This is a fiddly and time consuming process that is potentially damaging to your film.īut wait, there’s more. So, scanning your archives of three frame strips requires you unsleeve your film, cut one frame off and scan that one separately. This is a bad it is an almost unforgivable design oversight, as most 120 film sleeves accommodate strips of three 6圆 frames. The included holder is only long enough to accommodate two 6圆 frames. It looks like Pacific Image put as much thought and effort into its design as Nokia did for the N-Gage.īut what will be a deal breaker for many though is the length of the 120 film holder. Disappointingly, the 120 holder is flimsy and fiddly plastic, particularly compared to Plustek’s robust film holders. Since I’d be scanning 120 to begin with, the 120 holder was of most interest to me. Included in the box is a 35mm strip holder, 35mm mounted slide holder and a 120 holder. My plan was to bypass the included CyberView X software and use Hamrick’s VueScan, however the CyberView drivers are still required for the scanner to operate with VueScan. Installation and setup is straight forward, with a software disk included (better dust off that optical drive). Nobody works that way, except for in architecture and interior design magazines, so don’t pretend to. It will visually ruin your Jony Ive-inspired minimalist bespoke Broadsheet/ Kinfolk low contrast rustic workspace, so get used to it. It’s not as big as the Plustek, but occupies a sizeable footprint on any modern desk. It’s hard to tell who the OEM is, but the PF120 is made in Taiwan and Pacific Image is based in Taipei… All claim to deliver 3,200dpi resolution and operate with similar bundled software. All three share an almost identical outer casing and probably internal componentry. There is clearly a shared manufacturer between the two scanners, plus another similar scanner, the Braun FS120. Soon after, Pacific Image released the Primefilm 120 ( PF120), a scanner that looked very similar to the Reflecta. The sole website dedicated to reviewing film scanners, ScanDig, gave the Reflecta good marks, alas the Reflecta is only available in the EU. Aside from the Plustek Opticfilm 120, the Reflecta is one of the only dedicated multi-format film scanners launched in years. I have been keeping my eye on the Reflecta MF5000 for a while. With Plustek not willing to admit to what amount to serious quality control issues, I couldn’t place my faith in a replacement unit so back to the drawing board I went. Unfortunately, the scanner was defective and it seems many other Plustek customers have been suffering similar problems. Last year I tried the Plustek Opticfilm 120, a scanner that, at least on paper, seemed to meet my requirements. I was lucky enough to grab a refurbished Nikon Coolscan 5000ED before they skyrocketed in price, but since adding a Hasselblad to my kit, I’ve been on the hunt for a quality scanner for both 35mm and 120 to replace my ageing Coolscan. Well regarded units, such as the venerable Nikon Coolscan and Minolta DiMage series are long-since discontinued, difficult to service and hideously expensive second hand affordable flatbed scanners, such as the Epson V800/850 series are available new, but do not scan film with the same clarity and ease of a dedicated film scanner. Given photographic film is now at the end of its mass-market life, there is a complete dearth of quality, affordable film scanners. Quality scanning is expensive, time-consuming and a general pain. More than once I have almost given up on shooting film due to unsatisfactory scanning results. Scanning is the bane of any film photographer’s existence in the 21st century. In short, the Epson V700 is rubbish for 35mm the Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai is a pretty darn good scanner for 35mm, but lacks automated strip feeding. Read more about the return of the Coolscan here. Find out more about that experience here.Īfter scanning with an Epson V700 and Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai, I have reverted to a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED. This repaired unit also developed banding. I then received a brand-new replacement unit from the distributor and promptly sold it. It developed a severe banding problem, was sent off to Taiwan for repairs, and received back around 2 months later. I have since parted ways with my PF120 Pro. The Pacific Image PF120 Pro (left) with the Nikon Coolscan LS- 5000ED
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