New this year, we’ve added lens recommendations to our range of buying guides. Take a look through this guide for our advice on the best lenses to pair with Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras.
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Review: Kodak Scanza film scanner is easy-to-use, but overpriced
Kodak Scanza film scanner
$ 169.99 | Kodak.com
The Kodak Scanza is a simple, non-professional film scanner. It wears the Kodak logo, but has no affiliation with Kodak Alaris, the company bringing back Kodak T-Max P3200 and Ektachrome.
Key features
- Tilting 3.5″ LCD
- SD card slot
- Video out, HDMI and USB connectivity
- Works with: 35mm, 126, 110, Super 8 and 8mm formats
What’s included
Opening the box you’re greeted with HDMI, USB and video out cables, an AC adapter, user manual, the scanner itself (in bubble wrap below), a toothbrush shaped surface cleaner and a handful of plastic film holders. Pretty much everything is plastic and feels a little cheap in its construction quality.
Format compatibility
In terms of film format flexibility, the Scanza is… okay. There’s no option for medium format, though you can scan 35mm, 110, and 126 formats as well as 8mm/Super 8. The 8mm/Super 8 option is misleading, though. This is not for scanning a whole reel of 8mm film, this is specifically for scanning individual frames of 8mm or Super 8 slides.
One of the plastic film holders with 35mm slide. In use
The biggest thing the Scanza has going for it is ease-of-use. Even if you’ve never scanned film before, you can expect to be up and running in around 10 minutes.
To operate it, plug in the power (the scanner uses a widely available micro-USB to USB cable for power) either to an AC outlet or your computer, insert an SD card (this is where scans are saved), press the power button, select your film type, load the holder with your film, insert it and press the capture button. Done. Scanning takes only a couple of seconds per negative/slide.
Despite some gripes with the Scanza, the usability of this thing is awesome and for those intimidated by the more technical conundrums of photography/scanning, it is super freeing. If you’re plugged into the wall and the 3.5″ LCD feels too small to view your images, don’t fear: In addition to the Micro-USB, you’ve got Video-out and HDMI-mini ports (cables included for both) so you can view your scans on a TV or monitor screen. This additional connectivity feels like a bit of an unnecessary feature, but I’m not going to count it against the Scanza because connecting it to a TV reminded me of using a slide projector and that is the most Kodak thing about this product.
A 35mm Elite Chrome slide scanned at 22MP with no corrections or cropping. The scanner is 14MP but offers a 22MP scan option that interpolates the images and ups the resolution from 4320×2880 pixels to 5728×3824 pixels. In use, we found the 22MP mode entirely unnecessary. There’s no option for TIFFs or DNG, only JPEG. (Prosumer scanners like the Nikon CoolScan 9000 and Epson V-series accommodate TIFF and DNG workflows, giving your film scans a lot of editing flexibility). Also, the scanning area ends up slightly cropping your photos, mostly horizontally – if you’re a perfectionist, this may bother you.
The biggest thing the Scanza has going for it is ease-of-use
When scanning you’ve got the option to perform color adjustments which includes Brightness, Red, Green, and Blue levels, all on an arbitrary scale of -3 to +3. In testing, just +1/-1 on any of these scales was too drastic a change to be used effectively. Unless your film is severely expired and has a significant color shift, I’d stay away from these settings to keep your scans as accurate as possible.
Scan quality
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The scans in the gallery above are from a 35mm roll of Fujifilm Natura 1600. Below is an example of an image scanned using the Scanza (left) next to the same image scanned by a local photo lab here in Seattle (right). For what it’s worth, said lab charges $ 18 for processing and scanning a roll of 35mm color film.
Scanned in Scanza. Scanned by lab. Scan quality isn’t terrible, but a quick comparison to a professional lab scan shows the limits of the Scanza. For simply preserving memories, or scanning to share on social media, the Scanza’s quality should be good enough.
Bottom Line
This is not a bad product, it’s just an overpriced one for what it is. For similar cash, you can invest in a decent flatbed scanner with film trays – like the Epson V550 – which offers higher-quality scans and greater versatility, but at the cost of speed and ease-of-use.
For those simply wishing to painlessly make digital copies of years of photos, the Scanza is a decent option. But we have a hard time believing it is much better than this similar option with no Kodak label, priced half as much.
What we like:
- Extremely easy to use
- Fast at scanning
- No computer needed
What we don’t:
- Similar products available for much less cash
- Limited scanning resolution
- Can only save JPEGs
- Scanza sometimes crops images
- No option for scanning medium format
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DPReview recommends: Best digital cameras and lenses
We test and try a lot of digital cameras and lenses here at DPReview, and with holiday season finally here, we’ve been updating our range of buying guides. Click through for our recommendations.
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Report: Reuters to merge photography, video teams under unified ‘visual journalist’ team
A report from The Baron, an independent website dedicated to sharing news and information about Reuters, says Reuters is speeding up the process of merging its picture and video news departments into a single team of ‘visual journalists’ while at the same time making cuts to the number of jobs within the organization.
According to The Baron report, in an internal message to Reuters staff, John Pullman, global head of visuals at Reuters, said ‘In Visuals we will accelerate the moves already underway to create a single unified team of visual journalists […] Many of our photographers already shoot video – and videographers produce pictures. This mode of working is becoming normal throughout the industry as video and photo technologies grow closer. We will be taking a structured approach to merge our pictures and video teams. We will look at technology, training and workflow – and introduce single leadership where appropriate.’
The Baron reports the internal memo goes on to say ‘We aim to align our teams with the needs of our customers by extending our footprint, improving our efficiency and increasing our flexibility.’
According to the referenced memo, Pullman said the changes, which come as part of the reorganization as a separate business under the Thomson Reuters umbrella, will take place over the coming months. Unsurprisingly, the homogenization isn’t going over to well with Reuters staff.
A Reuters employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity to The Baron, said ‘This is essentially the end of Reuters Pictures, going down the tubes in a very sad way. Pix has won a score of Pulitzers and other prestigious awards under Reuters but it seems that is not enough to save it from what appears to be the terrible end of what was a great run over more than 30 years which brought the world some of the best photojournalism it has ever seen.’
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ISO drafts the first worldwide drone standards, expected to be adopted later next year
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a draft set of standards for drone operations. The drafts will be open for public consultation until January 21, 2019 and are expected to be adopted globally later next year.
This is the first set of four drone-related sets of standards. An additional three sets will look into technical specifications, manufacturing quality, and traffic management.
Most of the proposed standards are line with already existing drone legislation and regulations as well as common sense. The draft includes no-fly zones around airports and other sensitive locations. Geo-fencing technology is suggested to prevent drone flying over restricted areas. Other suggestions include flight logging, operator training as well as maintenance requirements.
There are also rules around privacy and data protection for operators and the draft standard suggests there should be a mandatory means of human intervention for all drone flights.
With drone traffic increasing substantially and drones frequently involved in air traffic incidents, more standards for both technology and operation procedures should be a step into the right direction and can help drive drone adoption further. More information is available on the ISO website.
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Nauticam launches underwater housing for Nikon Z7 and Z6 mirrorless cameras
Underwater housing manufacturer Nauticam hasn’t taken long to create a new unit designed for owners of Nikon’s new full frame mirrorless cameras. The Nauticam NA-Z7 can accommodate either the Z7 or Z6, and enables users to take them down to 100m/330ft beneath the waves.
The housing accepts cameras mounted with the new Z lenses, but as most users will have a collection of F mount lenses these can also be used via the FTZ adapter. Two lens release buttons have been incorporated into the design so both kinds of lens can be switched without the camera needing to be removed from the housing. If you want to take the adapter off, or indeed fit it, the camera will need to be removed.
While the button layout of the new Z cameras is somewhat different to that of models like the D850, Nauticam has worked hard to ensure users of this new housing won’t struggle to adapt. The company has managed to keep the main controls in the same locations on the housing even though the buttons they give access to have moved. For example, the magnify controls have been kept on the right of the housing, where users of the N120 series housings would expect to find them, despite the fact that the actual buttons on the camera are now on the right of the LCD.
The Nauticam NA-Z7 is available now and costs $ 3450. For more information visit the Nauticam website.
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DJI releases nine new accessories for Ronin-S handheld stabilizer
DJI has released a total of nine new accessories for its Ronin-S handheld camera stabilizer, expanding the system and making it more attractive to ambitious video shooters and film makers. Below is a quick run-down of each of the new accessories.
The new Focus Motor enables motorized focusing of lenses and offers lens control with an accuracy of .02 degrees. The Command Unit attaches to the side of the stabilizer and lets users to modify settings such as motor parameters, remote control and operation modes without the need to connect a mobile device.
The Ronin-S BG37 Grip offers an extra 12 hours of operating time via a 2400mAh built-in battery and the Top Hotshoe Bracket mounts to the camera hot shoe and the Ronin for extra security during fast-paced shooting, for example when the stabilizer is mounted to a moving vehicle. The grip comes with a cold-shoe, so you can still attach accessories with the adequate connector.
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The Extended Lens Support helps secure the camera and larger lens on then Ronin-S and can be used when the standard support is not long enough. With the Ronin-S Universal Mount the stabilizer can be mounted to a car, jib, cable cam system and more.
Finally, the External GPS Module offers improved stabilization performance during fast accelerations or decelerations and better reaction to sudden camera movements. All new accessories are available now, pricing is as follows:
- Focus Motor: $ 169 USD
- Focus Motor Rod Mount: $ 20 USD
- Focus Gear Strip: USD $ 20 USD
- Command Unit: $ 129 USD
- BG37 Battery Grip: $ 99 USD
- Top Hotshoe Bracket: $ 49 USD
- Extended Lens Support: $ 20 USD
- External GPS Module: $ 69 USD
- Universal Mount: $ 179 USD
More information can be found on the DJI website.
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Photography gifts for every budget: 2018 edition
With so many accessories, bags, lenses and so on to choose from, shopping for a photographer can be daunting. But we’re here to help: From stocking stuffers to, well, entire cameras, we’ve got you covered – at every budget.
2018 Holiday Gift Guide: Under $ 50
2018 Holiday Gift Guide: $ 50-250
2018 Holiday Gift Guide: Over $ 250