Holiday Gift Guide: Plustek Film Scanner

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

If you have been taking photos forever like I have you probably have a lot of negatives and slides in a closet or garage.

A few years ago I read about Plustek scanners in Shutterbug magazine. I had tried using flat bed scanners with 35mm negatives with not much luck (me too — Joe) and the Plustek sounded like an inexpensive solution. The one I bought scans 35mm negatives and slides. They make other models that will scan up to 120 negatives. The latest model is the OpticFilm 8100i Ai Film Scanner.

I believe that a dedicated film scanner will give you much better sharpness and resolution especially with smaller 35mm negatives plus it takes up a lot less space on my desk. Here are a couple of examples from 45-year-old black and white negatives. Each scan only takes a few minutes.

The Plustek OpticFilm 8100 is a dedicated film scanner with 7200 dpi resolution. Its light sources give images precise color rendering with less power consumption. Two one-touch buttons make scanning easier and more efficient for sharing on websites. The OpticFilm 8100 is compact and easy-to-transport and comes with a carrying bag to protect the scanner from dust when not in use.

If you’re looking for something to do during the dark winter months a film scanner is a great holiday present.