Affordable Film Scanners for Analog Photographers
Shooting endless digital photos is one thing, but when you make the leap to shooting film, you understand that every shot counts. Not only if you are thinking about cost, but also if you are thinking about time. This is one thing you will learn quickly once you start thinking about film scanners – every scan takes time.
If you are developing, scanning, and processing all of your film at home then these extra shots will cost you both time and money.
When you first start scanning your photos; however, you may very well be doing it because fo the cost. Having a photo lab scan your photos for you will add up quickly and the results are not always what you want. With a scanner at home, you’ll have a much wider range of options for who your photos will come out. You will be able to altar the color tones, adjust the file size and resolution, keep your negatives clean and organized, and more!
Without further ado, here are three affordable scanners for film photographers.
1. Epson V550 Photo Perfection
First on our list is Epson’s V550 Photo Perfection film scanner. This scanner is perfect for beginners or any film enthusiasts looking to have total control of their negatives!
Epson also includes their Scanner Driver and Epson Scan Utility Software to ensure premium quality scanning at all times. Internally, they also have their Digital ICE technology which offers smoothing and dust removal for scanning negatives – perfect for 35mm and 120 film.
Watch how easy it is to scan film negatives with this scanner in our tutorial below:
See examples of negatives scanned with the Epson V550 film scanner below and read our review of this scanner here!
2. Wolverine Data 8-in-1 HD Film Scanner
Next on our list is Wolverine’s 8-in-1 scanner perfect for film photographers that are always on the go, but still need a device to scan with. This analog scanner is ideal for film photographers looking for clean, quick scans without the need for a full, flat-bed scanner..
The best part about this scanner is that it can convert 35mm, 127, 126, 110, APS, 8mm, Super 8mm and 35mm Archive film into digital in SECONDS, and WITHOUT a computer or software!
3. Plustek OpticFilm 135 Negative Film Scanner
(image source: filmscanner)
Another great option for home film scanners is the Plustek OpticFilm 135 negative film scanner. Contrary to the other flatbed scanners on this list, this Plustek model is box-designed and offers batch scanning with minimal, easy-to-use buttons on the outside.
Accompanied by QuickScan software, this Plustek film scanner is perfect for quick scanning old photos and timeless memories!
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That canon scanner cant scan film since it has no backlight. It is definitely not a film scanner in any way.
just updated the article. Sorry for including the Canon Scanner – after further research it was only able to scan contact sheets and other photography documents.
I bought the Canoscan LiDe 400 because of this post and it cannot scan film. To scan film, the scanner has to be backlit. However, this scanner isn’t
We’re so sorry about that, it looks like the Canoscan LiDe 400 can only scan contact sheets and other documents – we just updated our list with a portable digitizer from Wolverine!