I’ve been paying around €38 per roll for development and scanning. At 8MP the scans are big enough for most my uses, but as soon as I want to print big or crop at all it’s on the small side. Compression and limited latitude has limited post processing to the bare minimum. The scans look tuned for immediate printing, rather than for further editing.

The tonality has been somewhat harsh, with colour a bit hit and miss. I’ve been reasonably satisfied with the resulting scans, but felt that there’s been some room for improvement. I’ve had Crimson – the local lab I frequent – scan my images on their Frontier scanner at development.

There’s also some other, less obvious disadvantages such as reduced control of the look and limits in overall quality. There’s no denying the convenience in that. You get consistent results, good enough for most uses, with minimal involvement. Having a good lab scan your photos at development is an appealing proposition for several reasons. Either you can have a lab scan the images, or to scan them yourself at home. So with the question of ’why’ resolved, let’s move on to the ’how’. The bottom line is – to do everything I want with my images I need good scans. Sharing, printing and backing-up is far easier. It gives me everything I like about film – tools, process and look – combined with the flexibility of digital. Well to me what’s commonly referred to as the hybrid approach – shooting film, but post process and print digitally – offers the best of both worlds. Why not simply shoot digital if you want the images in your computer, right? A word on a hybrid workflowĪ reaction to scanning film I’ve heard more than once is to question the need for it. But there’s one piece of the puzzle I’ve felt lacking – the scans. The more considered shooting approach, the look of film, and the great tools has made the experience delightful. I’ve shot medium format at a snails pace for years, but returning to 35mm film has really got me enthusiastic for film again. Now a finished original – ready to be printed, backed up and shared in an instant to friends and family across the globe.Īs of late I’ve been enjoying a return to shooting more film.

With a few preset commands contrast is increased, sharpening applied, and exposure balanced. Low contrast and fuzzy the photo doesn't exactly look appealing. The moment that had been preserved on the piece of silver and gelatin is now displayed on my laptop. The screen flickers and an image gradually appears. The black box at my side gives of a mechanical moan. Intro A Hybrid Workflow Home Scanning Picking the 8200i First impressions The 8200i vs Fuji Frontier Additional comparisons First full roll Half a dozen rolls First rolls of colour One year on

Test plustek scanner