High-Resolution Drum Scan Sample: 6×7 Portra 400 on a Bronica GS-1
If you’ve ever wondered what a high resolution drum scan really looks like, here’s a real file you can judge with your own eyes. This frame was shot on 120 film (6×7) with a Bronica GS-1 and the 100mm f/3.5 lens on Kodak Portra 400, then scanned on a Heidelberg Tango drum scanner.
Delivered file: 12000 × 15007 px, roughly 1 GB. Below you’ll see the full frame plus crops at 25%, 50%, and 100%. If you’re comparing output options, start with film scan prices and scan sizes.
What this file shows (without tricks)
This scan was made hand held and delivered clean. No extra sharpening. No noise reduction. The point is simple: show the resolving power, smooth tonality, and real-world detail a drum scanner can extract from film.
Professional drum scanning resolution: what matters in the real world
Drum scanners are built for high resolution film scanning with outstanding micro-contrast, clean shadows, and consistent detail across both colour negative film and black and white film. Some manufacturers quote figures up to 11,000 dpi for the highest-end models, but after testing a range of machines on real film, the practical limit tends to land closer to ~6000 dpi for true, usable detail.
Past that point, you run into diminishing returns. We’ve tested 35mm film, 120 medium format, and large format film (including 4×5 and 8×10), and the pattern is consistent: there’s usually almost nothing gained above ~5000 dpi (and ~6000 dpi for some 35mm frames), aside from a slightly cleaner resolving of film grain. For large format shot at typical apertures, scanning beyond ~3000 dpi rarely adds anything meaningful unless you’re working at f/22 or smaller with excellent lenses, careful technique, and perfect focus.
It’s also worth remembering that the same headline dpi number doesn’t mean the same result across scanners. Even a 2000 dpi drum scan will usually look sharper and cleaner than a 2000 dpi scan from an Epson flatbed, Imacon/Flextight, or other non-drum systems. That comes down to the scan path and engineering: minimal reliance on complex optics and extremely accurate construction. These machines originally cost the price of a small house, and you can feel that in the output (and in the fact we’ve got nearly a ton of scanners in the studio).
Testing with medium format and large format cameras
In field tests with large format cameras and very sharp transparencies, including Velvia 50 shot at f/22 and above, it’s surprisingly hard to see a difference in a finished print between a 2000 dpi scan (uprezzed well) and a 4000 dpi scan. With 3000 dpi, it becomes effectively impossible. If your system has very sharp lenses, strong registration, and you’re shooting wider than f/22, you may see some improvement at 3000 dpi, and in near-perfect conditions potentially 4000 dpi.
Medium format (and 35mm) is typically shot at wider apertures than large format, so it’s not limited by diffraction in the same way. As a practical “sweet spot,” we recommend ~5000 dpi for medium format film and ~6000 dpi for 35mm film when you want maximum usable detail and very clean grain.
There is a real advantage to scanning at higher resolutions, but it often shows up more as perceived noise/grain quality than as extra scene detail. Some scanners that can genuinely reach 6000+ dpi on stocks like Portra 400 can render grain in a smoother, more natural way. At more “normal” resolutions, the grain can become more intrusive, and it can interact with sharpening in strange ways.
Very high-resolution scans can be impressive, but they also create huge files. Unless you specifically need multi-gigabyte TIFFs, it’s usually more useful to judge scanner performance around ~4000 dpi. That’s why most real-world comparisons focus on how the scanner behaves at working resolutions, not just at maximum numbers.
If you ever compare different machines, keep in mind that models like the Aztek Premiere and Heidelberg Primescan can be shown at different dpi settings, so side-by-side crops need context.
Zoom crops: 25%, 50%, 100%
Should you order files this big?
Not always. Most photographers are best served by choosing the scan size that matches the final use (client delivery, editorial, print, archive). If you want a sanity check, send your intended print size and DPI and we’ll scan for the end use.
For the complete workflow, see drum scanning services. Ready to ship film? Order film scans or contact us if you have deadlines, full-frame requests, or special handling notes.
