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i just scanned 12 rolls of film with my setup that i just put together a week ago. heres my mini blog post. prices are in australian dollar (USD is about 2/3 of this)
gear i used:
- fuji x-e2 i had from years ago (bought used for $400)
- manfrotto tripod
- nikon micro 55mm f3.5 with extension tube $150
- enthusiast scanning kit from kamera store ($333, postage was $50 lmao)
- rocket/dust blower
the alternatives was buying a plustek 8200i ai for $600 or keep using my lab which does $10 scans for a whole roll, but uncut ($15 if you give them already cut roll). i also had already shot about 30 rolls i had in my backlog to develop, so the minimum cost for scanning these was $300. as the lab gives cheaper scans for uncut rolls, unfortunately i have to re-photoflo the rolls after as they will be bent/curved from being rolled up and stored for many days (enjoy squeegee-ing 7 strips times by however many rolls you have, and hanging them up...). i heard the plustek takes minutes for scanning one frame. for my setup, i can "scan" a frame in about 5-10 seconds (but you have to edit the raw after). pic attached is my scan on the left, lab scan on the right. also the plustek cannot scan 120, but with this setup i can get "150MP" stitched scans. i can get a flextight (virtual "drum") scan in my local area for about $25 per frame (either 35mm or 120). the downside of scanning with a dslr/mirrorless is that you have to do the inversion/editing yourself. for black and white this is super easy, for color you will have to practice a whole bunch because it will most likely take a long time to get something similar to your lab. i hope any of that helps because before i did this, i had a ton of questions and was not sure which method to go with
