Is there a same go-to recommendation for a 120 film scanner?

Thank you!

As a child, I started on film, but merely playing, nothing serious. It was more about having a camera in my hand, they fascinated me; still do. Fast forward to 15 years ago, I was loaned a digital camera to create snaps during a holiday in Italy. I fell in love with the immediacy of digital photography. From the ‘get-go’ I bought the ‘nifty fifty’ and used only that lens for 2 years, good glass made sense to me.

I taught myself to crop in camera, shoot straight, read/understand light, expose well, etc. I passionately believe that this approach enabled me to transition to film so easily. Someone remarked earlier, ‘who shoots film and achieves 100% success rates/exposures’. I am delighted to say that I do. I am selling my digital cameras. It would not sit well with me to shoot digital anymore, because I love everything to do with analogue photography, and film, for me, is the perfect medium for floral and garden photography. When I create an editorial of between 36-72 images, all images are useable. My approach is to consider what is before me, then raise the camera to my eye and take my time over what I am creating. I will ask myself, is this truly an image I will use if I press the shutter button. An editorial typically costs £55 for 2 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm Portra 400 film including pro lab costs P&P.

Just out of interest, I am creating a spreadsheet to evaluate the cost to capture 10 editorials [2 rolls of film each one] each year. Thus far, the cost for analogue including equipment [cameras, lenses, computer, etc.] equates to around 10% of digital, based on replacing two camera bodies every 5 years.

However, if I were still capturing weddings, I would continue to use a combo of digital and film for so many reasons.

I have no argument about which is best. I merely know that I wholeheartedly adore film and the process I adopt, and very much look forward to seeing how film handles the delicacy of flowers, as I say goodbye to weddings photography.

Thank you for your time.

Enjoy what you do.

Gina.

Fifteen years ago, I shot 75% film-25% digital. Ten years ago I had changed to 40% film-60% digital. In 2023 I do 10% film-90% digital.

I still use my film cameras, entirely for B&W,. This is due to many factors. Without going into too much painful detail about my reasons, I will just say this –

Anything to do with film is expensive. The cost is sky high in Australia. Bulk 35mm film isn’t much cheaper than prepackaged. Bulk film loaders sell for $200 on Ebay. Five packs of 120 film are unaffordable on my pensioner’s budget.

My film cameras – two Nikkormat FT2 bought new, a Nikon F65, a Contax G1,several Rollei TLRs with full kits (one dates to 1966 and is a family heirloom, a Zeiss Nettar and a Voigtlander Perkeo I. I try to use them all one or two times every year, which gets me out and about on bush walks and trips to look at colonial architecture.

I still have 35mm and 120 films in my darkroom fridge. I plan to use it for special photo shoots, in the next couple of years. When it’s gone, that will be it for me. By then I will be heading to age 80, and many of my options will have quietly left the room.

I am aware of the environmental factors involved in ‘analogue’ photography. I won’t get on a soap box about this, but film and darkroom chemistry have an impact. Digital, whether we like it or not, reduces this factor by a great margin. The 21st century is a different world from what it was when I took up photography in 1961. The writing is now on the wall about the ‘old’ ways of photography, and like it or not, we have to read and heed it.

Digital cameras last longer than the 2-3 years someone wrote (in a comment ,I think). My first Nikon, a D90 (2009), is still used by my SO who does superlatively good work with it. My D700 (2011) has 130,000+ actuations and is going strong. My D800 (2013), my best Nikon DSLR (sorry D700!) has 12,000 actuations and will probably outlast me. I see no need get another camera purely for the new bells and whistles. I’m in my mid 70s and I can see the end coming to my travels and photography in Asia.

In my dreams I would love to get a Leica M2 or M3 (I had both for a while in the ’80s and I miss hem) and two lenses. My Contax G kit keeps me pleasantly occupied and produces marvelous images, but it’s not quite the same as a Leitz…

It’s good that so many of you are continuing with film, and doing what you can to minimize your costs. I fondly hope that interest in film photography will go on growing (here I must say I do have my doubts about this, but I’m open-minded and I do hope I’m wrong) and film manufacturers will continue to produce current and even new films.

I’ve covered a lot of ground, and some of my thoughts may seem jumbled. I will say in closing that after 60 years with my cameras, I’m still committed to film photography. I want to see it continue, and when it ends for me I will give it up with reluctance and I’ll surely miss it. But time passes and all things change, and it’s something I’ve had to accept in my life.

DANN

You can also slow down with digital andfilm is still more expensive. What you said is beyond delusional.

Something like the Canon 5D3 DSLR released in 2010, or the equivalent era Nikon, they give 22-25 Megapixels or so (about the same resolution as 35mm film), look pretty clean at ISO 6400, and unless they’re printed huge or pixel peeping, they aren’t really going to produce significantly different images compared to the latest Canon R5 or Nikon Z9 mirrorless. There’s been a plateauing in digital camera image quality since 2010 or so, and much of the marketing for new models has been based on the huge leap in video capability, or things like eye detection autofocus, so if you don’t need video and don’t need state of the art autofocus, a 10-12 year old DSLR gives professional-looking images, and they won’t depreciate much in value either at this point. Its actually made me wonder whether this glut of old-but-good DSLRs now hitting the bottom end of the used market will lead to people selling up their analogue gear.