Photo Scanner question ????

[twich54]

Looking to purchase a Photo scanner, are there any folks that have knowledge or recomendations ?

I'd like not to go over $500, yet I admitt the Nikon "Coolscan V ED" , street price between $5-550 seems quite nice.

 

[ralflar]

Dave, I don't recall if are you are a Nikon or Canon guy. If Canon, you may find this interesting: Canon discontinued their last dedicated film scanner (also very old, and entry level like the Coolscan V) and replaced it with their current top end flat bed scanners. They claim that they get equal or better image quality much more quickly that way: you can scan multiple slides/negatives at once, and the scanner software will produce separate images (i.e. no need to crop manually). Perfect for the amateur if the claim re. quality is right.

 

[twich54]

Ralf, yeah, Canon guy hear, I'll have to take a look at their scanners. Hopefully something in my price range.

 

[ralflar]

EOS 50E, S2 IS, SD850 IS, N1220U

I found bookmarks I took last time I was researching scanners. They are from 2005/2006! The Canon scanner I had in mind when I wrote "current" was the 9950F. Ouch, time flies. Checking Canon's site they don't appear to make that anymore. The best they have is the 8800F for $180 or less. That is a lot more basic than what you and I had in mind.

So my info is outdated. FWIW, below are some links to reviews of scanners around $550 which I collected in 2006. Not up to date but perhaps useful nonetheless.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Canon_9950F/page_1.htm
http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/scanners_printers/0505canoscan/index.html
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson V700/page_1.htm
http://www.shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/scanners_printers/1106epson/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN/KM5400II/KM5400IIA.HTM
http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/scanners_printers/1105konica/index.html

 

[Rich]

From everything I have read, it is hard to beat the Nikon film scanners for what they do. If you need flatbed capability as well, then you should consider something like the Epson Perfection V700 photo or the Epson Perfection 4490 photo. I have the latter one and it is a great scanner for both prints and negatives/slides.

If all you need to do is scan negatives/slides, then you should really consider a dedicated film scanner, like the Nikon Coolscan V ED. That will give you the best quality possible for that particular purpose.

 

[ralflar]

Rich, is this just an opinion or do you have actual experience with both scanner types?

If the latter is true I definitely want to kow more. I have been looking into film scanners on and off since 2002 but postponed a purchase every time.

 

[Rich]

Rich, is this just an opinion or do you have actual experience with both scanner types?

Ralflar, I only have direct experience with the Epson Perfection 4490 Photo, which is a very capable flatbed scanner. I expect it would be sufficient for most people's needs. It comes with mounts to hold most common film and transparency sizes, and produces a beautiful scanned image from negatives, transparencies, and prints.

Like you, I have done a lot of reading and research into scanners, and what I have found is that most professionals believe that if you are just scanning negatives or transparencies, then a dedicated film scanner is the way to go. The glass of a flatbed scanner just adds an extra layer in the scan that can obscure details in the image (particularly if it is not kept pristinely clean). From what I have read, the Nikon film scanners are highly thought-of. I am considering purchasing one myself soon, so maybe in a few months I will be able to make the comparison for you.

Another thing to think about is not just what scanner to use, but what kind of software to use. You can use the basic software that comes with most scanners to get the scan, but then you will probably want to use photoshop or photoshop elements or similar program to do any digital darkroom work like color correction, exposure and contrast enhancement, and dust/scratch removal. Some scanners, like the Nikons, come with better software features for making these image corrections.

Here is a link to the shutterbug review of the Nikon Coolscan V ED:

Nikon’s Coolscan V ED
A Dedicated 4000dpi Film Scanner At A Bargain Price

 

[twich54]

Hi Rich, My Photo Scanning needs are 90% for slides, between my own and what I inherited from my Grandfather I estimate 6-8 thousand images. Now I don't intend to 'digitize' all of them but my existing cheapo "All-in -one" Epson is too slow (fifteen minutes to do four slides) and I know I can improve on the quality / resolution.

I think the Nikon scanners offer the best value I've seen so far.

 

[ralflar]

Thanks Rich. My own reading revealed much of the same information. There was no doubt that the Nikon film scanners were regarded best by pros although I think this refered to the $1500 and up offerings.

What intrigued me about the Canon 9950F and Epson V700 is that enough voices considered their image quality equivalent to that of dedicated film scanners in the under $900 range, or like you said, sufficient for most people's needs. Add to that their surpreme convenience.

With a dedicated film scanner you'll have to prepare a slide, scan it, repeat after 5 minutes. The flatbeds would let you prepare 8 or 12 slides, then scan, and return 50 minutes later to set up the next batch. Which means that I could do other things in the meantime.

I want the procedure to be as automatic as possible without much corrective image processing. I'm lazy.

 

[Rich]

Hi Rich, My Photo Scanning needs are 90% for slides, between my own and what I inherited from my Grandfather I estimate 6-8 thousand images.

Dave, if you are planning on scanning hundreds or especially thousands of slides, then you might consider spending a "little" more and getting the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED and the SF-210 Auto Slide Feeder. This allows you to automatically batch-scan fifty slides at a time. Of course you are talking $1400 for that combination vs. a little over $500 for the Coolscan V ED so that is something to consider.

 

[twich54]

With a dedicated film scanner you'll have to prepare a slide, scan it, repeat after 5 minutes. The flatbeds would let you prepare 8 or 12 slides, then scan, and return 50 minutes later to set up the next batch. Which means that I could do other things in the meantime.

Good Morning ralf, maybe I'm missreading something but according to the Nikon spec sheet the "Coolscan V ED" scan time is 38 seconds, even 'per slide' that's a whole lot better than I'm doing now.

 

[Rich]

What intrigued me about the Canon 9950F and Epson V700 is that enough voices considered their image quality equivalent to that of dedicated film scanners in the under $900 range, or like you said, sufficient for most people's needs. Add to that their surpreme convenience.

I would agree with this sentiment. I think most people would not be able to tell the difference in quality of a scan from the Canon and Epson flatbeds and the Nikon film scanner in the same price range. The flatbeds have their disadvantages too, like keeping the glass clean and dealing with the dinky film holders.

I want the procedure to be as automatic as possible without much corrective image processing. I'm lazy.

This is difficult, since there tends to be so much variation in the negatives/positives that we scan. It certainly depends on the importance of the images to you, but usually there are some exposure, contrast, color correction, and scratch/dust removal actions that are necessary to make the scanned images look their best. For some good auto scanning software, I highly recommend Lasersoft Imaging's Silverfast Ai. It is a good program for doing auto adjustments and scanning.

 

[ralflar]

Good Morning ralf, maybe I'm missreading something but according to the Nikon spec sheet the "Coolscan V ED" scan time is 38 seconds, even 'per slide' that's a whole lot better than I'm doing now.

38 seconds would be very good but published specs are often for lower resultions and without image processing. What is the scan time at the highest resolution and with scratch removing on?

 

[ralflar]

...This is difficult, since there tends to be so much variation in the negatives/positives that we scan. It certainly depends on the importance of the images to you, but usually there are some exposure, contrast, color correction, and scratch/dust removal actions that are necessary to make the scanned images look their best. For some good auto scanning software, I highly recommend Lasersoft Imaging's Silverfast Ai. It is a good program for doing auto adjustments and scanning.

Yes it is difficult. That's why I have been researching film scanners and software about every 2 years since 2002 but never bought anything. Perhaps I should just contract a scan service.

 

[twich54]

38 seconds would be very good but published specs are often for lower resultions and without image processing. What is the scan time at the highest resolution and with scratch removing on?

I don't know, the spec sheets only lists 38 sec (max resolution with digital ICE off)

FWIW, I've been looking @ Plustek scanners, in particular the 7200i.

any opinions ????

 

[ralflar]

Dave here is something I just found:

"Using only the most basic one-click features for autofocus and exposure, the Coolscan V ED produced very good 4000dpi scans in 55 seconds with my fast Pentium IV computer and USB 2.0 connectivity. Some of the scans called for a minor adjustment in image-editing software but none required any major correction. According to Nikon’s claims, a high-res scan can be made in as little as 38 seconds. Presumably, that requires disengaging all of the scanner’s software features. But 55 seconds is still pretty fast for such a high-res scan.

As with any scanner, additional image correction features increase the processing time. For example, Digital ICE dust and scratch removal—in the Normal mode that’s suitable for most images—added 30 seconds, but saved far more time in post-scan cleanup and retouching. The automatic Scan Image Enhancer added another 30 seconds, but this feature was not often necessary; it was most useful with slides and negs that exhibited poor color balance. Overall, I judged the Coolscan V ED to be a fast scanner, and lightning fast when compared to some 2800dpi machines that require several minutes to complete a basic scan using only autofocus and the standard autoexposure feature."

(Source: http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/scanners_printers/0504sb_nikons/)

So yes, seems to be a very fast scanner.