[Recovered Thread: 116971]

[WorkinStiff]

Are they pretty much the same??? I want to get one to scan photos & slides.....Recommendations???I can spend up to around 500$.....Thanks...

[TCav]

Scanning photos is easy. Any flat-bed all-in-one (printer-copier-fax-scanner-coffeemaker-etc.) should be able to do well.

Scanning slides is another matter. Slides are much smaller originals than are photos, so you need a REALLY high resolution scanner for good results. And I'm not talking about "interpretted resolution" either (That's the spec that gets quoted most offten, unfortunately.)

Another problem with scanning slides is that the slide frame (the cardboard or plastic housing for the slide) raises the slide off the scanner slightly,and scanners scan things that are right against the glass, so slides scanned on a flat-bed scanner are likely to be out of focus.

There are slide scanners that you might be able to use with your digital camera (with varying degrees of sucess) and most of them are not very expensive.

But for scanning slides, you might just want to pay a pro to do it. Especially if you have a lot of them.

[slipe]

Scanners with CIS sensors must scan things directly against the glass. CCD based scanners have reasonable depth of field. All of the better flatbeds that are also designed for film and slides have holders that keep the film from directly touching the glass as that often causes moiré. And the better scanners use CCDs.

This is a review page from the Epson 4990 showing some 35mm film and slide scans. They are pretty good: http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/int...0/Page%208.htm You can get one for $390 from BuyDig.com with free shipping. They are reliable. You might also read the review for the Epson V700: http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/scanners_page.htm The V750 is out of your stated price range and the V700 is $490 delivered.

I had decided on a Canon 9950F to bulk scan my film and slide collection. Quality is good and Fare is effective and a lot faster than Digital Ice. You need one or the other for old slides and film or you spend forever in Photoshop. It will also scan more slides or film strips at once than the Epson 4990. The bad news is that Canon seems to have discontinued it, so I'll probably get the 4990 and sit out the long Digital Ice scans. The Epson is slightly the better scanner and the software is a lot better, but I liked some of the features on the Canon. One online retailer I'm not familiar with still has the 9950F for well over a hundred bucks more than it was selling for a few months ago. I should have bought it then when it was selling under $300.

If you decide to go cheaper avoid the skinny little scanners with CIS sensors that get their power from the USB. They aren't appropriate for slides. The Epson 4490 is considerably cheaper than the 4990 and has Digital Ice. You can't scan as many slides at once but the results are good.

[TCav]

slipe, you mentioned the Epson 4990. Is there a reason WorkinStiffcouldn't use the 4490 and save a few bucks?

[slipe]

TCav wrote:

slipe, you mentioned the Epson 4990. Is there a reason WorkinStiffcouldn't use the 4490 and save a few bucks?

I don't know. For me, if I am going to take the time to scan my entire film and slide collection it is going to be with good equipment. I have a dedicated film and slide scanner but it would take forever.

The only place I could find what appeared to be a competent review of both thought the 4990 was an excellent scanner and reasonably priced and that the 4490 was overpriced at half the price. It isn't as fast and doesn't do as many slides at once.

You can access the full review from the conclusions page:
4990: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/oth...n-4990_15.html
4490: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/oth...n-4490_13.html

Other reviews of the 4490 seemed OK and the 4800 PPI optical resolution is plenty for slides. One of the complaints that it doesn't have dust and scratch removal for prints is absurd IMO unless you really abuse prints. It is necessary for film and especially old slides, but not for prints.

It is probably OK if WorkinStiff doesn't have a very large collection to scan. Too bad the 9950F isn't still available at a reasonable price as it was a good middle ground.