Desmolicious wrote:
I gave this a thumbs up so it looks like I'm in on the joke.
(unless you are talking about my dentist then i don't get it)
If your dentist drive a black TransAm with a TurboBoost button on the dash then the only question we can ask is if you have ever seen Michael Knight and your dentist in the same room together...
I've used the Lobster Holder to great effect of late. It's made by a local photographer here in Central Europe and works pretty well, but you need to supply your own copystand. As far as film holders go it's quite affordable for what you get and I reckon you can find an even better deal in the second hand market.
Here are a couple shots I've scanned with it. Film Washi Z, Nikkor 35/1.4, Nikon F3. Digitized with Canon 5DIV + Sigma 70/2.8 Art Macro + Lobster Holder + Negative Lab Pro
I've used the Lobster Holder to great effect of late. It's made by a local photographer here in Central Europe and works pretty well, but you need to supply your own copystand. As far as film holders go it's quite affordable for what you get and I reckon you can find an even better deal in the second hand market.
Here are a couple shots I've scanned with it. Film Washi Z, Nikkor 35/1.4, Nikon F3. Digitized with Canon 5DIV + Sigma 70/2.8 Art Macro + Lobster Holder + Negative Lab Pro
Following up on my previous post in this thread, I ended up purchasing the Blackscale Lab Molo scan unit. Similar to the Valoi Easy setup but comes ready to scan medium format AND 35mm. The price point is less than the Valoi easy120. The kit comes with everything you need, a variety of extension tubes, step up rings, cinestill light and three scan mounts 35mm, 6x6 and 6x9 masks. The whole setup is very solid and the negatives are held in place and flat. It's a pull through design which allows me to scan a roll of 36 exposures in about a minute. I'm loving this one kit solution for all my 35 and 120 scanning needs. The Cinestill light source slides right into the holder and fits perfectly. I will also point out that Dmitry, who created this system, is easy to communicate with. Note, I put those tacky labels on the extension tubes to make it easy to switch from scanning 120 to 35mm.
rji2goleez wrote:
Following up on my previous post in this thread, I ended up purchasing the Blackscale Lab Molo scan unit.
Looks great! What macro lens are you using (looks like Laowa, maybe)? I keep thinking about going this route, but 1) I don't own a macro lens and 2) my highest-resolution camera is 24 megapixels and when I'm shooting medium format I'm always shooting 6x6 so presumably those images will be cropped and I'll lose resolution. Scanning portions of the negative and stitching to get higher resolution seems like a pain. Plus I don't use Lightroom so thus can't use Negative Lab Pro and would need a different solution. The problem is that the other semi-affordable options for scanning 120 are a lot more expensive...basically either the Epson v850 or the recently updated Plustek 120 scanner (which also does 35mm).
bjhurley wrote:
Looks great! What macro lens are you using (looks like Laowa, maybe)? I keep thinking about going this route, but 1) I don't own a macro lens and 2) my highest-resolution camera is 24 megapixels and when I'm shooting medium format I'm always shooting 6x6 so presumably those images will be cropped and I'll lose resolution. Scanning portions of the negative and stitching to get higher resolution seems like a pain. Plus I don't use Lightroom so thus can't use Negative Lab Pro and would need a different solution. The problem is that the other semi-affordable options for scanning 120 are a lot more expensive...basically either the Epson v850 or the recently updated Plustek 120 scanner (which also does 35mm)....Show more →
Yes, that is the Laowa macro 90/2.8 and works great in this setup. Yeah scanning 6x6 negatives with a camera, you will need to crop either in post or if your camera can do square format which is just cropping in camera. I already had the Laowa lens.
As for scanning a portion of the negative and stitching in post, I've done this once, scanning 'TexPan' negatives using a 35mm mask. Stitching was done in Lightroom, of course, Photoshop works well too. It's an extra step but wasn't too bad so long as you scan in manual mode to keep exposure consistent across the full negative.
I bought the Valoi easy 35 this week. My set up is Nikon Z8 and Contax Zeiss 60mm macro lens. The result is less than what I expected. I remember using an Epson v500 and get better result. The setup is certainly faster. I was setting my lens to f8, carefully check focus. But many times, the edge of the frame is not flat. I also use negative lab pro to do the conversion. As a thumbnail to reference pictures, it is ok. but the resolution is really low. I am not sure what I have done wrong.
Lab scans can suck. They can be awesome. Finding a good lab can do wonderful things for making film fun. That said, when that itch to scan at home hits, there are tons of options. Flat bed scanners can be slow and tedious, but so can DSLR scanning setups. I messed with a bunch of things, but ended up giving the (expensive) negative lab stuff a try a few years back when they were on sale (think it was a Black Friday sale) and I've never looked back. You could certainly replicate their tools with a tripod, a 3rd party light, etc., but I've had great experiences with their equipment and their customer service has been awesome. Just my experience scanning at home for the past few years!
Seabassius wrote:
I recently got into film with a Nikon 35mm and a Rolleiflex. I was hoping to pick up a scanner that would do both. My ideal scenario would be a simple macro lens adapter, but I don't see one at BH that does 120. Not wanting to make a huge investment, but curious on what people in the group use? It's $9 for my local place to scan for relatively low res, so over time it will add up so hoping there is a good cost effective solution. I have an old Nikon Coolscan that's about ten years old, but it won't do 120 either. ...Show more →
It’s been almost two months since you started this thread and haven’t seen you since. So, what did you end up doing and what did you find?
I didn't realize the thread was still getting action.
I bought an Epson v600, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. I haven't shot film in that time either. Between work and ski season I haven't had a chance to play around with the film hobby. I'm approach my return window closing so I'll need to look at between now and then and make sure it all works.
Seabassius wrote:
I bought an Epson v600, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. I haven't shot film in that time either. Between work and ski season I haven't had a chance to play around with the film hobby. I'm approach my return window closing so I'll need to look at between now and then and make sure it all works.
I think you'll find it fine for your Rolleiflex (although it's really tricky to load 120 film in the folders if the negatives are curly) but probably not fine for your 35mm film. But try it and see.
There used to be a company called "better scanning" that made holders for the v600 with anti Newton ring glass and with adjustable feet so you could fine-tune the focus, but even though their website is still up they don't return emails or fulfill orders so I assume they are out of business.
I have the v600 myself for 120 film (I use a different scanner for 35mm) and it's okay as long as I have flat negatives.
bjhurley wrote:
I think you'll find it fine for your Rolleiflex (although it's really tricky to load 120 film in the folders if the negatives are curly) but probably not fine for your 35mm film. But try it and see.
There used to be a company called "better scanning" that made holders for the v600 with anti Newton ring glass and with adjustable feet so you could fine-tune the focus, but even though their website is still up they don't return emails or fulfill orders so I assume they are out of business.
I have the v600 myself for 120 film (I use a different scanner for 35mm) and it's okay as long as I have flat negatives. ...Show more →
I have an old Coolscan 5000v I might try and see if I can get that working again. Missing a power cable but that should be easy to find. Connecting to a mac might be more time consuming but I might do some searching to see what I can find. I was always happy with that but haven't used in over 12 years if I had to guess.
I have an Epson photo flatbed and found it useful with medium format when not printing big and useful with 35mm, but not useful when wanting to print to any reasonable size. I purchased everything that Better Scanning made and suggest keeping you eyes open on the used market for their products. The film holders that come with the Epson scanners were trash.. maybe better now.
A V700 35mm scans and I’m doing something wrong here to get this page layout:
I figure it can get me good for web sharing and projecting to my frame tvs and if I get blown away by one of the shots I’d send for a good scan somewhere to print was my thinking.
bwcolor wrote:
I have an Epson photo flatbed and found it useful with medium format when not printing big and useful with 35mm, but not useful when wanting to print to any reasonable size. I purchased everything that Better Scanning made and suggest keeping you eyes open on the used market for their products. The film holders that come with the Epson scanners were trash.. maybe better now.
A V700 35mm scans and I’m doing something wrong here to get this page layout:
Honestly, the Epson v600 + negative lab pro has been great for my needs. Of course there are a million different approaches to scanning at home but sometimes simple is fine. I guess it depends how many rolls you're pumping through.
bjhurley wrote:
The Valoi Easy 120 (https://www.valoi.co/easy120) is probably what you want; it does 35mm and 120 and attaches to a macro lens, and you can scan a roll of film easily and quickly (in less than 5 minutes). But it's about $520 for the kit; if you don't already have a macro lens you'll have to pay extra for that. At your current rate of $9/roll it would pay for itself after about 58 rolls.
If you want to talk about cumbersome and complicated, the Easy 120 is certainly that! I sent mine back after a few weeks. Made my copy stand setup seem like a breeze.
terencepatrick wrote:
If you want to talk about cumbersome and complicated, the Easy 120 is certainly that! I sent mine back after a few weeks. Made my copy stand setup seem like a breeze.
Yeah, I've started seeing lots of bad reviews of this model. People seem pretty happy with the Easy 35mm, but the 120 is a different story. Too bad!
