Scanners

[martinsmith99]

I've all the kit for developing negs apart from the chemicals and a scanner.

What scanner would be recommended for printing upto 8x12/A4? I'm tempted by an Epsom flatbed, but also the Plustek neg scanners are tempting, as are the old Minoltas which crop up on efray.

[GrahamNR17]

The Plustek flatbed stuff is at best "ok" but nothing to write home about.

The Epson's are very very good, IF you get the right one. I have had three of the low-end Epson's and have been really disappointed with sharpness, namely V100 and prior. I have seen the results from the V500 and they're superb in comparison to mine.

General rule of thumb seems to be an optical res of 2800dpi plus. Dedicated film scanners appear to have the edge over flatbeds, but I need the ability for prints too.

I just picked up a Canoscan LiDE 600F which pi55es all over my V100, but it's a fiddly bugger to use. If I'd not paid only ten quid, I'd take it back!

Get a V500

[hexi]

I have a V300, pretty happy with. I scan at 300dpi for all pix posted here annd there, but it can go up to 12000 as i recall with a 24mp picture though

[ManualFocus-G]

I just picked up an Epson Perfection 1660 PHOTO for messing around with negatives until I decide to get serious or not, thought I got a bargain for £20.00 but other Graham got a much better scanner for a tenner

[Attila]

I have V500 I love it.

[Farside]

For dealing with MF I got an Epson 4490 in December. It's a discontinued model, but still available at almost knockdown prices if you look around.
If you only want to do 35mm, you have a huge range of choice, used and new. My 3490 is perfectly fine for that and cost ~40ish used a couple of years ago.

[martinsmith99]

Thanks for the tips. I've started trawling the fray for the scanners listed.

I take it that all the models do at least 8x12?

[Farside]

[martinsmith99]

I finally pulled the trigger on a new V500. Amazon had the edge on prices. I did consider secondhand, but that much money on fragile equipment puts me off.