Deciding on a scanner to buy

JeremyLangford

JeremyLangford

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I don't know a bunch about film scanners but I am tired of Wal-Mart scanning my negs.

I want to find the cheapest scanner possible that can scan at least 2700dpi (So that I can print an 8 x 12 at 300dpi) or close to it. I also need digital ICE, and also I need to be able to plug the scanner into my computer via USB. And my computer is a Mac.

I mostly need to scan 35mm negs, but if I could scan 35mm slides too than that would be cool.

I am definately on a budget, so I am just looking for the cheapest one possible.

Any suggestions?
 
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Keep in mind that ICE will not work with conventional (silver-based) B&W negs. It's great with dye-based films and colour negs, though.
 
Find the earliest model Minolta Scan Dual that has ICE, probably the Scan Dual III or maybe the Scan Dual IV. It will be used but should be in the $150-200 price range.

I would recommend a Scan Dual II except for your requirement that you have ICE. I had that scanner and it is very good.

BTW, I'm just not a ICE fan. Never use it when scanning chromes. But I am in the minority.

And, there is a lot more to scanner quality than resolution. But be assured that all USB models of the Minolta Scan Dual Series and the Nikon film scanners are excellent.

Don't worry about buying an older model. There have not been significant real technological advances in film scanners. They are not like digital cameras in that regard but more like film cameras.

Oh, you WILL learn to edit first and scan later. Trust me.
 
Bob Michaels said:
Find the earliest model Minolta Scan Dual that has ICE, probably the Scan Dual III or maybe the Scan Dual IV. It will be used but should be in the $150-200 price range.

I would recommend a Scan Dual II except for your requirement that you have ICE. I had that scanner and it is very good.

BTW, I'm just not a ICE fan. Never use it when scanning chromes. But I am in the minority.

And, there is a lot more to scanner quality than resolution. But be assured that all USB models of the Minolta Scan Dual Series and the Nikon film scanners are excellent.

Don't worry about buying an older model. There have not been significant real technological advances in film scanners. They are not like digital cameras in that regard but more like film cameras.

Oh, you WILL learn to edit first and scan later. Trust me.
Click to expand...


Neither the Scan Dual III or the Scan Dual IV have Digital ICE. But other than that I like everything, including the prices.

But I think that I may need ICE, because I only shoot 35mm color negatives.
 
I have two scanners, a Nikon 5000 ED for 35mm b&w negatives, and a Microtek i800 for everything else, including contact sheets. They both do the job well.
 
am also looking

am also looking

I'm thinking of the Epson V500 which meets your requirements below and comes with adobe elements. It's currently about ~$200 USD with rebate, probably waiting until it comes downt o $150 or the next model arrives. It is supposedly a "green" machine ... which is very cool.

JeremyLangford said:
I don't know a bunch about film scanners but I am tired of Wal-Mart scanning my negs.

I want to find the cheapest scanner possible that can scan at least 2700dpi (So that I can print an 8 x 12 at 300dpi) or close to it. I also need digital ICE, and also I need to be able to plug the scanner into my computer via USB. And my computer is a Mac.

I mostly need to scan 35mm negs, but if I could scan 35mm slides too than that would be cool.

I am definately on a budget, so I am just looking for the cheapest one possible.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
 
ampguy said:
I'm thinking of the Epson V500 which meets your requirements below and comes with adobe elements. It's currently about ~$200 USD with rebate, probably waiting until it comes downt o $150 or the next model arrives. It is supposedly a "green" machine ... which is very cool.
Click to expand...

Wow. I just now asked someone what scanner he used, and he said an Epson V500. And so I came here to ask you guys about it and someone had just now recommended it.
 
Ampguy: I don't think any of the Epson flatbeds come anywhere close to actually resolving 2700 dpi. I keep hearing true resolution numbers like 1000 or 1200 for the very best Epsons.

The optics and focusing mechanisms are the bottleneck in resolution. While they can make a file as big as 2700 dpi or higher, that does no good if every three pixels in a row are the same because the optics couldn't resolve any better than that.

I have a Minolta MultiPro film scanner that resolves 4800 dpi for 35mm. I also have an Epson flatbed that Epson says is 9600 dpi. The difference in performance is just about the same as the difference in price ($1,950 for the Minolta vs. $199 for the Epson)
 
Bob Michaels said:
Ampguy: I don't think any of the Epson flatbeds come anywhere close to actually resolving 2700 dpi. I keep hearing true resolution numbers like 1000 or 1200 for the very best Epsons.

The optics and focusing mechanisms are the bottleneck in resolution. While they can make a file as big as 2700 dpi or higher, that does no good if every three pixels in a row are the same because the optics couldn't resolve any better than that.

I have a Minolta MultiPro film scanner that resolves 4800 dpi for 35mm. I also have an Epson flatbed that Epson says is 9600 dpi. The difference in performance is just about the same as the difference in price ($1,950 for the Minolta vs. $199 for the Epson)
Click to expand...

I was just about to ask how it should compare to a non-flatebed scanner.
 
If you decide you can get by without Digital Ice, any of the Minolta scanners should work for you. I bought a Scan Dual II from the auction site, and while it is limited to about 2820 dpi, it does a fine job for my needs.

Jim N.
 
I have ICE on one scanner, not the other.I don't miss it on one, don't use it on the other. It adds huge time to a scan on my flatbed. Easier to clean the negative.

The Epson works ok on C41 and B&W, but it will disappoint on slides. Easier to keep things dust free withth e film scanner, too.
 
I've just got a V700 Epson and a Canon FS4000US dedicated 35mm scanner. While the dedicated scanner works better in terms of resolving ultra fine detail in 35mm negs and trannies, the V700 is no slouch either. You'll have no problems enlarging 35mm negs to 8x12" with the Epson, which also has digital ICE. The only thing I'd say is a MUST is the Doug Fisher neg holder so you can adjust the negs to sit in exactly the correct point of focus for the scanner. I did more tests tonight to try fine tune my unit (see an earlier thread for my initial attempts) and my MF scans are resolving only just a fraction less detail than my works Nikon 8000ED on the same neg. If I scan at 6400dpi then resample down to 3200dpi I could not see any difference at all at 100% magnification. I was truely amazed. Of course, if I wanted to blow something up very large (over 18x27") I'd be forced to use the Nikon or pay for a drum scan, but in practical terms I don't think I'll ever need to seeing as I mainly print at 12x18".

Read the scanner reviews at i-photo

Be cool.

J
 
Hi,

I used to have KM dual 3. But sold it when I laid my hands on a KM 5400. Ice is great. It saves so much time and frustration.
an epson flatbed will do oke for 35mm. But i really do prefer a dedicated scanner for 35mm. I recently used the Epson 4990 for some fast scanning of a lot of 35mm film. Then afterwards i rescanned to good shots on the KM. The difference is quit big. Much more detail and sharpness.
try to find a dedicated scanner. maybe a secondhand Like I did. they are sometimes available. People scan all their slides and then they sell it again because they've gone all digital. That's how I got my KM 5400.
A few weeks ago I picked up a demo KM multiscan pro for the fraction of the original price. Now that is a beast of a machine.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
Rather than buying from aging fleet of Scan Duals you might consider a cheap contemporary model, like Plustek 7200. Will do the job better and faster, for about same money.
 
varjag said:
Rather than buying from aging fleet of Scan Duals you might consider a cheap contemporary model, like Plustek 7200. Will do the job better and faster, for about same money.
Click to expand...

I have one of these that I use for 35mm B/W negs. I upgraded the Silverfast SE software that came with it to the 6 Ai version and am mostly happy with it. OP will not be, as there are no Mac drivers for the Plustek.

Just yesterday I set up an Epson V500 for scanning MF. The OP will be happy to know that the unit comes with software for both Mac and PC. Setup was easier than with the Plustek.

So far - half a dozen scans or so - I am not all that impressed with the software. The learning curve is shallower than for Silverfast so I hope to find its limits soon. Also the software chokes and hangs on scanning a 6 x 9 at anything over 1200 dpi but I think I just need to add some memory to the box - 512MB is recommended so maybe 1 GB.

- John

EDIT - I put 1 GB of memory ino the box and the Epson software works fine. Eight minutes to scan a 6x9 neg at the 3600 dpi setting, but the increase in resolution over a 2400 dpi scan is marked.
 
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