Fuji Frontier 

Scanning

Safelight Labs is excited to offer Fuji Frontier SP3000 scanning as an option for 35mm film in addition to our normal Noritsu scans. (Medium format scanning coming soon!)

One scanner is not necessarily better than another, but there will be notable differences in the images that you receive from a Frontier v. Noristu scanner. What you want to achieve with your image will decide which scanning option is best for you.

What’s the difference?

Noritsu

  • Warmer tones overall

  • Higher resolution image with more close up detail

  • Greys are captured true to life but can look flat

  • Higher color range and detail in highlights and shadows

  • Skin tones are more pink

Frontier

  • Cooler tones overall

  • Higher contrast and more saturation

  • Less grain due to automatic smoothing

  • Shadows and highlights can have less range of color - blacker shadows and whiter highlights

  • Golden skin tones

Comparison of two photograph styles, with the left labeled "Noritsu" showing a warm tone, and the right labeled "Frontier" showing a cooler tone. Both images depict a sidewalk scene with a tree, a fence, and two people walking, with a house and a park traffic sign in the background.

Color and Tone

The Frontier scanner is renowned for its color palette, which leans to the cooler tones. You will get a distinct look to your scans from the Frontier. Frontier scans also have more saturation and contrast. Skin tones tend to appear more to the golden side, as compared to the Noritsu which emphasizes pinks in skin tones.

A woman with dark hair wearing sunglasses, a red satin shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots standing in a green forested area. She is holding a large black hat on a tree branch with one hand, with her other hand in her pocket.

Noritsu

A woman in sunglasses and a red satin shirt standing on a forest trail, touching a fallen tree with a black hat resting on it, surrounded by green foliage.
Two people, a woman with long brown hair and a man with short curly hair, are laughing together while looking at a smartphone. They are standing at an outdoor market with colorful umbrellas and signs in the background. The woman is wearing a patterned shirt and jeans, while the man is wearing a sleeveless top, light blue jeans, and has a bag of green apples hanging from his belt.

Frontier

Noritsu

Two people laughing and talking at a market, one holding a phone and a bag of produce

Frontier

Detail and Definition

The resolution and level of detail in the Noritsu scanner can’t be beat. If you want a higher resolution image that can be zoomed in to show detail, Noritsu might be best for you. This difference is especially notable with highlights and shadows. Frontier scans have less definition and range in these areas, resulting in blacker shadows and whiter highlights.

Close-up of green leafy bush with branches

Noritsu

Frontier

Black & White and Grain

Black and white film scans in particular will have some distinct differences. Due to automatic smoothing, less grain is visible in Frontier scans. This can be especially noticeable in higher ISO films. Noritsu scanners do not have this function allowing for more noticeable grain structure in your images. Noritsu scanners also have an advantage in the range of grays. Grays will be captured true to life, but can appear flat because of this. Overall, we do recommend getting your B&W film scanned with the Noritsu.

People socializing in an indoor space with plants on the wall, ceiling lights, and an exit sign overhead, in black and white.

Noritsu

People gathered indoors, engaging in conversations, with a man and woman in the foreground facing each other, surrounded by others, plants, and an exit sign overhead.

Frontier

Cost and Time

Another crucial difference between these two scanners is speed. Frontier scanners take significantly more time from our lab techs to operate.

Because of these, they will cost more. We charge an additional $7 for Frontier scans.

Other Services from

Safelight Labs

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