But dedicated film scanners that can scan medium format film are much less common than the ones that can do 35mm only. I'm still not sure what I would use as a light source, however.Ī good consumer flatbed (Epson V700 or V800 etc.), when used properly, can do really good scans of medium format (especially 6圆 or larger), but only adequate scans of 35mm.Ī good to high-end dedicated film scanner that is medium format-capable can do really good scans of both types of film. If I could justify the cost, I'd probably prefer to switch to scanning everything with a Panasonic S1R, a 47-megapixel camera with a pixel-shift high resolution mode. (A few very high-end cameras with multi-shot pixel-shift functions can produce superb medium-format scans in one shot.)īecause of the above considerations, right now, I 'scan' black and white 35mm film with my 24-megapixel digital camera, and I scan color 35mm film and medium format film with an Epson V700. To produce scans of medium format film that equal or beat what flatbed and film scanners can do, you have to take multiple shots of your negative and stitch them together. If those conditions are satisfied, camera scanning can produce excellent scans of 35mm film in one shot.

But you need a medium to high resolution camera, a good macro lens, and a quality rig for holding the camera and film parallel, as well as providing even, diffuse, full-spectrum light. Scanning with a high quality digital camera can produce excellent scans of both types of film. Here's where it nets out for me:Ī good consumer flatbed (Epson V700 or V800 etc.), when used properly, can do really good scans of medium format (especially 6圆 or larger), but only adequate scans of 35mm.Ī good to high-end dedicated film scanner that is medium format-capable can do really good scans of both types of film. You'll get a lot of opinions, and all of them will depend very heavily on how the responder interprets the phrase 'really good'.

I want something I can get good scans from. I am spiralling down the film rabbit hole quickly. I am looking at purchasing a scanner for my negatives.

Negative photo scanner reviews