Film scanner for 4x5 negitives.

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Does anyone know of an affordable film scanner that can scan an assortment of film sizes from 35mm,the old Brownie size and other sizes up to 4x5.

-- Joseph Parr (Histfram@aol.com), July 28, 2000

Answers

Affordable, Hmmmmm, no such thing for 4x5, but then again I don't know your budget. I use two Heidleberg Saphir Ultras which do a good job on 4x5 for a flatbed scanner. They are not so good for anything smaller in the limited testing I have done on them. I have three Kodak 3570 dedicated film scanners which do a great job up to 70mm so I don't even think about the Saphirs for anything smaller than 4x5 I haven't been on the Heidleberg site lately, but I do understand that the prices have dropped significantly. Keep in mind that this is a high end flat bed scanner and the software which comes with it has a pretty steep learning curve if you are a novice scanner. Scanning software which we have is very different from Mac to PC version, and I use both. How much 4x5 scanning do you really need to do? Might possibly just be cheaper to get a high end drum scan if you only have a few. Stay in touch if you have any more questions.

Fred

-- fred (fdeaton@hiwaay.net), July 28, 2000.


I use the Epson Pro-1600 scanner for all my chromes and negs. With the transparency attachment (It comes with the pro model) I do four 4x5's at a time and can select any one. You can select up to 4600 dpi. I find 720 to be just fine for prints up to 12x18.

The transparency unit comes with film holders for 35, 120, mounted slides and 4x5.

About the best price is at Outpost.com. There are different models depending on the software bundle that you want.

It will also do 8x10's. It is dual focus so you can use a holder or just lay the negs on the glass. It comes with a Twain-32 interface and can be networked. For 6x7cm I lay them on the glass and scan at 1440. No complaints from my customers about the quality of proofs.

You can also scan either single frame or an entire 36 shot roll of 35mm. Great for contact sheets.

The unit has a flatbed option and deselects the trans unit. It comes with a flatbed adapter card.

Hope this helps.

-- Gene (RNOGENO@softcom.net), July 28, 2000.


Depends where your limit of affordability lies. The Epson 1600 is still quite pricey, plus you need to buy the tranny adapter separately. The Epson perfection 1200 photo is much more affordable, and comes ready to scan slides and negs up to 5x4. The output from 5x4 is quite impressive, but it's not very good with 35mm. However,you could easily buy a mid-range 35mm film scanner with the difference in price between the 1200 and 1600.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), July 31, 2000.

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