help me pick a 35mm dedicated scanner..

[TRIODEROB]

i have a budget of $600 for a dedicated 35mm scanner.

looking for something much better then the normal epson v flatbeds


will use it for 90% BW scanning

any ideas ?

 

[bitfeng]

Plustek 7600, 8200.
The only drawback is it only does one frame at a time and no auto feeding.

 

[brbo]

The best for under $600...

current: Reflecta RPS 7200 Pro
discontinued: Minolta Dimage 5400 v1 (probably the best desktop 35mm scanner for BW)

 

[Roger Hicks]

The best for under $600...

current: Reflecta RPS 7200 Pro
discontinued: Minolta Dimage 5400 v1 (probably the best desktop 35mm scanner for BW)

How was it better than the II? I'm not arguing -- I never tried the original, so I can't compare 'em -- but the II is pretty impressive. Alas, mine is wearing out.

Cheers,

R.

 

[MartinP]

With that budget limitation I'd suggest looking for dedicated slide-copy device and use it with a DSLR. This option also has a degree of future-proofing as you can upgrade the camera body at some point.

EDIT: Note that I don't mean a fifty euro/dollar device, but something like a Bowens Illumitran, or the dedicated mounts made by most camera manufacturers for use with their macro lenses (or enlarging lenses).

 

[brbo]

How was it better than the II? I'm not arguing -- I never tried the original, so I can't compare 'em -- but the II is pretty impressive. Alas, mine is wearing out.

Cheers,

R.

Light source is different between the v1 and v2. v1 has cold-cathode flourescent light and v2 has white LED illumination. Additionally, v1 has a built-in optical device (grain dissolver) that can be placed between light source and film. This reduces the exaggerated appearance of grain in the scan that is common with scanners (especially those with led illumination) and is also less prone to show scratches in film (no ICE in BW). Perceived sharpness with grain dissolver is a bit less than without it, but detail is still there. And since Minolta 5400 really has some resolution to spare, you get all that sharpness back when you resize to your desired resolution (35MP is overkill for 35mm, imho).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Light source is different between the v1 and v2. v1 has cold-cathode flourescent light and v2 has white LED illumination. Additionally, v1 has a built-in optical device (grain dissolver) that can be placed between light source and film. This reduces the exaggerated appearance of grain in the scan that is common with scanners (especially those with led illumination) and is also less prone to show scratches in film (no ICE in BW). Perceived sharpness with grain dissolver is a bit less than without it, but detail is still there. And since Minolta 5400 really has some resolution to spare, you get all that sharpness back when you resize to your desired resolution (35MP is overkill for 35mm, imho).

Thanks very much. The differences sound marginal, though. Is that a fair assessment? Or are they very noticeable?

Cheers,

R.

 

[brbo]

Thanks very much. The differences sound marginal, though. Is that a fair assessment? Or are they very noticeable?

Cheers,

R.

I never tried v2 and I don't shoot much BW so I rarely use grain dissolver. I would've picked v2 if it wasn't quite a bit more expensive than v1. And you are probably correct that differences are not very noticeable.