A scanner for 2 1/4" sq. negs and transparencies - any suggestions?

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Ianbeag

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Ian Smith
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First time post from Newbie. Can anyone suggest an affordable scanner that will handle 2 1/4" sq negatives and transparencies? The market seems crowded with 35mm versions so why not the larger size? Any advice will be much appreciated.
 
Epson V500 flatbed scanner is probably the best option.

I'll move this question over into the Film and Conventional section for you, as you'll get more full answers in there...
 
Hi Ian, there are a few flatbed scanners out there that will scan medium format film. I have an Epson V550 which comes with holders for 35mm and medium format 120 film. Can scan black and white, colour negative and also transparency film. I paid about £180 for a new one but you can pick up the previous model, a V500, for much less if you want to buy a used one.

Another option is the canon 9000F. I've not used that but I believe it's a similar sort of thing as the Epson
 
i've actually got the 8800F (the predecessor of the 9000F) and it's a pretty good option as well, especially if you can pick one up second hand.

Thing is, if you're going to be just using it to scan an archive of material, then they're all pretty much the same cost... i.e. about £30, which is the amount you'll lose between buying and selling the scanner. If you're still shooting film, then just think of the unit cost in terms of how many films you'll need to scan to cover the cost of the scanner. Once you get much past 10-20 rolls of film a second-hand unit will have paid for itself.
 
Yeah that's true. My V550 paid for itself very quickly indeed, the lab that I used for C-41 processing charges £12.50 extra for a medium sized scan, so it paid for itself in less than 15 rolls. I've scanned about 30 rolls so far with it, so I've effectively almost paid for the camera too... Well, I tell my girlfriend that's how it works when she tells me I spend too much on old cameras :D
 
Hi Ian, welcome to TP and to the best bit of the forum.

Affordable really depends on what you can afford, as others have said above the Epson V500 is a good choice and really good value, the V750 is good if you're thinking of going to a larger format in the future or if you've got a couple of grand to spare you could try and pick up a secondhand Nikon Coolscan 8000 or 9000. If you buy sensibly there's no reason you should lose any money if you decide that MF is not for you or you've finished scanning your back catalogue.
 
Unlike scanning 35mm, all Epson flatbed scanners are quite good for medium format and have shown the difference from a £3 scanner 4180 photo from a bootsale with a V750.....when cropped to about 5ft wide picture (of course the V750 wins but at say 12" X16" the difference is a lot less).
But if you are not worried about money, I've seen some nice shots from the V500 and is usually recommended here esp if you can get it cheap S/H and if not happy get your money back selling on.
 
Thank you all for your quick responses. I mentioned the need for a scanner some time ago to digitise a large store of negatives going back to the 1960's and my son who is deeply into IT, but not into photography bought a new Epsom V370 as a gift but it does not seem to deliver on 6 x 6 B/W negatives and does not include a suitable sized carrier. Am I doing something wrong?? Thanks in advance for your continuing forbearance!
 
the V370 doesn't have a large enough back light for larger film it can only cope with 35mm.
 
For 6*6 the quality you'll get fro a V500 is perfectly adequate for most purposes. If you're doing a lot, I've a suspicion there may be some 3rd party film holders that can be better; others ill certainly know if this is true.
 
Thanks Chris. I'll continue to monitor for any further responses.
 
This is the scanner you need, I have had this since 2004 & it still gives extremely good results both normal scanning & negative & or slides.
You take off the white covering that's over the underside of the lid. It comes (should do) with loads different of negative holders.
if you're lucky you might get one with all the negative holders.
This one is from America but just to show you how cheap you might pick one up for.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epson-Perfection-3200-PHOTO-Flatbed-Scanner-/121514252405

It has a Dmax of 3.4, very good for shadow detail. Don't be put off by its age I have read reviews of up to date scanners & some are still being judged against this one.
There is a newer version the 4490 but not much better & both are not made any more.
But I have used mine consistently for the years I have owned it & not once has it let me down.
here's the Epson old page with a pdf link to the data sheet.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?oid=27766185

If you do find one for sale second hand & are using Windows 7 then go here for advice on the driver.

http://www.softwarecandy.com/shop/f...fection-3200-photo-work-with-64-bit-windows-7

I have used this Windows 7 get around without any issues whatsoever.

If you are a Mac user this mat help, http://download.cnet.com/SilverFast-Ai-EPSON-Perfection-3200-Mac/3000-2118_4-34681.html
but I cannot confirm its usefulness.

If you haven't already solved your scanner requirement I highly recommend checking the 3200 or 4490 they are still highly regarded & of course very very cheap now.

Another review, http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/epson3200/

Blimey just spotted this absolute bargain with all the neg holders, plus it's the newer 4490
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epson-Per...05&prg=11472&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=231417999365&rt=nc

Hope this (might) help(s)...
 
retrosi said:
This is the scanner you need, I have had this since 2004 & it still gives extremely good results both normal scanning & negative & or slides.
You take off the white covering that's over the underside of the lid. It comes (should do) with loads different of negative holders.
if you're lucky you might get one with all the negative holders.
This one is from America but just to show you how cheap you might pick one up for.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epson-Perfection-3200-PHOTO-Flatbed-Scanner-/121514252405

It has a Dmax of 3.4, very good for shadow detail. Don't be put off by its age I have read reviews of up to date scanners & some are still being judged against this one.
There is a newer version the 4490 but not much better & both are not made any more.
But I have used mine consistently for the years I have owned it & not once has it let me down.
here's the Epson old page with a pdf link to the data sheet.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?oid=27766185

If you do find one for sale second hand & are using Windows 7 then go here for advice on the driver.

http://www.softwarecandy.com/shop/f...fection-3200-photo-work-with-64-bit-windows-7

I have used this Windows 7 get around without any issues whatsoever.

If you are a Mac user this mat help, http://download.cnet.com/SilverFast-Ai-EPSON-Perfection-3200-Mac/3000-2118_4-34681.html
but I cannot confirm its usefulness.

If you haven't already solved your scanner requirement I highly recommend checking the 3200 or 4490 they are still highly regarded & of course very very cheap now.

Another review, http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/epson3200/

Blimey just spotted this absolute bargain with all the neg holders, plus it's the newer 4490
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epson-Perfection-4490-PHOTO-Flatbed-Scanner/291320128654?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=28111&meid=f07b4014f84d487da67dfb07c392dd28&pid=100005&prg=11472&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=231417999365&rt=nc

Hope this (might) help(s)...
Click to expand...

The V500 is (i understand) identical to the 4490 as is the new V550. Cosmetic changes and software updates account for model numbers.
 
A friend of mine (on here also) has the Epson V750 and swears by it. He uses it for his 6x7 slides and negs from his Mamiya RB67.
 
Steven I have had a look & I agree it certainly looks like the replacement.
However, aside from an increase in resolution which the older 3200 still has far more than needed really so this newer version to me has unneeded dpi.
The V550 has still the same 48bit & usb2 & the same Dmax 3.4
Apart from up to date support (which can be got around easily enough) for the new PC & Mac operating systems I can't see a reason to buy unless you can't find a s/h 3200/4490
But yes it's defo the new kid on the block...
 
I have a little used Epson v500 I would let go if you are interested. As new condition.
 
retrosi said:
The V550 has still the same 48bit & usb2 & the same Dmax 3.4
Click to expand...

To be honest any Dmax or DPI figures should be taken with a very big pinch of salt: various flatbeds and lower end dedicated film scanners claim Dmax's of 4.00 or even 4.80, but when subjected to testing practically none of them actually achieve anywhere near the quoted figures (the majority of flatbeds are closer to 2.00 and lower end dedicated film scanners abou 3.50) with transparencies showing blocked up shadows etc that should not be there if the specs are taken literally at face value.

Bottom line: most specifications with flatbeds especially are theoretical and/or for marketing purposes, and should not be taken seriously as their usually very fanciful compared to the reality.
 
Dmax is easy to ahieve ... turn up the lamp what actually matters is Drange and it is that that is rarely if ever quoted and is cetainly not even close to the Dmax figures quoted by Epson.

Out of curiosity which drum scanner ? I have three so not after another just curious as to the make / model.
 
I am certainly not an expert in this area & so am not going to argue my point overly except to say that I would have thought turning up the lamp, which maybe able to be done in a dedicated film scanner or by some hack of a flat bed I am unaware of.
However, I would have thought that this would after a point over expose a negative as can a photo with too much light, thus blowing the highlights & loosing some detail in these areas.
This review http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/epson3200/ I linked to earlier does go into quite some detail regards the 3200 & the tests are quite sensible & show the Dmax as 3.3 which is pretty close to the 3.4 quoted.
As to the Drange, well I have to learn more as I am not too familiar with this.
But of course I am also old enough to know I do not know everything & am willing to learn still...
 
I feel slightly unclean posting a link to Ken Rockwell but his explanation of Dmax and Drange is actually quite usefull while if you read down to his explanation of Drum Scanners it is a bit more iffy but modeately usefull.

A more detailed explanation with a lot more detail can be found on filmscannerinfo.

The Dianippon Screen DT-S1045AI I use has a Drange of 3.9 I tend to use it wide open but you can incremenatally set the range in 0.01 points between max and min using eyedroppers on the preview scan if you wish.

Another piece from photonet on dynamic range

A rather old but interesting scanner comparision
 
abbandon said:
Dmax is easy to ahieve ... turn up the lamp what actually matters is Drange and it is that that is rarely if ever quoted and is cetainly not even close to the Dmax figures quoted by Epson.

Out of curiosity which drum scanner ? I have three so not after another just curious as to the make / model.
Click to expand...
it is a Screen DT-S1030AI, had it in the freebies section a while ago but the thread auto archived it seems.
 
It is one of the more practical desktop drum scanners and 5000dpi is not bad but only 8bit is potentailly limiting for negative materail. It is also unusual in using a fourth photomultiplier for unsharp masking.
I never look at the classifieds so would not have seen it there.

As long as they don't get roughed up in transport the Screens are relatively speaking reasonably easy to get going you are as is often the case stuck with the horrors of Mac OS9 or ealier which means a G3 or earlier if you want inbuilt SCCI or if you go the G4 route you need to be careful to get the right card as they are known to be fussy in that regard the first version of the mirrored drive door is a good bet because at least it takes ddr and can take larger drives.

The software should be easy enough to obtain if there is none with it and fortunately it is not dongle protected.

If the unit has issues often these can be resolved by recapping the power boards. In theory Screen will still suport these however as there call out rate is something like 985 +VAT I seriously doubt that anyone takes them up on that.

The most important thing in transporting it is to lock the head down if this isn't done it can damage the limit switches and knock the leadwire off niether of which is impossible to sort out if you are fairly handy with electronics, if the head brackket is missing or no one can work out how to move the head anyway try to imobalize the scanning head ie stuff loads of bubble wrap or the like around it.

Edit

Easier than a 1045 in fact as the software and manuals can all be found online and better yet there are floppy images and an installed folder available one of the few / only good things about OS9 is you can move programs to other machines simply by coping a folder

Why not have another crack at geting it running ?
 
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I would love to keep it but it is more a space issue than anything else. It takes up quite a lot of space in the house and unfortunately I don't have much time anymore to mess about with it. All things considered I think that I may as well give it to someone who will get some use out of it and then use the V700 for basic scans. If I ever manage to take a decent photo will have that drum scanned by Tim Parkin, or scanned on the Imacon at the local photo lab so the V700 will have to be a compromise I guess.
 
Nguss said:
I would love to keep it but it is more a space issue than anything else. It takes up quite a lot of space in the house and unfortunately I don't have much time anymore to mess about with it. All things considered I think that I may as well give it to someone who will get some use out of it and then use the V700 for basic scans. If I ever manage to take a decent photo will have that drum scanned by Tim Parkin, or scanned on the Imacon at the local photo lab so the V700 will have to be a compromise I guess.
Click to expand...

If we get your 1030 working then feel free to send stuff to me to scan for you, that's only fair! :)
 
retrosi said:
This is the scanner you need, I have had this since 2004 & it still gives extremely good results both normal scanning & negative & or slides.
.......

If you haven't already solved your scanner requirement I highly recommend checking the 3200 or 4490 they are still highly regarded & of course very very cheap now.

Another review, http://ixbtlabs.com/articles2/epson3200/

.
Click to expand...

Hi Simon, I had the 3200 and changed it for a v500. You're right about the resolution not being a particularly important thing to worry about. However, one area that I do think there was a significant improvement was the light source. While Espon made a big deal about the change from cathode to LED lamps, the bigger improvement was to change from broad panel to scanning stripe illumination. This should significantly improve contrast for the V500 and I certainly noticed less colour bleedthrough on sharp contrast edges. That made everything look that bit crisper.
 
That makes sense and good to know Cuchulainn. Hopefully mine doesn't but if it breaks I will look to getting one as better contrast is a good thing with the negatives I sometimes have to work with.
 
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