scanner help

Michael I.

Michael I.

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Aug 18, 2005
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Hi ya'll!

I want to buy a scanner for 300$ tops and I need medium format.
I will be visiting San Francisco and Folsom in mid February so I am thinking of buying it there - can you direct me to selling points?

thanks
Mike
 
$300 and MF? You're looking at a flatbed. Just find the best Epson flatbed you can for your price range, include the cost of at least Doug Fisher's film holder and, IMO, some scanning software.

Where in SF will you be visiting? The city itself only? if you haven't been before and want a tour guide or a photo buddy, there are several of us here in the area.

allan
 
I was thinking epson 4490 but amazon has horrible reviews.

I don't know if I'll be able to go photographing(I will bve going with three more people of which only one takes pictures.)
 
Doug Fisher's film holder is _the_ best way to hold your MF film for a flatbed. Info here: http://www.betterscanning.com/

The amazon reviews sound...interesting. first, and I'm not saying that this is the problem for all those "ratcheting sound" review, but there is a lock that holds the scan head in place. I know of two folks who didn't read the instructions and left that lock in place in their excitement to get the scanner going. I politely explained the lock to them and, after sending into Epson for repair and then remembering to disengage the lock, they are now fine...

Mine has been fine. I've scanned probably 150 MF strips in the 6 months I've had it (obviously not every frame on every strip), and the quality has been excellent for me. I have never used the epsonscan software and VueScan has worked fine for me.

allan
 
kaiyen said:
Doug Fisher's film holder is _the_ best way to hold your MF film for a flatbed. Info here: http://www.betterscanning.com/

The amazon reviews sound...interesting. first, and I'm not saying that this is the problem for all those "ratcheting sound" review, but there is a lock that holds the scan head in place. I know of two folks who didn't read the instructions and left that lock in place in their excitement to get the scanner going. I politely explained the lock to them and, after sending into Epson for repair and then remembering to disengage the lock, they are now fine...

Mine has been fine. I've scanned probably 150 MF strips in the 6 months I've had it (obviously not every frame on every strip), and the quality has been excellent for me. I have never used the epsonscan software and VueScan has worked fine for me.

allan
Click to expand...

How enlargable are the scans(35 and mf)?
does it come with holder?
Do you recommend it for it's price?

Thanks
 
Michael I. said:
How enlargable are the scans(35 and mf)?
does it come with holder?
Do you recommend it for it's price?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Michael,
Again, I am only giving my experience. The one other set of comments on the Amazon site that I will debunk flat out are the ones about Epson service. Epson service sucks across the board :). This is part of the game when you buy an Epson product. They are slow to resolve things.

I scan 35mm on a dedicated, so I can't comment on that. With MF, with the right image (perhaps not a landscape), I have gone to 4' x 3' (yes, that's feet) and it looks fantastic. We printed one out as a sample of what our Epson 9600 printer can do, and I've had people offer to buy it for several hundred dollars (though no one has come through :-(

The general consensus is that you can get the same factor of enlargement with a flatbed and MF as you can with a dedicated scanner with 35mm. Now, that doesn't sound all that great, but consider that a dedicated MF scanner is $1800+ and you see the benefit. And even a 10x enlargement of a 6x6 negative is 60x60 or roughly 2' square. And 10x enlargement for 35mm is almost standard.

It comes with a holder, but the MF one is sized for 6x7, if I remember correctly, and puts wrinkles in your film. That's why I recommend including the cost of Doug's holder in your budget.

Also, I thought you said you'd buy it here in the US? Shipping wouldnt' factor in that case, would it?

allan
 
I referred to the shipping as a factor in ebay purchase.
What are the differences between a 4180 and a 4490?
Where do you recommend buying it in your area?
 
Specs are up at epson.com. I think the big difference is that the 4490 has ICE scratch and dust removal. But I don't use it anyway as it doesn't work for silver-based B&W and that's mostly what I shoot in medium format. I don't shoot much slides anymore.

There are quite a few stores in the area where you can buy either model it if you're okay with the new prices.
allan
 
I found it for something like 70$ more here in Israel(which is a little bit more then the taxes I would pay and eleminate the hassle - and I will have easier return policy\warranty) - Thank you very much for your advice - you've been a tremendous help!

Is there anything more I should know (I shoot BW and print film in 35 and BW and slide in 6x6 MF)
 
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Well, the one thing is to keep your expectations realistic about scanning 35mm with a flatbed. Some folks (including at photo-i-uk or whatever the review site is) have gotten nice results with a good amount of sharpening and other massaging of the image. It's doable, but you won't get the amount of detail in the end.

allan
 
I'm not sure, actually. Most of my minilab scans aren't all that great, but I don't scan 35mm on a flatbed at all so I can't compare. I know that I wouldn't enlarge my minilab scans by much, that's for sure. They oversharpen everything.

allan
 
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