Honestech Film Scan And Save Scanner Review

Film Scan&Save is a light-weight 5.0 megapixel CMOS film and slide scanner powered through its USB cable. It is a stand-alone with 2.4 inch TFT LCD, similar to a number of other scanners on the market. It fits into the category of a commercial version of a close up camera, taking pictures of your film in front of a strong backlight. On this scanner the backlight is horizontal. Honestech have an online demonstration here.

One of the main issues with capturing from film is that the enlargement factor reveals foreign matter requiring elimination or camouflaging. Included with this scanner is a brush device which according to the instructions is for removing particles from the material to be scanned (film or slide). Preparation by removing this foreign matter goes a long way to achieving satisfactory scans, however as this scanner only has a small preview screen, the effect of dusting is not easily assessed.

Having said that, the preview screen does seem to sparkle where foreign matter is present. Scans are directly stored to the SD/SDHC card in the card slot which could be used to display them afterwards on a Digital Photo Frame. The files from SD/SDHC card can be transferred to the Computer via card reader or USB cable. This scanner package has eliminated the need for software on a CD altogether.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Scanner Installation

As this is a stand-alone scanner, no software needs to be installed. It is enough to connect the USB cable to your pc, and the operating system will treat it as a mass storage device. The quick setup guide is comprehensive and should have you scanning film or slide in less than ten minutes. With the included composite video cable you could be running a slide show of the captured images on your TV in next to no time.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Features and Specifications

It is as stated a completely independent scanner, which someone without a PC could make use of, getting hard copy from the memory card at a print outlet.

The scanner controls are rudimentary enabling selection of film types, exposure value, and then scanning. It features automatic colour balance and exposure control which worked reasonably on slides and negatives. Achieving dynamic results does require some post processing.



With a spare film holder and an assistant loading it whilst you are scanning, it should be possible to capture a lot of film in a short space of time. A couple of seconds per image and less than ten minutes per film comfortably beat flat bed scanning times.

The scanned images can be transferred to a PC for enhancement using the USB cable, or by plugging the memory card in to your reader and copying them using a file browsing program.

Images captured from slides or negatives will produce reasonable A5 size prints, and are easily good enough for social network purposes.

There is evidence of some sharpening in the Scan&Save crop, and it is a pity that other file compression options are not available for this scanner.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Film Handling

The slide and film holders are designed to be inserted in only one orientation so care is required to load the media correctly, though the arrow buttons will flip the image horizontally and / or vertically. Slide feeder attachments are becoming more prevalent on horizontal feed scanners, but Honestech supply a classic slide holder. The film and slide holders are robust and are relatively easy to load, though the film holder has pins for the film sprocket holes which are not always aligned with the image. The slide holder is particularly easy to load, as the slides go into a slot from below.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Performance

Of the 5mp scanners we have reviewed, the Scan&Save produces the most colourful results. Scanning of slides and negatives is quick and the results are fairly consistent. They can be quite vibrant from negatives, but don’t have a great tonal range. Also scans of negatives have a colour cast depending on the film brand so some post processing is recommended for better results.

1/25 sec | f/2.8 | 7.2 mm | ISO 71	1/25 sec | f/2.8 | 7.2 mm | ISO 96

Crops showing actual pixels from the image on the right below:

			1/12 sec | f/2.8 | 7.2 mm | ISO 60
Smartphoto F50 Crop	Scansave Crop	Epson Crop	Full Image

There is no control over the amount of edge cropping or for that matter the sharpening which is quite noticeable. The film and slide holders are straight-forward to work with and negatives can be aligned quite easily.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Verdict

Available for around £65, the Honestech Scan&Save is quite good value for money for a scanner that includes a built in screen. This is a scanner that produces reasonable results without excessive amounts of tweaking. It is eminently suitable for scanning your boxes of slides and negatives waiting to be catalogued and it will get the job done quicker than flatbed or more expensive true scanning models. The scans are also suitable for printout to a medium size.

Honestech Film Scan&Save Pros

Compact
Robust slide and film holders
Fast and productive
Built in screen
Adjustments can be made on screen

Honestech Film Scan&Save Cons

No control over image compression
Film holder sprocket pins

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL

 

Honestech Film Scan and Save HFS100 Specifications

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