

Available at a fraction of the cost of the other scanners, it provides a secure means of illuminating and holding your film so that you can scan it with a DSLR or mirrorless camera (and ideally a macro lens). If you want something affordable and have a digital camera already, then check out the Pixl-latr.


If you're after something that'll scan multiple film frames automatically, though, and has the versatility to scan photo prints and documents, Epson's Perfection V600 Photo flatbed scanner is a great choice. So what's the best film scanner? Right now, we think it's the OpticFilm 8100 from film scanning expert Plustek: it extracts phenomenal levels of detail from your film, is backed up by excellent included scanning software, and it's sensibly priced. There's a huge used camera market and a surprising amount of know-how and expertise around classic film cameras. We've also got a guide to the best film cameras around too if you need a new SLR or large-format camera. Once you've got your scanner working, you may find yourself with the urge to start shooting film again check out our guide to the best film to buy.

In this guide, we're going to be looking at two main types of scanner: dedicated film scanners, and general flatbed scanners.
