Advice needed

All you photographic gurus, I need recommendations for a scanner that includes the ability to scan slides and negatives.

I saw an HP at the local Staples yesterday, but I thought it might be better to ask the "experts" for their suggestions.

What features should I look for? What price range can I expect to pay? (I don't want to spend a fortune on this, just want to get some negatives in an electronic format).

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Others will know more about the Nikon scanners.

I picked up a new Canon FS4000US film scanner, which can scan both negatives and slides at 4000dpi. Has a great scratch and dust removal system (FARE), and works both with SCSI and USB. I really love it. The 4000dpi scanners are usually at the higher end of the price range. I picked mine up new, but really cheap on e-bay for around $450, usually goes for around $650 or so. A reasonable price for 4000dpi.

You may be more interested in ones in the 2400-2900dpi range. You can save alot of money that way. Others here may help you on the Minolta Dimage scanners and Nikon scanners that are in that dpi range. Definately try to get one with a good dust and scratch removal system like FARE or Nikon's Digital ICE.

Diane,
I scan my slides with a Nikon Coolscan 4000 but that ISN'T the inexpensive way to go. I bought it to replace a decent Minolta Dimage Scan Speed that I had that would scan to 2820 dpi. The Nikon goes to 4000 dpi and was pricey. Nikon has a Coolscan 40 if memory serves me that doesn't go to as high of a digital resolution but has the rest of the bells and whistles.

You definitely want a scannare that has scratch/dust removal software built in. Nikon calls that Digital ICE - which is a trademark of Applied Science Fiction and as good as it works, it might just be from sci-fi land! I wouldn't be without it. I used to abhore spending hours cleaning dust specs out of a scan from a slide that had been left sitting out.

You might also try some of the big photo houses and the major scanner manf's for reconditioned units or trade-ins. Roberts Imaging in Indianapolis and B&H Photo in NYC are excellent outlets that I've dealt with in the past.

Good luck..

Gary

If your talking about a HP scanjet 4570c, I just got one for $70 delivered. I just installed it today, and it works ok.
I didn't go crazy with it yet. Copied an old photo and slides. Didn't try to adjust them yet.
It set up pretty easy, HP usually do, usb port, and drivers worked with windows 2000.
Bob

If you are looking for a flatbed scanner that will do slides and negatives, the Epsons do very good- I have the 2450 Photo, but they have replaced it with the Perfection 3200 Photo. The 2450 is about $300, the 3200 may be around $400. They are good if you want the ability to scan documents or prints.

I have the Nikon LS-40 that Gary mentioned, and I love it. It scans at 2900 dpi as opposed to the 4000, but other than that it's basically the same. Oh yeah, it's about HALF THE PRICE.

It's still more expensive than a flatbed that has a film attachment, but believe me, if you're going to do any serious work with the files, you're going to appreciate the quality of a dedicated film scanner.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. This is defintely something I do not want to plunk down a huge amount of money for, but you've given me an idea of what I need and how much it'll cost.

Thanks again!

Hi Diane,

I just replaced my Nikon LS-2000 film scanner with an Epson 3200 flatbed scanner because I needed to be able to scan medium format negs and slides also. This awesome scanner will scan up to 3200dpi 6x6 neg in under 4 minutes, resulting in a 200+MB file. It will do a 35mm slide in under 2 minutes at 3200dpi. I enver thought I would go to a flatbed for scanning negs and slides but this item kicks butt and is so much faster than my dedicated film scanner. I picked it up online for $350.00. It also does prints.


Hope this helps!

Jen,

Where did you buy your Epson 3200 scanner from? I almost ordered one today for around $379 or so from B & H photo. Does this scanner have any kind of dust removal system? Even when I take negatives out of the sleeves and do not leave them lay around, I still have hundreds of specs of dust. It probably doesn't help that my computer and scanner are in the same room with my bunny. I recently tried slides for the first time, and the dust was even worse.

Tammy

Diane,

I've been researching this the last couple of weeks, as well. I keep coming back to the Canon 5000F. I've never actually used one or seen one, but the reviews seem to be favorable, as do the specs. It is a 2400dpi flatbed than can scan 3 negative frames, or 2 slides at a time. You can also do 4 photos at once and have them open as 4 seperate files. It also has the FARE dust and scratch removal built in. B&H sells it for about $155.

The Epson flatbeds also get favorable reviews.

Hi Tammy,

I ordered it from www.MWave.com - it was $340 plus $20 shipping - was $359.00 and change total out the door. Had it within a week of ordering it. If you are using Silverfast or similar software that has dust and scratch removal (Photoshop does also) it's ok. It does not have integrated built in dust removal like Nikon Digital Ice. I clean my glass before scanning, and usually PEC-12 and PEC pads to clean your neg or slide itself before scanning does a pretty decent job. It will scan (2) 6-frame strips of 35mm negs, 4 35mm slides, a single medium format neg, or a 4x5 large format neg in it's three different carriers. I am still learning how to use it but my medium format negs have been scanning superbly.

How about this one? Is it in your price range?

Fuji FineScan 5000

Hi Larry,

I got a good chuckle out of that. Thanks! -