Scanner for 4 X 5 negatives?

Hello all,

 

I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about what a good scanner for 4 X 5 negatives might be.

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

I don't own one but the popular scanner seems to be the Epson V800

 

Microtek Scanmaker i900 (no autofocus) or Microtek Artixscan F1 or F2 are a few others

 

Link on the topic ....

Best scanner for 4x5 negatives

It is hard to advise you adequately because you haven't given us enough information. You first need to decide how much time and effort you are willing to dedicate to the task, the level of quality you want/require and then how much you want to spend. Once you have those things set in your mind and can tell us, then people can narrow the options down and advise. Choices will run from a lightbox and you hand holding a digital snapper camera, to a small scanner that requires stitching multiple frames, to a decent used or new flatbed scanner, to a high end digital camera repro setup, to a high end flatbed, to a drum scan.

 

Doug

FWIW, because of the large size of the image, some of the flatbed scanners can do reasonably well with 4x5. My old Canoscan 9090 workedl before I broke it. It came with a holder for 4x5 negatives.

I have an old Epson 4870 which came with a holder for 4x5; two sheets at a time even, though with the length of time I spent spotting a scan this big for dust, I can't imagine when I'd ever want to scan two sheets in a session. I had to make my own holders for quarter plate. Haven't done any of this for a while now, but I was quite happy with what I got.

 

(edited to add...)

I should add that once it gets warm (after quite a bit of on-time), a belt in my scanner slips as it does the big, fast move to the start of the frame, and the only remedy I have found is to switch it off and start again. This didn't happen when it was new. So, though I like my scanner, I wouldn't recommend buying a used one.

Hello all,

 

I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about what a good scanner for 4 X 5 negatives might be.

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

 

This comparison is old, but still useful.

 

Collaborative Large Format Scanner Comparison

I spent over a year, off n on, scanning over 300 4x5 negatives taken between 1970 and 2005 with an Epson V800 model. My results were excellent. The only modification I did to the unit was to replace the Epson "Anti Newton Ring Glass", which is poly carbonate, not acid etched ANR glass. I scan my negatives with the emulsion down, just like my condenser head enlargers. For the money (about $600) it still works with my 35 & 120 negs. 35 work is done with a Better Scanning carrier with ANR inserts, 120 is with Epson's plastic carrier with ANR inserts. 35 & 120 is also scanned emulsion down. Aloha from the Mainland. Bill

I've been happy with my 4x5 scans from my Epson V700.

 

Medium format is a different story, but it does fine with 4x5.

Hasselblad Flextight! It is expensive, but even an used model like the 646 has the same optical performance of a new X1.

I compared some scan of 4x5 negative of a friend of mine: the scan from my Hasselblad 646 are way better than the scan from his epson V750.

Even the old Epson 2450 flatbeds will do a great job with 4x5. Those old scanners are a lot better than people think. Mine even made nice 35mm scans once I threw that film holder away and started taping the negs by the edges to the scanning glass. This was Tri-X shot with an inexpensive Canon FD lens and scanned by a 2450. The few 4x5 scans I made were excellent. And the files were huge!