In the past decade film photography has seen a steady upwards trend of what is now known as the hybrid workflow. Taking pictures on a film camera is an analogue process and is likely why a lot of people are drawn to shooting on film. It’s less about getting that clean, crisp instant digital photo and more about shooting photos on a medium that will have its own characteristics depending on the film, the lens and how it is shot. Once your roll is processed, you will likely have it scanned and made into digital image files. How your image is scanned dramatically affects the final image, so it’s good to have quality film scanners to do the job. Sure, the professional film scanners we use daily are up to scanning your snaps, but what if you want to display that image on your website in full res or maybe even have it printed larger than A3? This could be a case where you need to use a scanner that’s more suited to your needs. In this article, we look at several film scanners to get a good sense of their capabilities. We shot frames on three popular formats and scanned the negatives with various scanners.
A little about the scanners
Fuji Frontier SP3000
The Fujifilm Frontier SP3000 and its kin were developed and manufactured throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. Mainly used throughout that time to scan and produce digital prints for customers who expected a quick turnaround, and are now employed by labs and film enthusiasts worldwide for scanning. The Fujifilm scanners are now well known for producing beautiful, lively scans straight from the scanner and are arguably one of the fastest professional film scanners.
Pros
Fantastic colour and tonality for colour negative film
Maintains highlight detail very well
Colours are more vivid, punchy or saturated
Skin tones are more golden
Black point is very rich (there tends to be a bluer black in the black shadow areas)
The grain is always smooth and clean due it’s grain suppression algorithm
Scans an entire roll in a matter of minutes
Cons
Slightly lower resolution than the Noritsu
Not great for B&W negatives, they come out with a tint and a bit muddy due to a lack of shadow detail
Also not great for E6. The backlight is just not strong enough to capture the finer shadow detail in E6 film
Scanning anything but 35mm requires manual advancement of the roll
Noritsu HS-1800
The Noritsu HS-1800 is our other workhorse film scanner. These were developed and manufactured around the same period as the Fujifilm Frontier scanners, so the technology is similar but not the same. One thing that sets the Noritsu apart is that it operates more like a traditional scanner, slowly scanning each frame utilising a backlight and a line scanning sensor (as opposed to the CCD sensor in the Frontier). In saying that, the output is relatively quick, similar to the Frontier.
Pros
Tones are more neutral and flat
Skin tones are more peach or pink toned
Colors are softer and lighter
Slightly higher resolution than the Frontier
Perfect for black & white, with great shadow detail
Great results for slide film
Black point is more muted and can deviate to greenish on underexposed images
The grain is sharper and more noticeable on higher ISO emulsions
Cons
Only scans 35mm and 120 film
Maximum resolution does not compare to drum scanners
Hi-Res Scanning with the Panasonic S1R
The Panasonic S1R is a high-end, high-resolution full-frame mirrorless digital camera. At first glance, this might be a slightly unconventional pick for scanning film, but it can yield high-quality scans that rival those produced by conventional film scanners. We have gone to great lengths to optimise our in-shop setup to get the best scans using this method. If you’re after a high-quality single-frame scan, then we would highly recommend this method for large-format digital prints.
Pros
A great way to scan digital contact sheets
The camera captures RAW images, so there is very good colour depth
The pixel shift technology built into the Panasonic S1R allows us to capture ultra high res images (140mp)
The process of scanning is quicker than drum scanners, meaning we don’t have to charge as much per scan
Flat scans that retain a high degree of information, which is great for editing
Cons
Not as fast as the Noritsu or Frontier
Trying this method at home can take a lot of effort to optimise
Other scanners we tested but don’t use at the lab
Heidelberg Tango – Drum Scanner
The Heidelberg Tango drum scanner is considered by many to be the pinnacle of film scanners. Drum scanners are specialised pieces of kit optimised to produce extremely high-resolution images. Professionals will opt for drum scanners whenever they want their films scanned and printed big. Drum scanning is a very involved process where the negatives must be oil mounted into acrylic drums. The drum then spins on the machine at revolutions up to 2,000 RPM as it scans each part of the image.
Pros
Dust and scratches – The optically clear scan fluid fills scratches and washes away dust ensuring the light path is not disturbed during the scanning process
Excels with slide film
Film Size – Any size film up to 16×20 inches can be scanned full frame on drum scanners
Pure, high resolution with no software interpolation scans
Cons
Time consuming process
Expensive
Imacon X5 – Virtual Drum Scanner
As a technology, The Imacon Virtual Drum Scanners fit somewhere between the Noritsu and a drum scanner and are capable of excellent, high-resolution scans. It operates on similar principles to the drum scanner, pulling the film around a bend while scanning to achieve a high degree of flatness. Virtual drum scanners generally take less time to scan a frame than an actual drum scanner. This is reflected in the cost per scan.
Pros
It produces extremely flat scans which some people like. So there is a lot of room for grading
No need to oil mount like a traditional drum scanner. More straightforward, quicker process and less margin for error
High resolution
Cons
Still a time consuming process in relation to other scanners
It can be pricey, yet less than having a frame drum scanned
Epson V800 Flatbed Scanner
The Epson V800 and other flatbed scanners have been a go-to for people wanting to scan their negatives at home. Its ease of use and reasonable cost make it a hard option to pass up if you are an amateur photographer or have a ton of negatives you want to archive. Although they are capable of decent-quality film scans, the quality isn’t entirely up to par with the Frontier or Noritsu.
Pros
Great home scanning solution
It comes with all of the holders for 35mm, 120 and large format
Can scan prints and documents
Large-format scans are good
Cons
35mm and 120 resolution is not on par with Noritsu or Frontier scanners
Images need quite a bit of tweaking to get the colours right
The Results
We tried to keep the results as objective as possible by leaving the resulting scans unedited. Remember that various scanner software applies their treatment to the scanned image, so getting a genuinely accurate scan is nearly impossible. You will notice that the scans vary a lot in terms of sharpness, colour treatment, and the scan’s relative “flatness”.
.
C41 on 35mm
The first scans in this little experiment are of a frame shot on 35mm colour negative film. The main thing we’re looking for in this test is colour reproduction. The scanner dictates resolution and is not paramount if the image is strictly for viewing on screen. The high dynamic range of film lends itself to the flatness that can be achieved from scanning. By retaining highlight detail, we can edit the image with more efficacy.
The Frontier straight away shows its characteristic saturated colours. Another thing that stands out is it has the highest contrast of all the scans.
The Imacon scan is noticeably very sharp. Another hallmark of this type of scanner is the flatness of the scan. The lifted shadows and muted highlights help a lot with editing.
Great natural colours in the Noritsu scan. Second most contrasty image of the bunch.
This is the scan from the S1R. The scan is quite flat, very sharp and colours appear natural. At 1 gigabyte, the tiff is enormous and has much potential for editing.
The Tango scan is the flattest of all the images, and we see a bit of warmth in the highlights — the highest-resolution scan of the bunch and the sharpest. The S1R would be a close second in this test.
A little to say regarding the V800: the worst performer of all the scanners for 35mm and more resolution is needed to capture the film grain. The colour reproduction was off, and we had to adjust the colours to get it remotely close to this result.
E6 on 120
This one was a big test for the scanners. Regarding colour, we thought the colours might be tighter and less varied with E6, but this was not the case. There is even more variance than the C41 scans, and this may have something to do with E6 having denser shadows and mids that throw the scanners off.
The Frontier performed exceptionally well, considering it wasn’t optimised to scan E6. The highlights have a green colour cast and a yellow tinge. However, E6 does have a tendency towards yellow in blown-out highlights, so that’s what is showing in the fence.
The Imacon has produced quite a flat scan, even in the higher contrast areas. A bit of red is coming through in the darker areas, influencing the image and making it quite warm. Overall, the scan is very sharp, and the colours are pleasant.
The Noritsu was one of the better performers in terms of colour. It doesn’t have the same green colour cast as the Frontier, but it is in the tree. Plenty of detail in the scan for digital needs.
The S1R has produced results which differ quite a bit from the other scanners. There seems to be more contrast in the overall scene, and the colour is more natural. Another plus is the lack of yellow in the highlights.
The Tango was top in terms of resolution, and the colours seemed to also have the greenish tinge present in most of the other scans. Hard to beat in terms of sheer resolution and sharpness, though.
The V800 still lacks sharpness and colour reproduction. Unfortunately, we had to tweak the colours a bit again to make the results acceptable. Still, not bad for a home scanning solution.
C41 on 4×5
This format might be a little bit of an obscure one if you’re new to film photography. 4×5 is a BIG negative, about 15x bigger than a frame of 35mm. That’s a lot of detail. Choosing the right scanning solution is a big deal when you want to retain all the little details in the image. The Frontier and Noritsu scanners cannot scan 4×5, so they’ll be left out of this test.
The Imacon is leaning into warm tones in this scan, with lifted shadows. You can see the highlights in the house have a warmer tone than the other scans.
Although the S1R does a great job with 35mm and 120, the resolution probably isn’t high enough to reproduce 4×5 negs for larger than A2 prints. The colours that have come through are nice and natural, but isn’t quite as sharp as the Tango.
The Tango is the ideal scanner for 4×5. In terms of resolution, it would be tough to beat. The colours have come through very punchy, and the image has a nice bit of contrast in the image to give it depth.
The V800 does a lot better with 4×5 negatives. There is a good amount of detail in this image that didn’t seem to come through with the other formats. The colours were still off, though, as this took some tweaking to get a good result.
What About Resolution and Sharpness?
Here are the images zoomed in. They have all been scaled so that they are the same size. Clicking on the link below will give you access to the full files if you would like to see them at 100% crop.
Download Link to the full res files for the pixel peepers
Which Scanner Should I Use?
C-41
You can use any of the above scanners. We find that when people talk about the “film” look people are referring to the colour of the frontier. However, the Noritsu may be the way to go if you like a slightly flatter and more neutral look.
E-6/Slide film
The Noritsu or a drum scan wins hands down. The light source isn’t optimised for slide on the Frontier. The Noritsu produces more accurate results than the physical slides without as much editing.
B&W
The Noritsu also wins for B&W. It can get more shadow detail out of the negative and doesn’t have the tint that the Frontier gives it. We also have more controls on the Noritsu for B&W to change the shadows, highlights, contrast and tone curves.
Printing big?
It does depend on how big. However, anything larger than A2/16in x 24in the Frontier and Noritsu files will start to show their weaknesses. At that point, we recommend going for a high-resolution scan. It also depends on the negative. Resolution is not always everything, and there are variables like the lens used, format (120 will print a LOT bigger than 35mm), the ISO of the film you used and viewing distance.
Summary
When deciding on what scanner to use, it just comes down to personal preference and your workflow! None of them is better or worse, just different. Scanning is also an art form, so if you ever feel like you haven’t gotten the most out of your negatives, send us a message, and we can see if a rescan is in order. We hope this post has helped expand your knowledge of the difference scanners.
I had the Epson V850 till recently for scanning 35mm film. As you said, It’s fast and brilliant for large volume work. Prints were fine at 10×8 inches, but no larger. But thanks to the Epson, I can now look at actual photos rather than peering at old negatives to hunt down a frame to print at a larger size. For A3+ prints I turn to a 1990’s Minolta D’Image Elite. I don’t find this wanting in terms of resolution compared to any high resolution Noritsu scans.
The Epson also has frustrating downsides related to the physical hassle of mounting negatives in their holders and avoiding dust, especially with the 35mm film holders. The maximum claimed resolution if it is laughable and I don’t know how they get away with it!
Thank you for the article! It’s very interesting.
Could you, please, tell me how I can download the full res files? It looks like the zip archive is empty.
Film Scanner Comparison
In the past decade film photography has seen a steady upwards trend of what is now known as the hybrid workflow. Taking pictures on a film camera is an analogue process and is likely why a lot of people are drawn to shooting on film. It’s less about getting that clean, crisp instant digital photo and more about shooting photos on a medium that will have its own characteristics depending on the film, the lens and how it is shot. Once your roll is processed, you will likely have it scanned and made into digital image files. How your image is scanned dramatically affects the final image, so it’s good to have quality film scanners to do the job. Sure, the professional film scanners we use daily are up to scanning your snaps, but what if you want to display that image on your website in full res or maybe even have it printed larger than A3? This could be a case where you need to use a scanner that’s more suited to your needs. In this article, we look at several film scanners to get a good sense of their capabilities. We shot frames on three popular formats and scanned the negatives with various scanners.
A little about the scanners
Fuji Frontier SP3000
The Fujifilm Frontier SP3000 and its kin were developed and manufactured throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. Mainly used throughout that time to scan and produce digital prints for customers who expected a quick turnaround, and are now employed by labs and film enthusiasts worldwide for scanning. The Fujifilm scanners are now well known for producing beautiful, lively scans straight from the scanner and are arguably one of the fastest professional film scanners.
Pros
Cons
Noritsu HS-1800
The Noritsu HS-1800 is our other workhorse film scanner. These were developed and manufactured around the same period as the Fujifilm Frontier scanners, so the technology is similar but not the same. One thing that sets the Noritsu apart is that it operates more like a traditional scanner, slowly scanning each frame utilising a backlight and a line scanning sensor (as opposed to the CCD sensor in the Frontier). In saying that, the output is relatively quick, similar to the Frontier.
Pros
Cons
Hi-Res Scanning with the Panasonic S1R
The Panasonic S1R is a high-end, high-resolution full-frame mirrorless digital camera. At first glance, this might be a slightly unconventional pick for scanning film, but it can yield high-quality scans that rival those produced by conventional film scanners. We have gone to great lengths to optimise our in-shop setup to get the best scans using this method. If you’re after a high-quality single-frame scan, then we would highly recommend this method for large-format digital prints.
Pros
Cons
Other scanners we tested but don’t use at the lab
Heidelberg Tango – Drum Scanner
The Heidelberg Tango drum scanner is considered by many to be the pinnacle of film scanners. Drum scanners are specialised pieces of kit optimised to produce extremely high-resolution images. Professionals will opt for drum scanners whenever they want their films scanned and printed big. Drum scanning is a very involved process where the negatives must be oil mounted into acrylic drums. The drum then spins on the machine at revolutions up to 2,000 RPM as it scans each part of the image.
Pros
Cons
Imacon X5 – Virtual Drum Scanner
As a technology, The Imacon Virtual Drum Scanners fit somewhere between the Noritsu and a drum scanner and are capable of excellent, high-resolution scans. It operates on similar principles to the drum scanner, pulling the film around a bend while scanning to achieve a high degree of flatness. Virtual drum scanners generally take less time to scan a frame than an actual drum scanner. This is reflected in the cost per scan.
Pros
Cons
Epson V800 Flatbed Scanner
The Epson V800 and other flatbed scanners have been a go-to for people wanting to scan their negatives at home. Its ease of use and reasonable cost make it a hard option to pass up if you are an amateur photographer or have a ton of negatives you want to archive. Although they are capable of decent-quality film scans, the quality isn’t entirely up to par with the Frontier or Noritsu.
Pros
Cons
The Results
We tried to keep the results as objective as possible by leaving the resulting scans unedited. Remember that various scanner software applies their treatment to the scanned image, so getting a genuinely accurate scan is nearly impossible. You will notice that the scans vary a lot in terms of sharpness, colour treatment, and the scan’s relative “flatness”.
.
C41 on 35mm
The first scans in this little experiment are of a frame shot on 35mm colour negative film. The main thing we’re looking for in this test is colour reproduction. The scanner dictates resolution and is not paramount if the image is strictly for viewing on screen. The high dynamic range of film lends itself to the flatness that can be achieved from scanning. By retaining highlight detail, we can edit the image with more efficacy.
The Frontier straight away shows its characteristic saturated colours. Another thing that stands out is it has the highest contrast of all the scans.
The Imacon scan is noticeably very sharp. Another hallmark of this type of scanner is the flatness of the scan. The lifted shadows and muted highlights help a lot with editing.
Great natural colours in the Noritsu scan. Second most contrasty image of the bunch.
This is the scan from the S1R. The scan is quite flat, very sharp and colours appear natural. At 1 gigabyte, the tiff is enormous and has much potential for editing.
The Tango scan is the flattest of all the images, and we see a bit of warmth in the highlights — the highest-resolution scan of the bunch and the sharpest. The S1R would be a close second in this test.
A little to say regarding the V800: the worst performer of all the scanners for 35mm and more resolution is needed to capture the film grain. The colour reproduction was off, and we had to adjust the colours to get it remotely close to this result.
E6 on 120
This one was a big test for the scanners. Regarding colour, we thought the colours might be tighter and less varied with E6, but this was not the case. There is even more variance than the C41 scans, and this may have something to do with E6 having denser shadows and mids that throw the scanners off.
The Frontier performed exceptionally well, considering it wasn’t optimised to scan E6. The highlights have a green colour cast and a yellow tinge. However, E6 does have a tendency towards yellow in blown-out highlights, so that’s what is showing in the fence.
The Imacon has produced quite a flat scan, even in the higher contrast areas. A bit of red is coming through in the darker areas, influencing the image and making it quite warm. Overall, the scan is very sharp, and the colours are pleasant.
The Noritsu was one of the better performers in terms of colour. It doesn’t have the same green colour cast as the Frontier, but it is in the tree. Plenty of detail in the scan for digital needs.
The S1R has produced results which differ quite a bit from the other scanners. There seems to be more contrast in the overall scene, and the colour is more natural. Another plus is the lack of yellow in the highlights.
The Tango was top in terms of resolution, and the colours seemed to also have the greenish tinge present in most of the other scans. Hard to beat in terms of sheer resolution and sharpness, though.
The V800 still lacks sharpness and colour reproduction. Unfortunately, we had to tweak the colours a bit again to make the results acceptable. Still, not bad for a home scanning solution.
C41 on 4×5
This format might be a little bit of an obscure one if you’re new to film photography. 4×5 is a BIG negative, about 15x bigger than a frame of 35mm. That’s a lot of detail. Choosing the right scanning solution is a big deal when you want to retain all the little details in the image. The Frontier and Noritsu scanners cannot scan 4×5, so they’ll be left out of this test.
The Imacon is leaning into warm tones in this scan, with lifted shadows. You can see the highlights in the house have a warmer tone than the other scans.
Although the S1R does a great job with 35mm and 120, the resolution probably isn’t high enough to reproduce 4×5 negs for larger than A2 prints. The colours that have come through are nice and natural, but isn’t quite as sharp as the Tango.
The Tango is the ideal scanner for 4×5. In terms of resolution, it would be tough to beat. The colours have come through very punchy, and the image has a nice bit of contrast in the image to give it depth.
The V800 does a lot better with 4×5 negatives. There is a good amount of detail in this image that didn’t seem to come through with the other formats. The colours were still off, though, as this took some tweaking to get a good result.
What About Resolution and Sharpness?
Here are the images zoomed in. They have all been scaled so that they are the same size. Clicking on the link below will give you access to the full files if you would like to see them at 100% crop.
Download Link to the full res files for the pixel peepers
Which Scanner Should I Use?
C-41
E-6/Slide film
B&W
Printing big?
Summary
When deciding on what scanner to use, it just comes down to personal preference and your workflow! None of them is better or worse, just different. Scanning is also an art form, so if you ever feel like you haven’t gotten the most out of your negatives, send us a message, and we can see if a rescan is in order. We hope this post has helped expand your knowledge of the difference scanners.
5 replies to “Film Scanner Comparison”
Chris
I had the Epson V850 till recently for scanning 35mm film. As you said, It’s fast and brilliant for large volume work. Prints were fine at 10×8 inches, but no larger. But thanks to the Epson, I can now look at actual photos rather than peering at old negatives to hunt down a frame to print at a larger size. For A3+ prints I turn to a 1990’s Minolta D’Image Elite. I don’t find this wanting in terms of resolution compared to any high resolution Noritsu scans.
The Epson also has frustrating downsides related to the physical hassle of mounting negatives in their holders and avoiding dust, especially with the 35mm film holders. The maximum claimed resolution if it is laughable and I don’t know how they get away with it!
Alexei
Thank you for the article! It’s very interesting.
Could you, please, tell me how I can download the full res files? It looks like the zip archive is empty.
The Black and White Box
Sorry about that! I have just updated the link now, so the files should be showing
Alexei
Thank you!
Could, please, also tell how you converted negative scans from the drum scanner and Panasonic S1R?
The Black and White Box
We use negative lab pro for converting negatives!