OK, I have the SCSI PhotoSmart. I want better scans. I have decided to upgrade and have it narrowed down to two choices. The HP S20, and the Nikon LS-2000. I have several questions:

-Is it worth upgrading to an S20 from the original PhotoSmart? Judging from the reviews here, those 6 bits seem to make a big difference. -Are the Nikon LS-2000 Scans that much better than the S20 (for a serious amateur, to the tune of the $1,000 price difference). -Is there an alternative I am not considering?

Thanks...

-- Jeffrey Sevier (jsevier@one.net), July 17, 1999

Answers

I have seen sample scans from both the Original Photosmart scanner and the new S-20. I would be hard pressed to see a difference between the two. The color accuracy seems to be slightly better with the S-20, but I don't thing it's worth shelling out another $500 for.

-- Michael Klemmer (nitrogen@worldnet.att.net), July 18, 1999.

I traded my SCSI model Photosmart for the S20. I'm happy with it. There are some things I dislike (I use a high resolution monitor and the picture is just too small - I've just gotten used to really working with the pictures in Photoshop).
The two products don't really compare directly. The photosmart has a very nice (and I have to say very handy) photo scanning mode (for up to 5 X 7 prints). It does a good job with slides and negatives. The Nikon, however, will do a better job with slides and negatives. For $1000 more it should. Nothing beats the Photosmart for Value! But if you are looking for the best scan quality go Nikon. Don't simply jump in and say "I have to have the best quality." Unless you are planning on buying a 16-thousand dollar hi-res dye-sub printer you will probably never challenge the resolution of the Photosmart. The Nikon will probably produce better results more consistently (with those oddly dark slides, or dusty ones that the Nikon can eliminate automatically). The Photosmart will do a very good all-around job.
Des

-- Dan Desjardins (dan.desjardins@avstarnews.com), July 18, 1999.

I wander what you mean with 'better scans'. I own a SCSI Photosmart. It's good to me in almost all jobs (when using the latest Vuescan versions) but the dark slides area noise bothers me the most. When reading the S20 reviews, the noise behaviour os this unit should be better. When looking more closely at the test images however(e.g. the train shot on this site), I am not impressed yet. At least it shouldn't have the 'Newton ring'-type of noise anymore the old Photosmart has. If you can afford it, you should probably go for the higher end Nikon, but I think you shouldn't forget the Polaroids!

Please let me know the problem you're having with your Photosmart scans. I am interested in others experiences.

By the way, did you ckeck the reviews of Steve Hoffman (http://sphoto.com)?

-- Jan Benders (benders@wt.tno.nl), July 28, 1999.