Flatbed scanner.

MrDrizz

MrDrizz

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It seems most people that use flatbed scanners are using an Epson of some soft. My question is what other flatbeds will scan film, 35mm to 5x4?
 
Any, if it has a light hood? The baseline for flatbeds seems to be A4 so 5x4 isn't a problem. The downside is resolution for smaller format originals, in which case a dedicated film scanner is far better. Nikon did a whole sequence of those which remain prized though no longer produced, but can be got secondhand. The earlier ones used outdated computer interfaces such as scsi or firewire, but the later ones used usb & can easily be got to work complete with the well-featured original software, certainly on Windows (8, 10, 11 etc). No 5x4, though - just 35mm or mf, depending on model.

But scanning remains time-swallowing. How much have you got?

Another aspect is that lab scans (I can only assume), tend to be automated & thus lack quality control. I only tried it once (at Ag, with a mf colour neg film), and it didn't cut the mustard - highlights were lost in the scans, but (remember that it was neg film) with a lightbox & loupe I could see detail in the dark areas of the neg.

As with many things, how much fudge can you accept, and how much do you want a result?

I'm not speaking as a control freak - I enjoy many images that people have done using pinholes, reversed element lenses, etc that are intentionally fuzzy.

Find your own path ... dabbling with equipment, technique or aesthetics is less than a quarter of it to my mind. Just seek to convey meaning. Of what sort & to whom are the other great variables ...
 
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Just a question - why not Epson? If many members of the forum are happy using one or other of the Epson scanners, what's the problem?
 
Microtek made one, it scanned up to 10x8, it was called an M1 or something......maybe
Umax, Screen Cezanne, all old as the hills, probably legacy connection and ancient software.
 
When I updated my system to W11, the Epson software stopped working. Despite following instructions on "how to", it still doesn't work.
The problem lost it's urgency when I worked out a way to scan using my digital camera and a few accessories, so the scanner may become shortlisted for the bin soon.
The Epson 4180 photo has a fairly narrow light strip along the lid, maybe 75mm wide.
 
Cluster said:
When I updated my system to W11, the Epson software stopped working. Despite following instructions on "how to", it still doesn't work.
The problem lost it's urgency when I worked out a way to scan using my digital camera and a few accessories, so the scanner may become shortlisted for the bin soon.
The Epson 4180 photo has a fairly narrow light strip along the lid, maybe 75mm wide.
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My Epson 4180 works with win 11 using epson software?
 
Cluster said:
Oh, that is interesting. Did you use an online installation or from other,local media?
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Just downloaded driver from:-
www.epson.co.uk

Epson Perfection 4180 Support | Epson United Kingdom

Support information for Epson Perfection 4180
www.epson.co.uk www.epson.co.uk
Got my computer wrong saying I'm using win 10 but even sliding down to win 11 the driver etc are the same.
Also on the 4180 I like the lid that holds 6X6cm and 6X7cm down flat, but I suppose with the later models that can do more than 2 MF negs at one time it might not be possible, anyway there must be a reason why not :confused:
 
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excalibur2 said:
My Epson 4180 works with win 11 using epson software?
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My V700 doesn't work properly with Windows 11. The interface opens but some of the controls are missing. I switched over to Vuescan and that works well despite the fussy interface. The worst problem with Vuescan is remembering to reset all the the input and output options when changing the type of scans, colour or monochrome negatives or reflective. I should try out my old Epson Perfection 3200 Photo again with Vuescan out of interest, it's OK for medium format.
 
PeterSpencer said:
My V700 doesn't work properly with Windows 11. The interface opens but some of the controls are missing. I switched over to Vuescan and that works well despite the fussy interface. The worst problem with Vuescan is remembering to reset all the the input and output options when changing the type of scans, colour or monochrome negatives or reflective. I should try out my old Epson Perfection 3200 Photo again with Vuescan out of interest, it's OK for medium format.
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I managed to get Epsonscan working properly in Windows 11 with my V700. Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact procedure I used to do so, but I think it involved downloading a different version of Epsonscan from the Epson website.
 
FishyFish said:
I managed to get Epsonscan working properly in Windows 11 with my V700. Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact procedure I used to do so, but I think it involved downloading a different version of Epsonscan from the Epson website.
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Epson Scan 2? Which doesn't work with the V500 :(.
 
For my V750 epscan works properly and it says ver 3.9.2.2.
 
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