Plustek 7300 or Canoscan 9000F

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For 35mm negatives (color & B&W) and slide scanning on a Mac. Probably using Vuescan.
Mainly for archival/internet use.

What say you?

Thanks,
 
I have the Canoscan 8800f and the Plustek 7300. As many have said here before, if you want a "hybrid" workflow where you are printing from digital versions of your negatives, you really need a dedicated 35mm film scanner. The 8800f (I have no experience with the 9000f) is really limited to an optical resolution of approximately 2000 dpi, at best. This is okay for web work, but not really archival. The 7300 is tested at around 3600 dpi in real world resolution. Much better for a "digital copy" of your negative. I have kept the 8800f because I use it for medium format and because it offers batch scanning of 12 negatives at a time. I scan at low resolution for a digital "contact sheet". Then I use the 7300 to scan at high resolution any images that I think are "keepers".

With the Plustek 7300, you have to manually advance the film holder for each negative that you want to scan. This is the biggest drawback to the 7300, imho. Also, don't forget that the 7300 does not offer hardware dust correction. Just something to keep in mind. I really don't know what the best solution is for you, but using both works for me.
 
I'm using the Plustek 7300 as well, but on a PC with Vuescan. Its much better than my HP Flatbed in terms of the quality of the scan. Just couldn't get the HP to give me a sharp image.
Think low volume when you think Plustek, its a manual feed. Count on a roll of 36 taking around 30 min to scan.
For archival of 100s of negatives, you might go to a 3rd party service and pay them just to clear your old negatives.
 
I have the Canoscan 8800f and the Plustek 7300. As many have said here before, if you want a "hybrid" workflow where you are printing from digital versions of your negatives, you really need a dedicated 35mm film scanner. The 8800f (I have no experience with the 9000f) is really limited to an optical resolution of approximately 2000 dpi, at best. This is okay for web work, but not really archival. The 7300 is tested at around 3600 dpi in real world resolution. Much better for a "digital copy" of your negative. I have kept the 8800f because I use it for medium format and because it offers batch scanning of 12 negatives at a time. I scan at low resolution for a digital "contact sheet". Then I use the 7300 to scan at high resolution any images that I think are "keepers".

With the Plustek 7300, you have to manually advance the film holder for each negative that you want to scan. This is the biggest drawback to the 7300, imho. Also, don't forget that the 7300 does not offer hardware dust correction. Just something to keep in mind. I really don't know what the best solution is for you, but using both works for me.


I'm surprised you can't use Vuescan for dust correction. Is there a Plustek model that does have dust correction?

thanks for the info.
 
I'm using the Plustek 7300 as well, but on a PC with Vuescan. Its much better than my HP Flatbed in terms of the quality of the scan. Just couldn't get the HP to give me a sharp image.
Think low volume when you think Plustek, its a manual feed. Count on a roll of 36 taking around 30 min to scan.
For archival of 100s of negatives, you might go to a 3rd party service and pay them just to clear your old negatives.


I don't mind low volume, I'm not batch scanning, just a couple every roll. But they're saying great things about the 9000F.
 
I'm getting somewhat confused - I've realized a dedicated film scanner is the way to go, but reading reviews on the Plustek 7600i SE and the Plustek 7300....

The 7300 is more expensive, so I'm guessing it's the better of the two. But I'm also reading the 7600i SE has corrective software to fix faded/old negs and slides.

So here's my questions;

Does Vuescan have dust/scratch corrective components in it?
Is the 7300 the better of the two scanners?
If I buy either one, can I NOT download the bundled software and just install 3rd party Vuescan (on a mac)?

thanks all.
 
Vuescan has infrared dust & scratch removal so long as the scanner has the hardware. You can use Vuescan with any supported scanner.

Some of the Plustek models differ only in their software; not sure if that is the case with the two you are looking at.
 
I'm getting somewhat confused - I've realized a dedicated film scanner is the way to go, but reading reviews on the Plustek 7600i SE and the Plustek 7300....

The 7300 is more expensive, so I'm guessing it's the better of the two. But I'm also reading the 7600i SE has corrective software to fix faded/old negs and slides.

So here's my questions;

Does Vuescan have dust/scratch corrective components in it?
Is the 7300 the better of the two scanners?
If I buy either one, can I NOT download the bundled software and just install 3rd party Vuescan (on a mac)?

thanks all.

The Plustek website does little to distinguish the differences between the 7300 and 7600. Best I can tell, the 7600 is the most recent model. They're both 7200dpi machines.

One thing that is on the web page but not Very obvious is the distinction between Ai and SE models. The SE models come with a pared-down version of Silverfast, while the Ai versions have a more robust software package. Check the post a little further down this forum for someone's experience with the 7600.
 
The Plustek website does little to distinguish the differences between the 7300 and 7600. Best I can tell, the 7600 is the most recent model. They're both 7200dpi machines.

One thing that is on the web page but not Very obvious is the distinction between Ai and SE models. The SE models come with a pared-down version of Silverfast, while the Ai versions have a more robust software package. Check the post a little further down this forum for someone's experience with the 7600.

Thanks, I know I checked their site and it gave almost no indication what is the newer/better one- and price range they seem to be about the same on Amazon.

I checked that thread but it kind of petered out with a comparison between it and the Epson. I still think from what I hear that a ded film scanner will do a better job than a flatbed, at least without buying special glass and new holders, etc.

I had an old Canoscan 2200 film scanner (should've kept it too) that was very difficult to worl with but also did come up with some great results too..
 
I have an old Nikon Coolscan IV. With its 2900ppi resolution it easily beats the Canon 8800F which has more resolution but a worse optical performance. Guess the max. useable resolution of the Canon is around 1600ppi.

See here for a comparison.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157620847395033/

My advice for 35mm go to a dedicated filmscanner with infrared dust removal.
 
I just bought a Plustek 7600i SE, replacing an Epson 4990 for hybrid workflow.

The flatbeds, while nice, are not sharp enough for good enlargements, although they're great for web posts. The Epson 4990 is a couple of generations old, and it's SLOW.

The Plustek 7600i is a great machine. The 7600i, the newest Plustek, has an infrared channel for dust (color negs or slides) and the included SilverFast SE Plus can take advantage of the IR for dust and scratches. Vuescan can also access the Plustek's IR channel. The Plustek is also very sharp...if you're not careful, images look very grainy.

The 7600i has a newer CCD lamp than the 7300 or other models, requiring no warmup and more consistency.

I recommend it. Software-wise, depending upon your use, you may want to purchase the Ai version of the scanner...it's got better bit depth and color profiling.

A Plustek 7600i scan from today:

4989961611_a74d62085a_b.jpg
 
I just bought a Plustek 7600i SE, replacing an Epson 4990 for hybrid workflow.

The flatbeds, while nice, are not sharp enough for good enlargements, although they're great for web posts. The Epson 4990 is a couple of generations old, and it's SLOW.

The Plustek 7600i is a great machine. The 7600i, the newest Plustek, has an infrared channel for dust (color negs or slides) and the included SilverFast SE Plus can take advantage of the IR for dust and scratches. Vuescan can also access the Plustek's IR channel. The Plustek is also very sharp...if you're not careful, images look very grainy.

The 7600i has a newer CCD lamp than the 7300 or other models, requiring no warmup and more consistency.

I recommend it. Software-wise, depending upon your use, you may want to purchase the Ai version of the scanner...it's got better bit depth and color profiling.

A Plustek 7600i scan from today:

4989961611_a74d62085a_b.jpg

Really nice, thanks. BTW what resolution did you scan that neg on?
 
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