10 17 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
I
t’sgreatto seetraditionalanalogue
photographyin suchrudehealth.
However,thereis a weaklink.If it’s
to continuethrivingweneedbetter
filmscanners.Mostgadgetrygetsbetter,
cheaperandeasierto use,butscanner
technologyseemsto bein reverse.
IboughtmyNikonCoolscan 4000 ED
backin 2001.I waswritingmotoring
articlesandtakingpicturestoillustrate
themandwhilemagazinesstillwanted
transparencies,eventhen,newspapers
werebeginningtodemanddigitalshots.
TheCoolscanallowedmetosatisfyboth
requirementswhilstalsoprovidinga
backupof slideswhichmightbelost.
Thoughnotcheapat justovera grand,
I wasthrilledbythequality,detail,colour
reproductionanddynamicrangeof the
23MPscansproducedbyit. It didjustice
toanyemulsion,whetherKodachrome,
FujiVelvia,IlfordHP5orplainold
supermarketprintfilm,whilethe
dust-removalcapabilitiesof itsDigital
ICE(ImageCorrection& Enhancement)
softwareweremagical.Scanningwasn’t
quickbutfilmprocessorswouldhappily
supplya lo-resscanof allyourshotsat
modestcostfromwhichyoucouldselect
a fewframesperfilmtodoyourself.
Whatmightreplaceit?
I’mstillusingtheCoolscanandit’sas
goodasever.It requiresa bitof driver
jiggery-pokerytoworkwithmodern
operatingsystems,andtheFireWire
cablemeansyouhavetoconsideryour
computer’sconnectivitycarefully,but
I’mdreadingthedayit givesup.Because
there’snothingaroundtoreplaceit.
FlatbedEpsonscannersareallverywell
buttheydon’tquitedeliverthesharpness,
in myexperience.I knowa coupleof
photographerswithPlustekscannersbut
thecolourreproductiondoesn’tcompare,
andtheytellmethere’squitea bitof trial
anderrorinvolved.Therearealsooodles
of bargainbasementmodelsavailablebut
they’reprobablybestconsideredtoys
ratherthanserioustools.Asforthequality
of scans produced by minilabs they’re
reallytoohit-and-miss,andyoucan’trely
onthemasyouronlyscanningsource.
TheDigitalTransitionsCulturalHeritage
kit,whicheffectivelytakesphotosof film
usinga PhaseOnedigitalback,is excellent
butthehugepricetakesit beyondthe
reachof allbutlibrariesandarchives.
Nikon,whichstoppedmakingscanners
in 2010,knowsthere’sanissuehereand
doesmarketanattachmentyoucanuse
witha macrolenstotakephotosof your
film.Butit’suncomfortablyreminiscentof
thoserickety,old,extensiontube-based,
slide-copyingdevicesand,whilethe
resultsaren’tquiteasunpredictable,they
arenotasgoodasNikon’soldscanners.
I wantto beenthralledat theenchanting
wayin whichfilmrecordstheworld,not
depressedbythedrabsimulacrummost
reasonablypricedscannersinsultoureyes
within 2019.If wecouldcreatehigh-
qualityscanners 20 yearsagowhyis it so
difficultnow?Canit reallybeimpossibleto
marketonethat’sevenbetter,eveneasier
to use,andevenmore affordable than my
vintageCoolscan?
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED
IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED
Thereseemstobealackofacceptablefilm
scanners in 2019 that do justice to slides
View point
Jon Bentley
© JON BENTLEY
Jon’sscansfrom
his 2001 Coolscan
arestillgreatbut
hedreadstheday
it packs up
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 12 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
JonBentleyis a TVproducerandpresenterbestknown
forTop Gear and Channel 5’s The Gadget Show
© CL AIRE GILLO
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