I got a new-old Polaroid Sprintscan 120

Picked this up on Ebay, and it will arrive sometime this week. It's never been used, and the seller looks fine (100% real feedback). Paid about 30% of the cost of a Nikon 9000, and this one has the holders (most of the Nikons don't, and single holders go for absurd sums). Now I have to learn to really obsess about cleaning my negs, since no IR channel.

 

I'd appreciate any Useful Advice from people who have owned these, or the (identical) Microtek ArtixScan version. I actually had a Sprintscan 4000 (35mm only) and the scans were great. I'll hold on to the Coolscan V as well. Only sad thing is, I was finally getting excellent scans from SilverFast 8.8.x, after years of failure, and it's not available for the Polaroid. I do have Vuescan, and a 1394 card is on the way, so I should be fine. Negative cleaning advice is also appreciated. I've got a radioactive brush and canned air, but if there's somebody with the old Kodak electric brush who wants to get rid of it, I'll pay.

I owned one of these, the Microtek version, and used it with Viewscan software on a 2008 Mac Pro. Setting it up was basically plug and play, and it produced excellent scans. I finished scanning what I needed it for and then resold it on eBay. Now, I use my DSLR with a macro lens for the little "scanning" that I still do.

I owned both Polaroids, must be nearly 20 years ago. Too bad about SilverFast, it's pretty good, better than I recall the software from Polaroid. PEK (I think that's what it was called) was a very good film cleaner in the day. Only use if the brush doesn't get everything off.

I notice that my local camera store (yes, there is one) has Edwal film cleaner in stock. I only used that stuff for really bad situations in the Old Days, so I'm not buying any yet.

>>PEK (I think that's what it was called) was a very good film cleaner in the day.<<

 

"PEC" and "PEC Pads" are still around!

 

Doug

Yup. I need to order some PEC pads--mine vanished in the last move.