Drum or flat scan?

[tangyimail]

How many people still use drum scan these days? In my part of the world it's getting almost impossible to find a lab that offers such service......

[RMiksell]

I love my Howtek 4500. It's a bit of work to get a good scan but the results are worth it. Here's an example taken on Velvia 100F when I was visiting England a little over a year ago: http://miksellfamily.zenfolio.com/p226859804/h474E7608

50" prints shouldn't be an issue with a drum scan. I haven't really played around with a profession level flatbed scanner so I can't speak to the quality of those.

If anyone is interested in getting some drum scans send me a message and we can work something out. I'm in the St Louis area.

[vinny]

How many people still use drum scan these days? In my part of the world it's getting almost impossible to find a lab that offers such service......

Yes. I do. I also have a v700 which doesn't do a great job with chromes. Getting an accurate scan that's also full of detail is much easier on my drum scanner. Consumer scanners have gotten better, few drum scanners are still being manufactured/serviced, lack of film shooters in the commercial world, and people have lowered their standards.

[Lenny Eiger]

I drum scan - for most of my clients. There are a lot of drum scanning services out there. I wouldn't take my film to a "Lab" to be scanned. I would send it to a scanner operator, someone who focuses on scanning (and quality vs volume).

Drum scans can be pretty spectacular... they are some work to accomplish, to be sure. One wants to edit very carefully before spending the extra money... no one can scan everything (unless you have your own scanner).

Lenny

[Don Dudenbostel]

Send your 4x5 sheet to me and i will scan it with my digital MF, i don't know but that MF file maybe better than my V750 scanning, and it may be enough to print up to 40x50 you want, just i can't be sure DSLR or digital scanning can be better than a real scanner even flatbed, but i will not talk about a drum scanners, but in the future i will try to do a test if my digital MF can beat Nikon coolscan 9000, but i don't have that Nikon 9000 and can't find it anywhere here.

I've used my Hasselblad digital system to copy 8x10 negs with excellent results. You need to adjust curves some but the final result is excellent.

All flat beds are not created equal. I sold my Fuji Lanovia Quattro anticipating a major cross country move. The Fuji was very large and heave, 150 pounds. I purchased an Epson V750 as a low cost alternative understanding it would not match the quality of the Fuji. The Fuji was the ultimate and came very close to drum scanning. The Epson is fine within limits but not on the level of the Fuji.

I also own an Imacon 848 and find it close to the Fuji in quality. The Imacon / Hasselblad scanners are a real pleasure to use.

[RMiksell]

I drum scan - for most of my clients. There are a lot of drum scanning services out there. I wouldn't take my film to a "Lab" to be scanned. I would send it to a scanner operator, someone who focuses on scanning (and quality vs volume).

Drum scans can be pretty spectacular... they are some work to accomplish, to be sure. One wants to edit very carefully before spending the extra money... no one can scan everything (unless you have your own scanner).

Lenny

Even having a scanner it'd be difficult to scan every negative and transparency, at least while I still have little ones at home.

[vinny]

Even having a scanner it'd be difficult to scan every negative and transparency, at least while I still have little ones at home.

True that. The scanner surely isn't going to get worn out in my house. Hell, if I get a full day to process film, I'm feeling lucky.

[invisibleflash]

What this thread needs is a direct compare with images done on a flatbed vs drum scan.

[Otto Seaman]

Of course a carefully made Epson scan can be printed large and, if everything is done using best practices, you'll get good results. Probably better than average for the size you'll be working at.

The only thing is that a similarly well-crafted print that starts from a good drum scan will be better. How much? The only way to know for sure is to make a test run. It depends on the texture, the print media, the original film, and most importantly, the skill of the artist.

If all you can afford are Epson 700 scans then get the most out of them. I've seen plenty of mucked up drum scans too, it's better to have excellent skills and modest equipment than the versa.

I've also seen drum scans from some vendors that are worse than my Epson scans....

That said, getting a scan from Lenny is a bargain, he knows what he's doing and you should at least try one so then you'll know the difference. I mainly use an Epson but I also rarely print larger than 11x17. Even at that size the drum scan will show more tones and less noise but I can't afford or justify drum scanning everything.

[Lenny Eiger]

What this thread needs is a direct compare with images done on a flatbed vs drum scan.

This has been done many times.
Here's one example....

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...l=1#post983528



P.S. I sympathize with those that can't get to do enough work because of other responsibilities... it seems like I have been doing everything else.....

Lenny