Film Scanner recomendations

[Paul-H]

Hi all

Looking for some advice regarding film scanners, dedicated units not flatbeds with film capabilities

Obviously there are not many around these days other than the glut of glorified converted digital camera ones that are never much good and the likes of Minolta, Canon and Nikon no longer make any new so it looks like I will be buying second hand, but there is the problem as no one has made one for some years now no one supplies updated drives and I am running a system based on Windows 8.1 64bit. so thinking about the old Minolta 5400 or Canon FS4000 both of which I used to own but sadly sold a long time ago does anyone still use these scanners and got them working under Windows 8.1 64bit.

Also just about the only new scanner of any note is the Plustek 8200i anyone got one of these and like to comment on the quality of the scans you get from it.

Thanks for any input on this

Paul

 

[Brian G]

I don't have the 5400 but I'm using an old Minota ScanSpeed with a SCSI interface running on Windows 7.
The main thing, apart from finding a suitable SCSI card, was that the original Minolta software wouldn't run on Win7, so I'm now using Hamrick's VueScan, which is much better than the Minolta original anyway. I'd assume the same to apply on Win8.
There are a load of scanner reviews on this site, which may be of interest.
There is also some discussion on using old Minolta scanners here, although it appears to deal with Vista and Win 7, it may be of help.

 

[Paul-H]

Thanks for the reply

Not sure if Vuescan is an option though as its my understanding it still needs the makers drivers loaded to work, I know that was the case when I updated my Windows7 to a 64bit version and my Canon Lide80 stopped working and Canon didn't support the 64bit OS, I contacted the author of Vuescan about it as I had heard that it was totally independent of the makers drivers but he confirmed it needed the original drivers installed to work as its only a different GUI not a fully separate bit of software.

Also obtaining a SCSI card might be a bit of an impossibility as my computer only PCIe slots and every SCSI card I have seen is PCI only, although i might have somewhere in the back of the cupboard an old USB to SCSI cable that might work if I can find the drivers.

The other problem is the the 5400 scanners are going for around £300 on eBay, which is a lot to spend if it does not work with my OS.

Paul

 

[Brian G]

Hi Paul,
I think I may have complicated the issue by mentioning SCSI.
Isn't the 5400 USB connected?
When I upgraded my system I went to the Adaptec site and found the most basic PCI SCSI card that was supported by Win7.
I got a second-hand card off ebay for about £15, downloaded the Win7 drivers from the Adaptec site and it all works fine, but Win8 may be a different kettle of red herrings.
The 5400 is the highest resolution of all the Minolta scanners and it's popularity is indicated by the used prices.
For me, the Scan Speed is good enough at 2800dpi resolution.

Of course, even a USB connection needs the correct driver and if that's not available then you're stuck.
In the event of getting a SCSI scanner, there are PCIe SCSI cards available, but it looks like they might cost more than the scanner.
Did you take a look at that ScanDig site I linked to?
As well as the Plustek range, I kind of like the look of some of the Reflecta models, and I would consider one of those if and when my Minolta would not work, although I can see no indication as to whether their software is compatible with Win8. I've read variable reports about the Plusteks and I like to see one to compare the results with my Minolta.

If you really want the 5400 it might be worth having a second computer with Xp or Win7, just to use with the scanner.
There's also the possibility of running a "virtual machine" running Win7 or Xp, but that's an area I have no knowledge of.

 

[ChrisR]

You will find a load of threads about film scanners in the Film and Conventional forum, here.

I have a Plustek 7500i, which is pretty much the same hardware as the 8200i, AFAIK. The major difference is that the 8000 series come packaged with a later version of SilverFast scanning software, which is very powerful. I have only used the earlier version, apart from a few experiments with the newer one, which I decided was not worth the upgrade. I now use Vuescan Pro, mentioned above, which has the virtue that you get ongoing upgrades, and that it works with almost any scanner ever made (SilverFast only works with the one single scanner you bought it for). I'm also experimenting with using ColorPerfect for inverting colour negatives, rather than always relying on Vuescan's negative presets... but I'll only do this for real keepers, as you need to save the scan to 16/48-bit TIFF (scanned as a slide rather than a negative) and pass it through Photoshop (or Elements) into CP. In other words, it's a right faff.

One of the things I've learned is that scanning is a serious skill,in many cases you need to work hard to get the best results from a frame, although often it will be straightforward.

The "i" designation indicates an infrared channel, useful for removing some dust, scratches and hair! Not usable on black and white or Kodachrome slides.

One of the F&C denizens who seems to know his scanner stuff swears by Reflecta, although he acknowledges they are much more expensive now than they used to be (the connected ones, not the cheapo stand-alone). The differences seem to be that the actual resolution (not the claimed resolution) is higher, and the dynamic range a bit wider.

BTW most of the F&C denizens get perfectly acceptable results from flatbeds like the Epson V500 or V700, which have the advantage of not having to manually move the slide holder, as they can scan several frames without moving the holder. Best resolutions are a bit lower, but quality is pretty good for many purposes.

Many film scanners are available second hand, and if you buy new you can expect to sell second hand without losing a ton of value.