner to scan 35mm or 6x6/6x7 negs unless only for web use. I still have an old Epson Perfection 4990 scanner, fair in its day, but I only used it for 5x4 negs, and only printing to A3. Wet scanning on the Epson 750 wasn't a lot better, other than the negs were flat hence sharper scans. If I needed to print larger than A3 I used to pay for an Imacon/Hasselblad Flextight scan. For 35mm scans I first used a Polaroid Sprintscan 35 then a Minolta Dimage 4000 optical scanner, it worked well. The old Epson Scan software hasn't been updated for a long time, I used the excellent Vuscan on all my scanners.

Edited November 8, 2019 by sb photos

[Vincent Lowe]

I have the V700.  I have scanned a few 6x12 transparencies with it and 15 are on sale with Alamy.  Two have sold, one of them three times.

 

I've also scanned some 6x6 which I think might pass QC but I haven't had the nerve to try yet...🥴   35mm - forget it, for stock anyway.

 

For the curious - the 6x12mm format was from a Calumet 6x12 roll film back on an old MPP 5x4in field camera.

Edited November 8, 2019 by Vincent Lowe

[sb photos]

4 hours ago, Vincent Lowe said:

I

For the curious - the 6x12mm format was from a Calumet 6x12 roll film back on an old MPP 5x4in field camera.

 

I used to long for a 6x12 roll film back for my Toyo 45A. The Toyo and 5 lenses haven't been used for around 5 years now

[Vincent Lowe]

2 hours ago, sb photos said:

 

I used to long for a 6x12 roll film back for my Toyo 45A. The Toyo and 5 lenses haven't been used for around 5 years now

 

I've still got it if you want to make me an offer....😀.  I've still got the MPP as well but the last time I dragged it out for a bit of nostalgia the shutter on the 'standard' lens, an old Kodak, had seized up.

[Betty LaRue]

I don’t have many slides, and of those I have, I might want to upload 1/4 of them, if that. Back in 2004, just off chemo and radiation, I made the decision to abandon the novel I was writing before the Big C intervened. Unsure of my future, I wanted to get out in my beloved nature. 
I bought a nice Nikon SLR film camera, and having read as much as I could find out about stock, I began shooting transparencies. I can remember nearly melting into a puddle chasing honeybees around my flowering shrub with a screw on close up lens over my regular lens.

 

I didn’t even last a year before reading about the Nikon D70 6.3 mp DSLR and bought it. The film camera has been on a shelf ever since. Man, the developing of 36 slides every week , and buying the film about broke me!  I have, at the most, 8 months worth of slides, but  tossed many. After all, I was learning photography with a “real” camera instead of using my Canon 35mm Sureshot. (Which took GREAT film pictures!) So I made mistakes, and that was an understatement. My lenses were kit lenses, too.

I’m not really good with technical stuff. Why I bought the Nikon scanner, the good one ya’ll talk about, I’ll never know. It beat me, never could figure it out well enough to get a decent scan, so I sold it (almost brand new) to someone who did handsprings after getting it for half what I paid.

Those few dozens of transparencies haunt me.  Yesterday, I spent hours researching flatbeds, and considering your remarks, I think a flatbed would be a total waste of money. 
Now I’m researching using my camera, but realize getting good copies may require more technique and understanding how to process them than I’m capable of. But I nearly have everything I need. X-T2, an excellent 80mm macro lens, and a light table, a good one. All I need is a tripod that will allow me to invert the column so I can get the camera close enough. Focus, set the 2 minute timer and pray. I have a bunch of tripods, mine and my late husband’s.  I’ll check them to see if any will do what I need it to do.

I’m not done thinking about it. A long winter ahead...a good time to try it.

Allan, fly over and we’ll tackle it together!   Yes, I know a higher mp camera would be ideal, but that ship sailed when I sold my D800.

Betty

Edited November 9, 2019 by Betty LaRue
Typo

[Betty LaRue]

DLSR Film Scanning Equipment List

Ok, you’ve watched the video already right? If not, stop reading this, and go back up an watch!

HARDWARE:

Here’s a list of the basic hardware I used in my DSLR film scanning setup, along with links of where I got mine. Of course, you can substitute much of this with your existing equipment.

1) Tripod:
This tripod is great! Picked it up on Amazon for 1/4 of the price of more expensive tripods, but performs great, and once you invert the main column, it’s a perfect tripod for this setup.
» Vanguard Alta Pro – $150 at Amazon.

2) Macro Lens:
This lens is insane. If you are using the Fuji X system, would highly recommend checking this out – not just for film scanning but for it’s amazing macro shots (the image stabilization is a HUGE bonus when you’re in the field, although you should leave off image stabilization during scanning to ensure maximum sharpness.)
» 80mm Fujinon Macro – 1,049 at Amazon.

3) Camera
For this setup, I used my Fuji X-T2. If you’re in the market for a camera, I would highly recommend it. The Live Mode is a HUGE help for framing, focusing and exposing your negative.
» Fuji X-T2 – $1,099 at Amazon.

4) Light Table
I looked at a lot of Light Tables and for now, this one is really working out well. As shown in video, make sure it plugged in and at maximum brightness.
» Kaiser Slimlite Plano – $109 at Amazon.

5) Air Blower (and other cleaning tools)
It’s worth getting a whole cleaning kit, but the air blower and brush from this DSLR cleaning kit are especially useful for making sure your equipment and negatives are dust-free.
» Camera Cleaning Kit – $10 at Amazon.

6)  Film Scanning Mask:
I really like this Digitaliza film scanning mask from lomography. It’s simple to use and it holds everything very flat (which was not the case with my Epson V600 scanning mask). Perfect for DSLR Film scanning.
» Digitaliza film scanning mask – $45 at Lomography.

 

[Harry Harrison]

Thanks Betty, that's an interesting link:

 

http://natephotographic.com/dslr-film-scanning-perfect-color-negatives/

 

I know that you've got slides to scan but colour negative originals could also be an option for uploading to Alamy and I'm interested to try his NegativeLabPro Lightroom plugin that he was using in the video:

 

https://www.negativelabpro.com/

 

I'm sure that your combination of Fuji XT-2 & the 80mm Macro will be absolutely fine and I even wonder if the results from the D800 would have shown any meaningful improvement because the limiting factor is probably the original slide. Certainly when downsized to 3000 x 2000 px, if that's what you decide to do, then it will be fine. Does the macro lens have a focus lock on it? Sometimes when pointed downwards like that focus can creep.

 

I didn't much like the look of the camera dangling off the bottom of the tripod, a pretty flimsy tripod at that. If you've got a decent tripod already then a Manfrotto 131D arm would turn it into a solid and handy copying stand. You could then use a small table plus books etc. to get your light panel up to the right level. I also think that a mirror is going to be better than an Iphone at making sure everything is lined up.

 

As you might have seen from other threads, the Nikon ES-1 slide copying attachment is a much simpler setup, I wonder if anyone using one of those might be able to suggest if that would work on your Fuji Macro, it would make things a lot easier.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Harry Harrison

[spacecadet]

I have a few colour neg scans up and it's much simpler than many would have us think. There's no need to fret about the orange mask- after inverting, just eydropper in LR on a neutral midtone. Some need individual curve correection, but usually only if the exposure is off.

 

All from 120, copied on the Illumitran with the long end of a kit zoom, Sony APS-C.

Edited November 9, 2019 by spacecadet

[Harry Harrison]

6 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

I have a few colour neg scans up and it's much simpler than many would have us think

Yes, I do it that way also but I'm intrigued to see if his presets work better, he gives a free trial for 12 images I think, then it's $99. Never got on with ColorPerfect, a better grasp of German would have helped.

[Allan Bell]

14 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Allan, fly over and we’ll tackle it together!   Yes, I know a higher mp camera would be ideal, but that ship sailed when I sold my D800.

 

Hi Betty, I am sure I replied to the above earlier but it seems to have disappeared. Maybe someone, one of the forum adjudicators, did not like what I had put in my reply so I will try again.

 

I would love to fly out to see you.😃 Should I bring my slides, negs and equipment too or are we just concentrating on yours?  All my camera bodies are 24 Mp and I am sure that is enough to copy 35mm slide and negs for submission to Alamy.

 

Back down to earth. Seriously though I am still looking for a permanent place of my own to live and am in a state of flux at the moment. Still waiting for the solicitors to get a move on with things since J passed.

 

Allan

 

NOTE:- I am just replying to Betty and not making a comment on the subject of this thread.  Wish we still had the PM service.

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

56 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Hi Betty, I am sure I replied to the above earlier but it seems to have disappeared. Maybe someone, one of the forum adjudicators, did not like what I had put in my reply so I will try again.

 

I would love to fly out to see you.😃 Should I bring my slides, negs and equipment too or are we just concentrating on yours?  All my camera bodies are 24 Mp and I am sure that is enough to copy 35mm slide and negs for submission to Alamy.

 

Back down to earth. Seriously though I am still looking for a permanent place of my own to live and am in a state of flux at the moment. Still waiting for the solicitors to get a move on with things since J passed.

 

Allan

 

NOTE:- I am just replying to Betty and not making a comment on the subject of this thread.  Wish we still had the PM service.

 

Allan

 

I know. Miss being able to PM also. Hope you find a nest soon.

[Allan Bell]

16 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I know. Miss being able to PM also. Hope you find a nest soon.

 

Thank you Betty. With Christmas and New Year AND winter it could be well into next year now.

 

Allan