Been looking online and in the past I have used a Epson Perfection v700, but I'm only looking for 35mm right now, and have seen the abilities of both a dedicated 35mm scanner (many types) like an Plustek Opticfilm 7x00 series or 8x00 series and digitizing with a mirror-less and macro via youtube.
They both offer their pros and cons, however in my month and half of reading and watching only semi helpful gear reviews and comparisons I have come to these rambling observations / conclusions - rambly, and some un-needed information however considering I'm here to get help, I figured more info may be more helpful than less for me in the long run.
When it comes to cost I see:(mostly based on low google search price on the side)
Epson perfection 700 starts about $650, Epson perfection 600 is about $200 Epson perfection 800 is discontinued, but looks like $600 Epson perfection 850 is over 1k.
Now I could possibly snag deal on ebay, but say $600-$800 for an 850(not discontinued, hopefully improved grain quality from 700) I could get a full frame mirror-less, which will allow me to more, and do what I want (arguably) better from other internet results. A OpticFilm7200 is about 50-100 used, 8200i se starting about $400 new. I haven't seen results from any of these on specific os, but I currently only have computers running win 7, win 10. The 8x00 series should work, based on drivers and for the 7x00 series I would need an additional vewscan purchase. The results from the opticfilms I have seen are comparable with digitization solutions. However some models can also do dust removal, which is another 100 bucks for a new 8200 AI One of the mirror-less body type I want is between 300-800 used, depending what I'm looking for and where I look. at about 600 i start seeing auctions with lenses and accessories - especially if its craigslist or not sponsored ebay listings Digitization also requires me to buy or build a frame, buy holders, glass, lights, to make a setup. This could end up being the price of a scanner itself:confused:
There are also other cameras in this line, however I'm looking for quality photos over video so more research would be required.
Current thoughts and considerations:
I'm likely to grab a OpticFilm7200 for testing with black and white as I cant take advantage of IR filtering (unless I use colour processing B/W film as I understand it) or start developing colour film. The need of vuewscan makes me less willing to test this out, but I'd have to look into licensing and some other stuff. (for example, considering a hackentosh as I have hardware for one.) However when I look at the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 and the upgraded models or digitizing with a mirror-less I start to see appeals of getting a mirror-less camera Body type: Sony a6000, a7 or a7II - I have a collection of vintage FD lenses I would like to attempt to use. I also like the results I see from youtube videos, but only way to know if I'd like it is to do it myself. I enjoy the bokeh of a Canon fl 55mm 1.2 I have especially, its also a fairly sentimental lens to me and would hate to sell it or see it not get use - however I shouldn't buy a whole system for one lens, thus why I mention a collection of them and hope my favorites for film will be okay for "something." In regards to my lenses I have mostly primes, with : Canon FL 55mm f1.2 Tokina 17MM f3.5 Tokina at-x 35-70 f2.8 Canon FD 50mm 1.4(Olympics) Canon FD 50mm 1.4 breach-lock ver Canon FD 50mm 1.8 Vivitar Series 1 28-105 f2.8-3.8 Canon FD 70-210 f4
[*]There's also a bonus that a digital camera, vintage glass or not, it will allow me to practice with new aspects of photography for the price of electricity and time. Which, when coming from b/w film, is a lot of potential savings to me seeing the price of colour film.
I dont know if my expectations for camera equipment has been wrongly tempered by my use of a New F1, but I adore this camera. I have a T90 as well, which is an amazing unit - except I just don't enjoy its hand-feel, weight, etc and its been my backup camera since film class. So idk if I'll enjoy shooting this camera like my F1 or my T90. Regardless, I got both in kit deals for photo class, and due to not having time to decide bought a cheap t90 hoping it didn't break/wasn't broken when I got it. had to fix its battery tray and unclick the lever to fix the EEE error. But with it coming broken I made an offer on a kit with the New F1 and it was accepted, I fell in love with the sturdy build and the ability to be fully manual. Although after college I stopped shooting sadly and am only getting back into it since buying chemicals.
That also being said, I have recently developed a lot of old film leftover from school, and have stuff left to shoot. When its done, I'll probably restock on HP5+ as I bulk load, but digital keeps looking a little more appetizing in comparison, especially for colour however I loose that beautiful grain I enjoy with digital.
in regards to price v what I want. When I get to the price of about 400 I start to want a digital camera, when we hit 600 I start wanting to get a deal with a kit lens, and when I start spending over 800 I want to make sure I'm satisfied with what I want. that being said, I know both methods have costs I havent seen - like lightroom, the darkroom addon, a light table or viewscan or other software, etc. at the low-end a 7200 with viewscan and software (darkroom) is still about the price of a Sony a6000 body, which enables lots of fun trial and error photography without costing me additional film. at the middle price of 600 I could get a higher end Opticfilm, like an 8200 which gives decent options for scanning colour 35mm. Or perhaps the xp2 i was given thats in my fridge, should i load up my bulk loader and get some c41. but on the other hand for that price I could get a camera with a lens on craigslist or ebay, while I dont get dust removal I get a modern lens with a body and I know there is likely to be one person who will tell me "if you get a digital body, just get modern glass" regardless of if they have a reason or read the reason I want to use my vintage. I could alternatively get some Epson perfection of some model, which would let me try out medium format scanning, which the scanner excels at. however this is also what steers me to 35mm scanners as I don't have a MF camera and haven't used one but between the two, I think I'd currently like to go digital 35mm. if only because I've seen mixed complaints about digital medium format cameras quality vs classic medium format - but that's not my debate yet.
[*]When it comes to 800+ i see various bodies and deals on line- and its hard to not be suckered into a kit of glass that (assuming I tried to sell the glass for fair used price) breaks me even on a body. doubly so when some is vintage glass commanding pricetags like that.
TL;DR
Between a 35mm Opticfilm scanner or Sony alpha 6000 or 7 series camera seem where I'm situated based on what I've seen over the last month-month and a half of looking at "whats best"
Scanner runs me anywhere between 200-600 for new with vewscan and silverfast - not counting light room and darkroom however.
Getting a camera I would still need some kind of light table, I would likely still need to get light room and darkroom either way I go.
I know that the camera, especially compared to the scanner, to get a "deal" i'll likely be spending more than 600 or having to get lucky with something like a speed pack included with only the body. With an A7II with Sony 28mm f2 auto lens and Sony 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 auto lens for about $1100 a good deal when it comes with a bag and some extra vintage lenses? Idk what the shutter actuation count is however, which is another point of consideration.
Sorry for the long post, wrote it and reformatted it a couple times over the course of today. I have an obvious bias towards the camera- I enjoy the thought of being able to shoot a modern digital, with its low light capabilities, in body stabilization, etc - but I also don't want to overspend. I'm also likely to sell one of my old bodies and a few prime lenses should I buy the digital, probably the T90, but should I enjoy it enough I could see myself selling the F1 and its motor drive also.
I would love to hear feedback from people who use a mirror-less for digitization or if you use vintage lenses with it. as well as people who have any of the OpticFilm scanners. Also "words of sage advice" like "oh, if the a7 has more than some-number-of-hopefully-tens-to-hundreds-of-thousands of shutter actuation don't pay more than 800 for the body as its over half its life expectancy" or "if its a model pre 2015 it's shutter lasts longer/degrades faster" sorts of things I don't find in these half paid adds via youtube and blogs.
ellie working on moar gunpla.
