(Possibly redundant) Scanner question

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I'm investigating scanners, both flatbed and film. Does anybody have experience with any of recent, low-priced scanners? I'm thinking about buying the Epson 1650 (great specs for $200) and curious about the Canon and Minolta film scanners that sell for around $400. Thanks in advance.

-- Steve Wiley (wiley@accesshub.net), October 19, 2001

Answers

I had experience with Minolta Dimage Scan Dual and its successor Scan Dual II. If you only need to scan negative film Scan Dual is a good choice. It is also rather quiet as it does not use a motor to move between frames. But forget slides with this scanner -- not enough dynamic range. Scan Dual II is a significant improvement in this department. Slides are doable, not perfect, but something I can live with. What I do not like about Scan Dual II is that it is noisy.

As far as prices go -- you can buy nice used Scan Dual for under $200 if you know where to look and have some patience. Refurbished Scan Dual II go for under $300.

-- Alexander Grekhov (grekhov@wgukraine.com), October 19, 2001.


My results are different. I have the Scan Dual II. I recommend it for color slides and it produces an excellent 5 x 7. Minolta software works well for E6 films but less so for K-14, but sometimes is fine. For color negs it is good for Kodak (terrible for Portra NC) amateur films and 400VC, less good for Fuji pro films. Quality of scan is pretty good - manual focus is nice. It is noisy - but I don't care about this. For what I use it for (4x6s and 5 x 7s) it is excellent. Scans C-41 B & W well and fine with HP5+ which is all I have tried for in black and white. I think I can recommend it, but of course, do not have any comparative information with other scanners. I have difficulty producing a good enough color 10 x 8 to my standards, but the smaller sizes are really good and to my eyes as good as any lab print (Epson 870).

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), October 19, 2001.

I use the cheaper flatbed scanner Epson 1250 Photo (similar to the 1650), which works astonishingly well for the money (around USD 150). It has a good color reproduction and an acceptable resolution (1200*1200) - enough for web purposes, but I didn't try a high-resolution printer. Though the light for transparencies (how is this one called in englich ?) is large anough for medium format (645 up to 6*9) and superslides (4*4), the scanner software doesn't work with it - a separate light is needed for slides larger than 24*36. The Epson scanner is also not able to scan transparencies / negatives with dark edges - it simply cannot identify the position of the slide. This can be quite annoying for certain kinds of shots. Nonetheless I like the scanner, and it is well worth the price -

Kai

-- Kai Blanke (Kai.Blanke@iname.com), October 19, 2001.


Check B&H. They're running a special on Polaroid SprintScan 4000. $550 with $200 rebate. Many places are still selling this exceptional 35mm film scanner for $1500. (P.S. mine came Thursday!)

-- Leicaddict (leicaddict@hotmail.com), October 19, 2001.

Don't get the Polariod.

Polaroid recently filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy protection so if something goes wrong with the scanner chances are there won't be an organization you can gripe to next year.

Ya don't get something for nuthin'

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), October 19, 2001.



Based on the responses here and Epson's specs, I bought the Epson 1650. I can't imagine getting more quality for $200. Great software, too.

-- Steve Wiley (wiley@accesshub.net), October 28, 2001.

I've just bought the Epson 1650 Photo, and am pretty impressed with the results. My only gripe is the software. It seems to be pretty poor at picking up the position of the slides. But other than that I've got to say I am very impressed.

-- David Beer (davebeer@hotmail.com), April 19, 2002.

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