New film scanner for uncut rolls

This may be a short thread, but I have looked with no luck.

 

Just need to load my uncut roll of slide, bw or color negative 35mm film.

 

If the quality is a bit poor that is ok (I have a coolscan which I will be keeping for my...keepers). I just want to create a contact sheet. I almost went with the dslr digitizing route but decided against it. Would probably work, but just not for me.

 

The pakon 135 is the obvious choice, but there are obvious drawbacks here of being old and also very expensive right now.

 

Is there a film scanner that I can buy new right now that will automatically feed and scan an entire uncut 35mm roll all at once? Press one button and then walk away, no babysitting. If it can do this, then I actually dont care about speed to be honest.

 

Hopefully under 1000 dollars?

 

Thank you

Good luck with that, I couldn't find one. I gave up and got the Braun FS-120.

Nikon made a long roll feeder for their scanners. Don't know if any are still available on eBay or wherever.

hold on, I think I found one!

 

PacificImage Electronics

 

anyone have any experience?

Yep, the Pacific Image Primefilm XAs appears to do what you want.

 

I have a Primefilm 3600 something-or-other. It worked quite well, but the software was clunky, and it wasn't exactly fast. OK if you put the time in to set up the software for each film. Unfortunately the last time I tried to use it I found it wasn't supported in Win 8.1 or later, and no firmware/software update was available. It's fastest interface was Firewire too; using the USB port slowed it down even more.

 

You would hope that the PF XAs is fully supported, since it was only announced last October!

 

If you do buy one, please report back.

I might be interested, since it seems to be the only game in town to be had new.

 

(Wouldn't touch Plustek with a barge pole!)

Edited January 22, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

Yep, the Pacific Image Primefilm XAs appears to do what you want.

 

I have a Primefilm 3600 something-or-other. It worked quite well, but the software was clunky, and it wasn't exactly fast. OK if you put the time in to set up the software for each film. Unfortunately the last time I tried to use it I found it wasn't supported in Win 8.1 or later, and no firmware/software update was available. It's fastest interface was Firewire too; using the USB port slowed it down even more.

 

You would hope that the PF XAs is fully supported, since it was only announced last October!

 

If you do buy one, please report back.

I might be interested, since it seems to be the only game in town to be had new.

 

(Wouldn't touch Plustek with a barge pole!)

 

it appears to be priced at ~500USD. I perhaps am not expecting anything spectacular from it. It will be fine for creating contact sheets and sharing on instragram which it is just what I want.

 

I would hope it could do a whole roll in under 30min though. I would be ok with 1 hour, just go do something else for a while. 2 hours might start to get annoying. I read a review of the prior XA (not the 'super' edition) and it said scan times were 4 minutes a frame (but I could be wrong, I dont have time to go find the reference). That would be pushing 2.5 hours for a 36 frame roll. I am not a mini lab and that would technically be ok as I could set and forget, but that is still a long time. The pakon can do that in 10 minutes with 20(?) year old tech. hmmm, why can't we do this now?

 

I would take a risk on the pakon for 800 dollars which is what they were a few years ago...but maybe not 1500 which is what they are going for around now here lately (CAD).

 

If anyone has tried this scanner please chime in. Ill probably be buying one sooner or later unless it is literally horrible.

hold on, I think I found one!

 

PacificImage Electronics

 

anyone have any experience?

I needed medium format too and more resolution, but this fits your bill perfectly and the price is right. Let us know how it works.

I have a Pakon F135, which I got a few years ago.

 

Prices have gone up pretty fast since then.

 

Works best for C41 film, okay for black and white.

 

Some people do reversal film, but it doesn't seem designed for that.

 

It is very convenient for whole rolls, not so bad for rolls cut into

four or five frame strips. (You have to put one in when the previous

one comes out, but much easier than loading/unloading film holders

for most other scanners.)

 

I think I don't recommend them at current pricing, though.

I have a Primefilm XA and it does what it is supposed to do reasonably well. A FLIKR album using scanner Me and Andre up to no good

I have a Primefilm XA and it does what it is supposed to do reasonably well. A FLIKR album using scanner Me and Andre up to no good

 

nice. How long to scan a full uncut roll? The XAs claims to be 30% faster than the XA

I have a Pakon F135, which I got a few years ago.

 

Prices have gone up pretty fast since then.

 

Works best for C41 film, okay for black and white.

 

Some people do reversal film, but it doesn't seem designed for that.

 

It is very convenient for whole rolls, not so bad for rolls cut into

four or five frame strips. (You have to put one in when the previous

one comes out, but much easier than loading/unloading film holders

for most other scanners.)

 

I think I don't recommend them at current pricing, though.

 

I just emailed a company who sell refurbished ones and they were asking 1800USD. That is crazy. I think, as per usual in the old camera stuff world, a few good blogs by people who probably own 5 talk it up like its worth much more than its current price (i.e. "a steal") then the price goes through the roof. I mean, its great. But is it really 1800USD great? I don't understand. Good example is the rioch gr film camera which is now 500 dollars on ebay. That guy who reviews stuff for digital rev TV, Kai, reviewed it and loved it. Prices went up from 100 dollars to 500 dollars I think in less than 6 months. Fast anyway.. This is why I dont buy things on ebay. I swear there are camera horders out there who run all the listing and raise prices en masse when some review claims something is a hidden gem. This is why I use an canon eos 620. Its safe from the hype so I have a backup or two. Not that I will ever need it. But they are 40 dollars (or were few years ago). I bet now they are 100! :eek:

I think I got my F135 for $300, and even at that, I wasn't so sure.

 

But it is a lot faster for whole rolls, and that has some value.

 

As well as I know, the current price is from low supply, and not high demand.

 

They came from retiring minilabs, but there aren't so many labs left to retire.

 

I might have about 5000 C41 negatives, and also many black and white negatives.

 

However, even though I have had it for some years, I haven't scanned all that many negatives.

 

I also have a ScanDual IV, which scans strips of five, for some minutes each.

I believe it is higher resolution, but takes a long time to scan 5000 negatives.

I think I got my F135 for $300, and even at that, I wasn't so sure.

 

But it is a lot faster for whole rolls, and that has some value.

 

As well as I know, the current price is from low supply, and not high demand.

 

They came from retiring minilabs, but there aren't so many labs left to retire.

 

I might have about 5000 C41 negatives, and also many black and white negatives.

 

However, even though I have had it for some years, I haven't scanned all that many negatives.

 

I also have a ScanDual IV, which scans strips of five, for some minutes each.

I believe it is higher resolution, but takes a long time to scan 5000 negatives.

 

If you ever feel like selling the pakon and tripling your investment let me know hahaha:rolleyes:

The XAs has a claimed resolution of 10,000 ppi (yeah, right!), but I suspect it would scan much faster if set to a more reasonable 2500 ppi. That would be more than adequate for a 'contact' sheet or for web use.

 

The Pakon 135+ has a maximum resolution lower than that, at just over 2,000 ppi.

(snip)

The Pakon 135+ has a maximum resolution lower than that, at just over 2,000 ppi.

 

There is a rumor that the non-plus, with appropriate software (TLX) can generate the

higher resolution that is supposed to be only available from the plus.

 

As in the case of just about all scanners, one never really knows what the underlying

(optical) resolution is. If the focus isn't perfect, each spot on the negative will cover

more than one sensor unit, and so lower resolution. (Deconvolution might get this

back, but I don't know many people to do that.).

 

I usually use the ScanDual IV, at 3200 ppi, for those frames that I want at higher

resolution. 2000ppi is enough for many uses, though, and the 1500ppi that

the non-plus is supposed to be rated to do, isn't so bad, either.

How much film do you guys digittise?

 

I still shoot the odd film and I have scanned all my previous film not fine tuned though but they have been scanned with my flatbed at least I can view them and they are OK for social media posts etc ... I have found that the point and shoot cameras ie the non premium ones back in the day weren't v sharp but the most entry model Canon EOS was a lot better ie EOS 3000. With the kit lens.

 

For me is whenever I get a batch of films back from the lab the first thing I do is scan them all into JPEGs ..... Could never do full reso scans due to the sizes. Then for the few I can revisit and scan them better.

Edited January 29, 2019 by RaymondC

Nikon made a long roll feeder for their scanners. Don't know if any are still available on eBay or wherever.

Nikon Coolscan 4000 and 5000. Only second hand and no longer repaired but there are 2 or 3 individuals who repair in the USA. I understand people overseas send to them as well as far as New Zealand

Nikon Coolscan 4000 and 5000. Only second hand and no longer repaired but there are 2 or 3 individuals who repair in the USA. I understand people overseas send to them as well as far as New Zealand

 

I might consider trading up to a 5000 from the V ED LS 50. Even if the full roll takes an hour, that would be less of my babysitting time than doing 6 frames at a time as I could just walk away. It also good to hear some confirmation that people fix them. They are soo good, there is no way the film community will let those die. Someone out there will find a way to fix the ones that break

The thing with the full roll feeder is they can cost big bucks. To be fair to the other makers. there should be some new machines that do them but they don't have the same reputation as the Nikons. Plustek, Pacific Image for a bulk slide feeder but not sure about a uncut roll. I heard there is a hack to modify the 6 frame strip feeder with the Nikon 4000/5000 so it can take a uncut roll so you don't need that specific uncut roll feeder. I heard that it won't work with the IV or V though.

I heard there is a hack to modify the 6 frame strip feeder with the Nikon 4000/5000 so it can take a uncut roll so you don't need that specific uncut roll feeder.

 

yup. easy.

Check this site for info on converting a Nikon feeder to scan a full uncut roll. Nikon Coolscan LS-4000 ED / LS-5000 ED service and repair notes

 

If you own a Nikon scanner, bookmark the site, he has parts and does repairs.

Check this site for info on converting a Nikon feeder to scan a full uncut roll. Nikon Coolscan LS-4000 ED / LS-5000 ED service and repair notes

 

If you own a Nikon scanner, bookmark the site, he has parts and does repairs.

 

 

I am currently selling my V and will upgrade to a 5000

 

Bookmarked. Thank you so much for this link

I like the Pacific Image Powerfilm scanner, I’m looking for a good quality, under retail value, used scanner. Using for batch processing of 35mm negatives, but is on the expensive side. Only interested in this particular model, but was wondering if anyone has suggestions as to where to look for a good quality used unit.