Flatbed for 6x6 to 4"x5" negatives??

DNG

DNG

Film Friendly
Local time
12:16 PM
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
2,981
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana. USA
View My Gallery
Besides the $700 Epson V750, is there a cheaper alternative to scan negatives as large as 4x5?

I have a few hundred 6x6 and larger negatives to scan, some over 60 years old. And am looking for a good flatbed to use. I have SilverFast 8 SE Plus, so my software is taken care if... although, bundled software is OK also.
 
If you can find an old Epson 3800 (?) scanner that will do the trick I believe. Even older but still a goodie is the Epson 2850.
 
I just replaced my Epson V500 with an older Epson 4870 this weekend. It supports 35mm to 4x5! It cost me $100, found on craigslist.

I havent had a chance to fully test the new-to-me scanner since my laptop broke soon after and is in for repairs now, but the test scan I did at the seller's house looked as good as what I've seen from the V500.

There was also a much older Epson 2450 for sale for a whopping $35, this scanner takes 4x5 as well, but is much slower, and is not supported by the new Epson software anymore (Vuescan still supports it though, so you're in luck).

Some say the early 2450s are sharper than the newer 4870... though the drawback is a max resolution of 2400dpi as opposed to the 4870's 4800dpi. Though, according to "professionals" who know much more than I do about the matter, those DPI counts aren't true DPI counts anyway, and in reality both scanners are close.

Hope this helps!
 
I use an older Epson Expression 1600 Pro. I bought this in 2003, and the quality is excellent. Nearly all of my photos on my site were scanned using this unit.

It's a pro-level scanner, and it's very large and somewhat heavy. With the transparency unit, it stands about eight to 10 inches high.

It's either USB or SCSI, although I think the SCSI connection is much quicker.

It has holders for 4x5, 120, 35mm negatives and 35mm slides.

Personally, I wouldn't "cheap out" on a scanner. I would buy the best one that I could afford.

In fact, I wouldn't cheap out on most things. In the long run, you often end up spending more money by buying a lesser product.
 
Looks like a 4870 or 4990 will be the "newer" chose.....
But, around $250-350.... Well, better than the V700 or V750 price used!!

I check eBay for current actions prices.... maybe find a used one at KEH or B&H....with a real CS Dept. 😉
 
Epson 3200? Canon 9900? Microtek Scanmaker of some sort? Polaroid made a 4x5 scanner too.

I own and have used an HP Scanjet G4050 and wouldn't advise anyone in their right mind to buy that for quality 4x5 scans or any other size for that matter. The hardware is adequate (read you get an image that approximates the neg/positive), but the noise never goes away in the green channel and the software is written by satan's minions to torture it's users (it's far worse for 35mm than it is for 6x6 or 4x5 film). Vuescan is mildly better with it as you get some control over most of it but IR dust removal never lines up, the dMax is pretty low, and as I said before you'll never be done with the digital noise. The HP software has IR dust removal too and even though it lines up it doesn't do a very good job of removing dust.

I've never used an Epson for 4x5 and I whole heartedly recommend it over the HP. Even a V500 or V600 scanning half a neg at a time and stitching in post would be better quality than I've got from the HP. It's a waste of money.
 
DNG said:
The Canon 9900 doesn't like W7/64, with the quick research I did......drivers not available... Win/XP drivers only....

And the 9000 doesn't do above 120 film.

Thanks anyway...
Click to expand...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/44686-63-canoscan-9900f-drivers-vuescan

Most old hardware doesn't officially support Windows 7, but usually there's a way to do it. My main two scanners are a Nikon LS-2000 and a Canon FS4000US, both of which don't even have support for Vista. Before that I had a Microtek Scanmaker 5, same situation. All work with Vuescan.
 
Shop around for a Microtek i900. It's a flatbed scanner which scans negatives & transparencies via a dual bed film transport system. It will do 6x6 and 4x5 and is capable of great quality once you get the hang of it. It will run on Windows 7 or Mac.
 
I have SilverFast 8 SE Plus, so my software is taken care if..
Click to expand...

if you mean you already have sf8 for an existing scanner, think again.

sf's licensing is "locked" to the scanning device so you will have to fork out to sf for an additional licence ...
 
Epson 4870 is OK with XP. I don't know about other newer MS OS. I know it also works with GIMP, so I would assume other MS OS could be used that way. GIMP may not be as easy to use, but it is usable. That includes with Unbuntu.
 
Canoscans are pretty good, way better than the price would have you believe. I had a V700, my brother has a Canoscan (9500f or something like that). The V700 cost twice as much, not sure there was an appreciable difference in image quality.

I guess the thing with a 6x6 negative is that you can throw away half the detail and still have a very large and detailed scan.
 
pdh said:
if you mean you already have sf8 for an existing scanner, think again.

sf's licensing is "locked" to the scanning device so you will have to fork out to sf for an additional licence ...
Click to expand...

I asked a support Q on the LaserSoft forum...
I can't find anything indicating what you said...
But, it would not surprise me.
 
I used an Epson 3200 Photo before moving to a Microtek M1. Honestly, the Epson was easier to use, so much so that I'm probably going to get a V750 soon to replace the M1. The older Epsons generally were Firewire only, so make sure you can use that on your computer. Silverfast software is linked to one and only one model, so you can't use your existing license, but they'll likely let you transfer it for less than the price of a completely new license. When I went to SF, I bought it for both my M1 and Nikon CS9000 at the same time and they gave me a discount.
 
Well, my Financial Adviser said it was OK to get a new Epson V700 😀

So, after Passover ends for B&H... a ordering I shall go.

Hope the Epson Scan software is halfway decent... not looking for absolute Top end Quality with my 6x6 to 4x5x negatives... just good scans that retain the detail and sharpness for 8x8 or 8x10 prints.
 
pdh said:
if you mean you already have sf8 for an existing scanner, think again.

sf's licensing is "locked" to the scanning device so you will have to fork out to sf for an additional license ...
Click to expand...

Right...
Silverfast has made each purchase a custom match for the scanner you buy it for... IE: they only supply the scanner specific drivers for your scanner.

I will get SF 6 with the V700 AND Epson Scan, which I would guess does a similar function, so I use ether one.

My biggest Q, is::

Will I be able to have 2 versions of SF, one for the Plustek 7300-- SF8--, and one for the V700 -- SF6 --
without conflicts?

The Lasersoft Forum is very lame!! Every post has to be approved 1st... it could days.... they expect you wade though 100's of old posts 1st to find an answer. There is no PM system for the Mods/Admins, And the Help-line (land-line) never has an assistant to help you.. and that is during their posted office hours!!
 
I just got an answer to an email to Lasersoft...

Dear Mr. Arbib,

Q1 ({a}can I install both versions on the same computer?, {b}Can I run both at the same time?)

Answer - {a}
 You can install both versions on the same computer, as long as you are not running Mac 10.7, 10.8 or Windows 8. These three operating systems are not supported with the SilverFast 6 software. Since your scanner is a new purchase (as long as not a second hand purchase), the upgrade to the SE 8 will be a free upgrade for you. You can only request this upgrade within three months of your scanner purchase, otherwise the offer is void after three months.

(Answer - {b})
You can have both software's installed, but you can't run both versions at the same time. If you have one version open, the other version will not launch. So to answer the "run both scanners at the same time" question, the answer is no. It is not possible.


Q2 (If Q1b is No, do I need to unplug the scanner I am not using?)
You don't need to unplug the scanner not being used, but you do need to make sure it's turned off.


Should you opt to request the free upgrade to the SE 8 for your Epson scanner, it is still possible to have both scanners connected to the same computer and have both installations on the same computer. The installations are separate. The Plustek installation is different from the Epson installation. When you launch SilverFast 8, the scanner is listed in the Image Source. When you have SilverFast 8 for both scanners, you make sure the scanner not being used is turned off and the correct scanner should be listed in the Image Source. There will be no conflicts with having SilverFast 8 for both scanners, even if one is SE and the other is SE Plus.



Best Regards,

LaserSoft Imaging, Inc.
625 Freeling Drive
Sarasota, FL 34242
Office: (941) 312-0690
Fax: (941) 312-0608
 
While I think that Vuescan offers more to someone who's willing to put the time and effort into it for a far cheaper price I'd say stick with what works for you. I always tell people to trial it but not to buy it. I figure if it fits the need that decision will be made for them, and if it doesn't then they don't buy something that they don't need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
An efficient workflow to scan Xpan negatives
Replies
4
Views
2K
newtorf
N
Pál_K
V800 - for B&W, dust removal not working
Replies
2
Views
1K
benlees
B
F
Flatbed vs Film scanner for old slides
2
Replies
22
Views
5K
agentlossing
agentlossing
C
in short: plustek or Flextight X5 scanner
Replies
6
Views
1K
DominikDUK
DominikDUK
rbiemer
Software for Epson V800?
Replies
9
Views
2K
Nickon51
N
Back
Top Bottom