After a few years of hiatus, I’ve dug up my flatbed scanner, the Canon CanoScan 8800F, the only working scanner I have that can scan medium-format film. It needed some maintenance; all four glass surfaces needed a thorough cleaning, and I had to remember how to use a flatbed scanner – I haven’t been using it since the day I bought a dedicated 35mm film scanner.
I’ve had two rolls of black and white film, Kodak Tri-X 320 in 220 roll, shot in Bronica GS-1 with a Zenzanon-PG 80mm F3.5 lens in January 2020. The other roll was a standard 120, an Ilford HP5+ shot in Yashica Mat 124G, during my vacation in Birmingham, UK, in May 2015.
Despite the Canon being unable to keep up with a dedicated film scanner, end results turned out not that bad. I didn’t have many visible issues with Newton’s rings, probably because I’ve invested extra time in cleaning the scanner glass. On the other hand, I’ve never had that many problems with a black and white film in flatbed scanners; let’s hope it’ll stay this way, because my medium format development queue is quite, err, substantial.
Here are quick’n’dirty digital contact sheets.
First, Zenza Bronica GS-1, Zenzanon-PG 80mm F3.5, and Kodak Tri-X 320 developed in Kodak Xtol 1+1. Took a walk to a nearby artificial lake in January 2020, pre-COVID era.
Apparently, this roll has some problems – dust is a constant problem, and the whole roll looks like it is developed a stop more on the edges than in the centre. Or it’s not fixed as it should – in my experience, Kodak films need really fresh fixer to fix them correctly.
Next, Yashica Mat 124G, Ilford HP5+, developed in the same Kodak Xtol. Taken during my trip to Birmingham and the area in May 2015.
This roll was developed more evenly, but there are some light leaks on the film borders. Also, highlights are slightly fogged, indicating a slightly hazy lens, unfortunately.
Not bad results from a flatbed scanner made more than a decade ago! I’d have to invest more time in cleaning it, though.
