Epson Perfection V550 ?

[Pioneer]

I use a V500 for my medium format work and a Plustek 7600i for my 35mm. I use the Better Scanning AN glass inserts for the Epson Holder on 35mm and the full, focusing negative holder with AN glass for medium format.

Bottom line is that I get better 35mm scans from my Plustek 7600i. It is my understanding that you can get better 35mm results from the inexpensive Epson flatbeds by using wet scanning, but that looks even slower than my Plustek dedicated 35mm scanner, and that is slow enough. 😀

 

[Swift1]

That's great, thanks swift1, I'm thinking the v600 is just about my price range, I'm leaning towards that, unless dedicated film scanners are better? God it's confusing.

A dedicated scanner will output better resolution. The downside is that you're restricted to only 24x36 frame (you can scan panoramic film in multiple passes then stitch), and you're stuck with (IMO) frustrating and overly complicated software. Also, I find flatbeds are generally faster, especially if you're scanning an entire roll.

 

[michaelwj]

I wouldn't worry about the amount that is cropped, it is so tiny with the Plustek scanners. If it bothered you you could file out the holder a little.

As for resolution, for the same price you'll get better resolution from a smaller scanner; the resolution (actual not quoted) is limited by the motor movements, and when there is less range to scan it can be don more accurately. On the other hand, your ability to print big will largely be limited by what you're willing to tolerate and by the quality of your negative.
1800dpi is a final scan with 1800 x 2700, that's 5MP. You can print an A4 print from a 5MP camera no problems.

It's a tough choice, but you've just got to jump and not look back!

 

[Swift1]

your ability to print big will largely be limited by what you're willing to tolerate and by the quality of your negative.

Couldn't agree more... especially about the negative.

 

[Captain Kidd]

Thanks everyone, what dedicated negative scanners would you recommend that are around the 200-300 euro range. To be honest I justuse 35mm film. I'm beginning to lean towards the v550, if I'm ever going to print particularly large I can get the negative scanned at a photo club.

 

[Captain Kidd]

Has anyone experience using Plustek on a Mac?

 

[michaelwj]

I use a Plustek with a Mac and Vuescan. Works perfectly.

 

[helen.HH]

And would much of the picture be cropped? Part of the reason I'm looking to buy a scanner is because every commercial photo shop seems to crop quite a bit when scanning.

There is no crop, all there
On a Mac... Run the silverfasr CD... Put in your serial #...
Thats it, Your ready to go... that EASY !

I Love Plustek !

 

[Captain Kidd]

Thanks michaelwj and Helenhill, i like the size of the plustek, im thinking of the 8100 model, its within my budget, just about.


Generally with these scanners, do you have to spend alot of time figuring out the correct settings, if there are any good turorials that you know of do let me know. Thanks again everyone.

 

[flavio81]

with the epson how large can you print at a goog quality, above Flávio mentions 15x20cm, that seems very small to me, maybe flavio meant inches. Helen mentioned a dedicated negative scanner like a plustek, any thoughts on these compared to the epsons? Thanks everyone

Hi Capitan Kidd,

Above a V550 user mentioned you can get "1800dpi max" from that scanner, which is a credible figure.

Since the professional standard for digital prints is 300dpi, that means that you can make a 6x enlargement of perfect quality.

For a 24x36mm frame, 6x equals 14.4 x 21.6 cm, consistent with the "15x20cm" figure i gave earlier.

Of course this means you can also do a 20x25 enlargment and still find it acceptable. But it will be inferior to what you could get with a dedicated film scanner or an enlarger.

The plustek dedicated scanners, or any film dedicated scanner, is on an above league regarding image quality; go for them if you can afford them!

 

[Prest_400]

I have a V550 and use it to scan 6x9 MF. 35mm, yes it does; I tried... But it is a bit too little too late -scant resolution for the effort- and have found that for the not much 35mm I shoot (colour), I'll just have it lab processed and scanned.

For MF it is quite nice and gets decent results, printed up to 12x18". Still, there is a bit of loss looking rather closely. But, it is a 200€ scanner and alright for the use. I can imagine the usefulness of Betterscanning ANR holders in there... Fujichrome likes to curl concave and unflatness brings quite a loss of resolution.

Another member suggested the Primefilm XA in the Pakon thread. Still, the Plusteks seem quite a solid proposal.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

I've measured resolution with my V500... Interestingly, I get near 2000 ppi for lines running parallel to the scan track, but only 1270 ppi for lines running perpendicular.

In practical use, I like a good sharp print, one you can bring right up to your nose. I'm happy with 12x18" prints from 6x9 negatives. This is 6x or maybe 8x the linear dimension of the film. Therefore, I would only be happy with prints of 8x10 from 35mm film using this scanner.

The V500, 600, and probably 550 are in the same league. The V750 is somewhat better.

For larger prints from 35mm, you want a dedicated film scanner, or send your good negatives to Precision (sponsor here) or North Coast Photographic Services (San Diego).

Hope this helps. For much more on this and sample files, see my postings in this thread.

 

[Captain Kidd]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the help and thank you colsebastianmoran for that link, much appreciated

 

[michaelwj]

Thanks michaelwj and Helenhill, i like the size of the plustek, im thinking of the 8100 model, its within my budget, just about.


Generally with these scanners, do you have to spend alot of time figuring out the correct settings, if there are any good turorials that you know of do let me know. Thanks again everyone.

I use Vuescan, and pretty much follow Chris Crawfords method. He has a sticky in the film forum I believe with links to his website. I use the 8100.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I use Vuescan, and pretty much follow Chris Crawfords method. He has a sticky in the film forum I believe with links to his website. I use the 8100.

Michael, thanks for the recommendation. Here's my tutorials website:

http://crawfordphotoschool.com

Here's the film scanning page:

http://crawfordphotoschool.com/digital/scanning.php

 

[Captain Kidd]

Thanks for that, and thanks Chris for the tutorials, it looks like Silverfast 8 is bundled with the Plustek, im going to post a related question to that now in the in this forum relating to similar tutorials that people might recommend, from what im reading Silverfast seems in need of some good ones.

Thanks

 

[Pioneer]

I do prefer to use Epson Scan as it is much more intuitive for me, but I also use Silverfast 8 as well.

I downloaded a trial version of Vuescan a while back but did not spend enough time with it to actually decide whether or not I like it. I ended up staying with the programs I already knew and understood.

I will review some of Chris's tutorials just to see if I am getting the best out of Silverfast but once you get used to it you will be able to get good scans.

I think that is true for any software. Once you become comfortable with it you tend to stick with it. My wife uses the Paintshop Pro products since she has used it since it was a Corel product. I use Adobe Photoshop since I had to learn it for my forensic photography work.

 

[papo]

Question: what scanner would you recommend for both, 35 and MF?

 

[michaelwj]

Question: what scanner would you recommend for both, 35 and MF?

Depends on the budget and desired output.

 

[benlees]

Also keep in mind the versatility of a decent flatbed. Can scan 4x5 with holders, as well as prints, instant film, documents, etc. Doesn't give the quality of a dedicated, but much cheaper and much more "useful". Always trade-offs!