Looking at a Epson 4990

[Avotius]

Ive got my eye on that epson 4990 scanner. I hear its susposed to be pretty good. At 5800 RMB ($753 dollars) its pretty damn expensive but might be worth it in the long run. Anyone out there got one of these and have and samples they would like to show off scanned from this pricey plastic box?

 

[xvvvz]

Wow. That price is high. Is there any way to order one via the mail? They are only $410-ish in the U.S. at B&H which ships to many locations. That leaves quite a bit of difference in $$ for shipping and customs duties. What film fomat(s) will you be scanning? If 35 mm only, you might want to consider a dedicated film scanner like the Minolta Dual Scan IV if you can find one and are on a budget. I hate to think what Nikon V will cost considering the price of a 4990. The Canon 9950F performs as well as a 4990 in case those are less expensive in your area.

Doug
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www.betterscanning.com

 

[Macpod]

theres also the 4490 which should be half that price. and the v700 which shouldnt be much more expensive but is the next generation. I think the 4990 is kind of between two extremes and dont offer the best value. If money is not free flowing then id go with the 4490, its 1000 times better than lab scans.

 

[FoldingCamera]

If you are only scanning 35mm you might consider the Plustek OpticFilm 7200. This will give far better scans for this format than the 4990. I have used this (4990) and the earlier 3200 which gives just as good a scan for medium format and are excellent to say the least.

Stephen.

 

[Avotius]

Wow. That price is high. Is there any way to order one via the mail? They are only $410-ish in the U.S. at B&H which ships to many locations. That leaves quite a bit of difference in $$ for shipping and customs duties. What film fomat(s) will you be scanning? If 35 mm only, you might want to consider a dedicated film scanner like the Minolta Dual Scan IV if you can find one and are on a budget. I hate to think what Nikon V will cost considering the price of a 4990. The Canon 9950F performs as well as a 4990 in case those are less expensive in your area.

Doug
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www.betterscanning.com

Yeah this is the online price here, I dont know why scanners and stuff are nearly twice the price here (some are more then 3 times the price) I thought about bringing one over with me from the states but there is a power problem as that states uses 110 power and we use 220 power here. I went to a couple of places in the states and tried to get a scanner but insisted they show me the power brick thing, none of the ones I found used both 110 and 220 power like most laptops or camera bricks now.

 

[Avotius]

theres also the 4490 which should be half that price. and the v700 which shouldnt be much more expensive but is the next generation. I think the 4990 is kind of between two extremes and dont offer the best value. If money is not free flowing then id go with the 4490, its 1000 times better than lab scans.

I wonder how much the v700 is over in the states and how much it would be after I shipped one over through customs and stuff. The V700 here in china is almost 1000 dollars!

 

[xvvvz]

>>I wonder how much the v700 is over in the states and how much it would be after I shipped one over through customs and stuff. The V700 here in china is almost 1000 dollars!<<

One possible advantage with a V series is that it uses a laptop-like mini-brick for power conversion. That means Epson just ships the same scanner but a diffrent mini-brick for each country. It makes adapting to different countries easier. In your case, you might be able to order from the states and then just get a different power brick to match your country's power configuration.

I have seen V700's for as low as $474 from a reputable dealer in the U.S. plus $20ish shipping, but the issue will be finding a place that will ship to China. B&H is known for good international service although it won't be the cheapest. That is why I suggested them (no affiliation).

Good luck!

Doug
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www.betterscanning.com

 

[wrenhunter]

I got the 4490 a few months ago, pretty cheap with a rebate (I won't tell you how much!). Here are a few recent scans:

http://flickr.com/photos/davidpetersen/sets/72157594191962803/

Great for 35mm B&W, so-so for color in my experience. I'd think the 4990 would be at least as good with B&W, and better with color.

 

[lubitel]

may be you can order one from european sites? its also 220 here. I havent had good results with it using 35mm film. Especially with color. MF is pretty good, though. I occasionally use this scanner at work.

 

[marknyc]

I have the 4990 and love it. I actually have found it pretty good for B&W 35mm negs and amazing for LF. Color is not great, but I don't really shoot in color much any more. All the shots in my flickr gallery linked below were scanned using it.

Sorry the yuan price is so high for you -- don't suppose you are able to buy out of some HK operation are you (where I suspect price may be more in line with the US). Maybe there are restrictions on your ability to do that.