Costco scan vs. flatbed ?

[IK13]

I don't know what kind of scanner the Noritsu machines in Costco have, but for $3 I'm getting pretty clean 6mp scans.

Since some MF toy is somewhere in my future (and Costco does not scan 120 film) I was wondering if a flatbed, like CanoScan 8800F is not the way to go?

Has anyone compared Costco scans to newer (presumably better) flatbeds?

My rational - I simply don't shoot enough to justify buying a dedicated MF film scanner these days. So I'm thinking - I'll get a decent cheap (yeah, it's all relative) flatbed for the web and small prints (both from MF and 35mm). And if I want to go big - I'll drop some cash for a quality drum scan. Am I wrong?

 

[IK13]

Coolscan V ED won't cut it for MF... and there we're in the Coolscan 9000 $1500+ territory.

 

[infrequent]

i guess i will be regretting my epson 4490 then...but the price was unbeatable! ; )

 

[cmedin]

The 4490 does great for medium format, not so great for 35mm.

 

[infrequent]

@cmedin - but i only do 35mm..maybe thats the excuse i need to get some MF kit?! ; )

 

[kipkeston]

I'm not sure how to spend 1500 dollars on a wet b/w darkroom. I've used costco before I got my own scanner. The scans were not extremely satisfying. If I gave them b/w to scan, they would clip the blacks to hell. Anyway, I got a 4490, then a V.

 

[myoptic3]

I used to have a Nikon V ED and can vouch for their excellent scanning capabilities. They are great. But for a lot less money you can find a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III film scanner and get very detailed scans. I bought one from a fellow RFF member and am very impressed w/ it's 2840 dpi scan capabilities. It also will scan several negs at a time, something the Nikon film scanner won't do. Won't help you if you go to MF of course. I once compared a Walmart scan, which is surely like a Costco scan, and the difference between it and my Nikon V ED film scanner was huge. Photography is a game where you definately get what you pay for. But if you really want something really cheap, get one of the HP all-in-one printer/scanner/copiers for around $100. You can scan your prints and they will be fine for the web, and the copier/printer will be very useful around the house. You can scan in documents and it will turn them into PDF files too. My wife has one and it makes beautiful prints that exactly match the monitor. I have doubts as to their longevity, but for $100 it is a pretty good investment. Ours has lasted several years now.

 

[charjohncarter]

Costco scans had histograms way to the left. I liked them at one time but now...well I can't use them for scans.

 

[hjfischer]

You could try Walmart. I've used them for color film scanned to disc several times with decent results. I view the discs and thumbnails ( developing, scanning only-- about $4.00 US) to select those shots worth redoing at home.

 

[IK13]

You could try Walmart. I've used them for color film scanned to disc several times with decent results. I view the discs and thumbnails ( developing, scanning only-- about $4.00 US) to select those shots worth redoing at home.

I don't think Walmart scans at the same resolution.
So far Costco is the only place (and not all stores) that gives me 6mp scans - everything else is about 2mp (and pretty bad for the most part).