Kodak RFS 3570 Film Scanner?

anyone with any experience with this model of scanner?

Way back when it first came out. Not very impressive. Fast but pretty poor software.

tell me more. I realize that it isn't an Imacon or even a Nikon Coolscan 5000 or 8000

but I am looking for something to make at least get a passable fast scan for

cataloging purposes.

I'm going back at least 5 or 6 years! The scanner uses a 2D array so it's super fast (6 or 8

seconds a scan). That's going to give you about an 18mb scan. Not that big by today's

standards. I would look to see what software is available (maybe SilverFast) but the Kodak

software probably doesn't run on any modern OS's (Kodak isn't the best at supporting

their products).

I did some scanning with a RFS 3600. An admin (I didn't use it at home) told me that it was a royal pain to set up and get working in Windows 2000 and the scanning software was bad (apparently Silverfast supported it, though.) It would be reasonably safe to assume that the 3570 has somewhat similar software (or Kodak doesn't know much about software engineering... :-) since they are of similar vintage. IIRC, you use a Mac so you might not have the same problem's as with windows, but OS X support might not be good. Last thing I heard about the 3600 was "use Silverfast" so this option is surely worth checking out for the 3570 too.

I have both a 2035 and 3570. They work just fine under Windows XP and Kodak even states that the 3570 was tested to work under XP.

i just bought a 2035 for $10 off ebay, and am very pleased so far. For the price, it is certainly unbeatable! I will jot down my experiences as I start using it seriously.

 

Quality is OK, the 200dpi seem to be of better "quality" than the 2400 or 4800dpi that flatbed scanners claim. Speed is VERY impressive. As a sidenote, the scanner is basically b/w, taking 3 snaps in R/G/B and adds them up to a color image. I can imagine that it is very useful fos scanning b/w, I have yet to scan some b/w negs. Operation is nearly silent.

 

I am using it on OSX with vuescan, and it works just fine. You asked about the 3570, which is basically nthe same scanner but can handle also medium format film. The 3600 is entirely different, and I cannot recommend the 3600 after having used one.

 

So if you don't expect it to outperform an Imacon or latest film scanner, a 3570 or 2035 will certainly be very useful.

<p>I just bought a RFS 3570 but unfortunately did not get any of the film holders with the package. I only got the calibration mask and a single frame holder adapter.</p>

<p>Could you tell me if it is even theoretically possible to use the scanner without any film holder? I am just wondering whether to try and find a SCSI card and a cable to do further testing. Or should i just give up right away here, because i think that it is impossible to find these holders as accessories anywhere anymore.<br>

-- Matti</p>

<p>My experience with the Kodak 3570 film scanner has been mixed. By today's standards resolution is low, 18 megapixels, but it makes film grain magically disappear.<br>

Undersampling combined with a diffuse light source. It works a lot like a slide projector, a flash light is repeatedly fired through a plastic diffusor, the light reaches the slide goes through a lens (much like a slide projektor lens) onto the full-frame ccd. Now comes the interesting part: the CCD only has 1,5 megapixel resolution I think. A special optical element is moved, so that the light path is changed to project a slightly different area of the slide onto the ccd. In effect, four pictures are taken at a slight offset and then combined. That's how the scanner reaches its full 18 megapixel resolution. The diffuse light source works magic especially for black and white pictures.<br>

It's best to use the scanner with the original software, a photoshop plug-in. It offers different film profiles to choose from. I used it on an old Mac under Classic Mac OS (System 8 or 9 I think). I also tried Vuescan, even worked under Mac OS X Panther, BUT the quality just isn't there.<br>

Please be aware that the Kodak 3570 PLUS scanner is significantly improved over the Kodak 3570 I have described here. It has a LED light source instead of the fragile flash system, this also boosts scan times from more than a minute to 15 seconds. The optical system is also said to be much improved, especially concerning flare. My version of the Kodak 3570 indeed showed unacceptable amounts of flare scanning slides. It's best to stick to color negative film.<br>

So try to find the PLUS version if you can! The older one isn't really worth the hassle anymore, I think.<br>

-- Michael Heitmann (mheitmann.ch)</p>

<p>I know this is an old thread but I'm hoping someone may see it.</p>

<p>I recently got hold of an RFS-3570 scanner and got it working. My problem with it is I don't have the calibration mask and it won't proceed to scan until I run the calibration sequence.</p>

<p>I have searched and contacted every source I know of to get a calibration mask but they just don't seem to be available.</p>

<p>I am hoping someone will know where I can obtain such calibration mask, or perhaps borrow or rent one so that I can make a copy of it. Or even pictures and measurements of the device would be a great help.</p>

<p>I do have negative holders for 6x6 and 6x7 that could be used to have copies made. Perhaps a cooperative agreement could be made to let each other use some of the items. I can even offer assistance with getting the software installed and the scsi link connected. (Although I have only done this with Windows XP and don't know about Macintosh, Vista or Windows 7)</p>

<p>So, if anyone out there reads this and can tell me where to find one of those calibration masks I would be in their debt. I just hate to toss such a nicely working machine into the landfill.</p>

<p>Thanks all, Bill</p>

 

<p>Anyone knows how to connect these older scsi scanners to work on a Mac running OSX? I have a RFS2035 with the Ratoc SCSI to USB adapter and VueScan but it doesn't work.</p>

<p>Macs are picky about what scsi card is used for what Mac hardware and what usb to scsi adapter work too. Do a google search for your mac model and your osx version to find if another has a solution.</p>

<p>The Calibration Mask is basically a black plastic light shield that you slide into the single frame holder. So it's not a big deal to simply shield the scanner with a dark cloth or somehing else while calibration. It is just there to block light getting in/out of the scanner while calibration. The Kodak RFS 2035 Plus doesn't need a calibration mask because the light path is automatically closed (spring-loaded) when there is no slide/film holder in it.<br>

Overall great & robust scanners. I would recommend the Plus versions because of the higher bit rate for color sampling. All of these scanners use the same superbright and everlasting xenontube as light source. I don't know why people think that there is a LED inside the Plus scanners. The best thing about the design is that the imager doesn't really requires cleaning as the one in the Nikon scanners do.<br>

As software just use an old SCSI PowerMac (e.g. 7100/7500/7600/8100/8500/8600/9500/9600/G3Desktop/G3Minitower) running OS9 with Photoshop 7 or earlier plus the Kodak Plugin that is still available for download from Kodak Alaris. Very fast and good results and endless film presets to choose from.<br>

If you can find one, buy one! You won't be disappointed!</p>

<p>Did you ever get the calibration masks?</p>

Hi anyone still use this scanner, i have one but wont scan, just make a white file.

For your needs you could probably get by with an Epson V6000 or similar Epson model. Canon also makes some flatbed scanners that rate pretty well for the web or not too big enlargements.