Best film scanner on Reddit
210 reviews from r/AnalogCommunity, r/analog, r/photography and 7 more subreddits
210 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Epson
3.9
(85)
"Epson V600 is my favorite."
"The Epson V850 Pro film scanner is excellent for scanning multiple negatives and slides at once."
"I found an Epson v700 on craigslist for $50."
"With higher end flatbed scanners, like the Epson V800/850, you can get really good results even on 35mm."
"I've gotten good results scanning film with an Epson v550 that I bought used for under $150."
"I ended up ordering the Epson V600 after MANY recommendations for it."
"The Epson V600 is great for both 35 and 120mm scanning, offering excellent quality and useful scanning tools."
"Worth the cost for flatbed scanning."
"Great choice for a variety of formats."
"It's a great scanner for 4x5, providing excellent scans when the film holder height is set correctly."
#2
Plustek
3.9
(37)
"I have a Plustek 8200i. Highly recommended."
"Has worked great for thousands of scans."
"The Plustek scanners (eg. 8100) are fantastic for shooting only 35mm."
"Massive upgrade for scanning 35mm."
"The Plustek 7500i provides excellent quality."
"I really like the Plustek OpticFilm 8100, well worth the money in my opinion."
"It's the best scanner at that price point."
"I have a Plustek. It's slow but good."
"I'd suggest a Plustek scanner."
"Anything from Plustek"
#3
Nikon
4.1
(22)
"Excellent for film scanning with a macro lens."
"The 4000 and 5000 can do a whole uncut roll in one go."
"The best"
"The Nikon Coolscan series scanners are high end scanners that will scan 35mm negatives, 35mm slides and 120 negatives."
"High-end model, great for various formats."
"Fantastic scanner for 35mm and medium format."
"Look for a good used Nikon Coolscan, they're the best for 35mm."
"I'm glad I did because all the 35mm scanners that have come out since don't compare."
"Autofocus is better."
"I'm using a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 with VueScan. No issues."
#4
Reflecta
4.1
(11)
"It can remove scratches because it has some special tech to do that. Works great and I got gorgeous scans."
"The files are beautiful, resolution is enough to always see grain, sharpness is awesome and colors seem greatly represented."
"Reflecta RPS 10M is the best option for 35mm right now, though it's on the expensive side."
"Reflecta scanners without automatic feeders have excellent scan quality."
"Older variants like RPS 7200 are viable options for those on a budget."
"RPS 3600 is another good option for budget-conscious buyers."
"Great scan quality, can scan an entire roll automatically."
"Proscan seems much better at film loading."
"Inexpensive and fast scanning standalone type, great for social media."
"Certainly better than any flatbed."
#5
DSLR
4.6
(9)
"That budget gets you a DSLR setup that will trump all those scanners in quality"
"Personally I think I’d probably rig up a DSLR scanning setup if I were doing a lot of film stuff."
"Quality is on another level compared to all aforementioned scanners."
"I would do a 1:1 dslr scan. Probably the best you are going to get."
"I HIGHLY recommend you figure out a DSLR scanning setup."
"I’d go dslr, cheap scanners and 35mm don’t really go together well"
"I would recommend dslr scanning as well. Fits perfekt in your budget, works fast and the quality is good."
"So I sticked with DSLR scanning. If you have a digital camera with interchangeable lens lying around this could be a very good alternative to a scanner."
"DSLR scanning gives great results but is frustrating in terms of workflow."
#6
Minolta
4.0
(9)
"3200 REAL dpi, autofocus, automatic batch feed of 6 frame negative strips and AWESOME scans."
"Get a used Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV or similar."
"Excellent quality at 5000 dpi, but slower."
"The Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III does a pretty decent job and has software-based dust removal."
"The Minolta Dimage Scan Dual series offers great value for dedicated 35mm scanning under £100."
"The Elite 5400 II provides excellent scanning capabilities for serious photographers."
"The Elite 5400 is a reliable scanner known for its quality and performance."
"I've been very happy with mine so far. The only downside is that it doesn't have digital ICE for dust/scratch reduction."
"Cheaper but still high quality."
#7
VueScan
4.7
(6)
"Used VueScan for years with lots of different computers and scanners. Never looked back."
"Have you tried using VueScan rather than the Epson software?"
"I shelled out a hundred bucks for VueScan which includes a working driver and haven't looked back."
"VueScan is a must have for no BS film scanning."
"Vuescan trial works with the scanner."
"Vuescan usually reverse engineers its own drivers."
#8
Canon
4.3
(6)
"I love my Canon Cancan 9000F! Works for 120, 35mm, and 35mm Slides. It's easy to operate."
"Good for text, images, negs and 35mm Slides. A great device."
"The Canon 9000fmk2 is great for scanning, but a DSLR setup would be quicker."
"Fluid mounting greatly improved the resolving power and scan quality."
"Make sure you have the software to scan them in properly though. Vuescan is decent and cheap."
"They're less than £200, and to be honest they're pretty good."
#9
Pakon
4.5
(4)
"Best choice for speed and quality for 35mm."
"Pakons are great."
"I heard Pakon (or Pakin?) are very good but prices are getting increasingly higher and higher."
"People swear by the Pakon for 35mm film."
#10
Drum Scanner
4.7
(3)
"The drum scanner is pure quality and the more intense process."
"Objectively a drum scanner."
"I think I saw a drum scanner going for about $1,500"
#11
Kodak
4.3
(3)
"The Kodak Pakon is the scanner you need. You can scan a roll of 35mm in about five minutes, quicker if you don't individually tweak each image. They are ~$200 and have great image quality."
"The Kodak Mini Digital Film Scanner is compact and does exactly what I needed after plugging in a memory card."
"The Pakon requires Windows XP or an XP virtual environment to run."
#12
Pacific Image
3.7
(3)
"Probably the sharpest image from anything cheaper than a flextight."
"The Pacific Image XAs is the top of the line for 35mm and offers solid results."
"The scanner does not work seamlessly with the new MacOS."
#13
Opticfilm
4.5
(2)
"The Opticfilm 7400 provides excellent 22mpx scans and is compatible with various operating systems."
"The Opticfilm 135 supports batch scanning and has current drivers for Mac OS X."
#14
Konica Minolta
4.0
(2)
"Autofocus is better."
"It's not bad, but could be better."
#15
Pentax
4.0
(2)
"It really bought back the joy of shooting film for me."
"It's pretty awesome."
#16
Silverfast
3.0
(2)
"Silverfast works well with the Epson 4490."
"Silverfast relies on driver availability from the scanner maker."
#17
Film
3.0
(2)
"Medium to large format is beneficial for enlargements."
"The 30x50 enlargement from 35mm is feasible but not ideal for close viewing."
#18
Hasselblad
5.0
(1)
"The Imacon X5 is awesome because of its versatility on formats, speed, and quality."
#19
Pacific Imaging
4.0
(1)
"Check out reviews on the Pacific Imaging PrimeFilm XE before going with the Plustek."
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