I need a new film scanner

My Epson V750 Pro, purchased in 2009, has scanned thousands of rolls of film, slides, and prints. After making strange grinding noises recently, it has finally ground to a halt.

Here are the last images it was able to scan from the most recent roll (2022-Roll-066)…

So now what? I guess I need a new scanner. I have a PrimeFilm XAs but it’s 35mm only and can be quite fidgety to use. And it only does 35mm. I need to scan 35mm, 120, and 4x5 negatives.

I am trying to decide between two options: A new flatbed Epson V850, or a digital camera scanning setup. I already have most of the doo-dads needed for digital camera scanning. I just don’t have a feasible digital camera and macro lens up to the task.

I’m leaning toward the Epson V850 flatbed because I’m used to the workflow and, although expensive, it would be cheaper than buying a new camera setup. On the other hand, I can use the new camera as, you know, a camera too, which would be nice.

It’s just that I tried scanning with a digital camera before (Fuji X-T3) and didn’t like what it did to the grain. I don’t know that a higher-resolution camera and better macro lens would fix it.

What I might do is rent something like a Nikon Z7 and one of their macro lenses for a week and see if I like the results. The Nikon Z is probably what I’d look at if I were interested in a new mirrorless kit for general photography anyway.

I’ll let you know how it goes.