I am in the process of buying a scanner which I will essentially be using for scanning slides, negatives and photo. I wouldn't mind of course having the extra flexibility of a flatbed scanner.

So, why should I buy a Hewlett Packard S20 (2400 dpi; slides, negatives, photos) when the Astra 4000 gives me the same features (with a transparency adaptor) AND is a flatbed scanner? Does the fact that the HP is a more specialized scanner make it better for slides and negatives?

I will truly appreciate any insight!

Thank you,

Jean-Pierre

-- Jean-Pierre J. Maurandy (maurandy@bellatlantic.net), May 31, 2000

Answers

Jean-Pierre, If your primary focus is scanning negatives and transparencies then, by all means, get a scanning unit which is specialized for this purpose. You do not mention which size you wish to scan, but if it is below 4x5 then you will be disappointed with the results. I have two Kodak 3570 film scanners, an Agfa Arcus II, and two Heidelberg Saphir 2 flatbed scanners. These are high end flatbed scanners with transparency (negative) adaptors, and anything below 4x5 is marginal at the very best. Flatbed scanners for print usage are inexpensive. I would recommend a good film scanner (with good software) and any moderately priced flatbed scanner just for print usage. Fred Imaging Services NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Al. USA

PS. where are you? One of the irritating things I find about the internet is that people ask questions which are often region specific.

-- fred (fdeaton@hiwaay.net), May 31, 2000.

Forget the Umax 4000, you'll be disappointed for sure. I had read about it but once I used one I realized its no better than the cheapie Umax scanners. The HP Photosmart is actually pretty good for the money, I had the original S10 and felt it did what I could expect for under $500. You'd probably be better off with the Canoscan 2710 or Nikon LS-30 if you could cough up the extra money, they are faster with the SCSI interface ( USB photosmart is way slow) and you get Mac compatibility if you need it down the road (Photosmart is Windows only).

-- Cris Daniels (danfla@gte.net), May 31, 2000.

There's no contest between a dedicated film scanner and a flatbed/adapter combination for 35mm. The film scanner wins hands down. Check out Acer's ScanWit 2720s film scanner, it'll save you enough cash to buy a modestly priced flatbed as well.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), June 01, 2000.