Plustek OpticFilm 120 update (and a rant)

It was one of the first posts on the blog  about this medium format scanner. The actual market release date still seems to "float". When should this happen? Who knows, I don't. The vendors have been accepting preorders for the scanner for quite a while now. The feaures look promising, at least on paper. Not so for the price. Wex Photographic offers the scanner (in pre-order, of course) for £1999. Wow, that's serious money, 2.5k€! In these days people get a medium format camera in mint condition for some 15-30% of that amount! And you can get a (used but working, of course) Imacon or drum scanner for that sum.....I really do not understand who will ever buy such a monster (price-wise). If one needs to scan MF film for sharing online, then a Canon or Epson flatbed does the job just right, for 10% of that price. When you ever need high quality scans (exhibitions, print sales), then it's just better to pay a professional to do that. But yes, it is a problem to find a good professional these days.....I don't know for you, but I'm not gonna buy it. Not in a million years. If I ever get crazy one day, I'll get to scavenge an old drum scanner....and a SCSI adapter :)

Random Rant: "Polaroid Z2300 hopes to rekindle the glorious days of instant photo"

Polaroid has undergone a certain rebirth with their digital line of products, probably also with the advertising help of LadyGaga. In this article, the Polaroid Z2300 is introduced, a digital camera integrating a ZINK printer. Its price will be 160 $, while the cost of paper will be 0.50 $ per sheet (the prints are 2x3 inch in size, not really impressive). The people who tested it, say "We're absolutely loving the chromatic stripe that's emblazoned across the front. It gives the camera that much more of a old school aesthetic." That's some good appreciation of vintage style cameras, I would say, especially for the "chromatic stripe". Moreover, they state "Prints take about 40 seconds to print, but when it's all said and done, the photos do seem to have that slightly blurry look reminiscent of old instant film cameras. Polaroid reps also told us that filters can be applied in-camera Instagram-style before printing, which should add some more value to the Z2300." OK, someone can call it "value", the extra upgrade options which inflate the price tag.....Hmmm...I am puzzled....really.....I just don't get it. Where's the whole point? Customer satisfaction? Sure...

One can buy a Polaroid Land Camera for something like 10-20 $ or so (the better or collectible models cost more, of course), and in a good shape-there are still so many around. One can buy 1 pack of Fuji NP instant film (10 sheets) for about 10 $, that's 1 $ per shot. Even the cheapest Pola cameras give the "instagram-like" look by default (the lenses are just right for this-only 2 plastic elements), without any "upgrades". Yes, they are bulkier than the newest Pola Z2300, but surely greater eye-catchers, too. They have bellows, after all. If you want to break even with both cameras, you need to make about 300 shots with each. Not really likely to happen very soon. Probably, most people would make maybe a hundred shots and then forget about the camera or dispose it somewhere for a long time. My point: these "glorious days of instant photo" can be rekindled anytime by anyone, without buying the newest gadget. And the Pola Land was just one example!

silver regards
Mitja

About the Rants

Once in a while, anybody gets hit by some weird news-for a product, application, whatever. Most of the times, I just ignore it. But sometimes it just happens to be so irritating I just can't help. You know, in those irritationg, frustrating moments, one just needs to speak out loud! This is the very reason I decided to add the Random Rants category as well. I must state that I really try to avoid the typical Film vs. Digital debate (or viceversa) by any means. But sometimes, things just go beyond the average outrageousness, so to speak, and sadly involve this very same topic...So here we are. I hope you'll read the very first rant and comment as well. Please, take it with a bit of irony and don't be shy to comment! Criticize, but don't be offensive to anybody (the comments are not moderated). If you think that somebody, including me, is an as***le, go express your opinion, but please, use some more polite (or at least anatomical) terms :)

Mitja