Bud,,,I looked at one the other day at Staples. I have an older Epson that I've scanned slides on for the last 5 years. The V500 would be my choice if I replace my old one.
Can't beat the price $226+ shipping. at B&H. I believe it was $250 at Staples +tax. It scans at 6400 DPI and has a lot of features..
If you're thinking about shooting any size of film larger than medium format, consider one of the larger scanners, either the V700 or V750 (or the discontinued 4990 if you can find it). They'll let you scan anything up to 8X10 film.
I picked up a 4990 Monday from Epson's refurb site (aka Clearance Center) for $279. Admittedly I've been watching for one of these to show up for a while. I think that is a much better bargain than the V500.
I agree with Mel. I'll take it a step further and suggest that for 35mm you'll be better off with a dedicated film scanner rather than a flatbed. Consumer-level flatbeds offer a good alternative for large-film scans since the dedicated scanners in this range are significantly more expensive.
Also be aware that the 6400dpi number is pure marketing hype. For starters there isn't 6400dpi worth of detail on any film. Second, the ability to resolve detail relies on more than just the alleged optical resolution. I would seriously doubt you can get more than 2000-2500dpi worth of actual image detail from a flatbed in this range. By comparison, most dedicated 4000dpi film scanners actually do manage to resolve that much information (which at these levels will also include film grain).
If you're just going to do 35mm, a dedicated 35mm scanner is going to perform better. I think when you get into limbo is medium format. The dedicated medium format scanners like the Nikon 9000 are a significant amount more expensive than the 35mm versions, but they'll get better image quality than the flatbeds. But if you're going to scan MF film on a consumer flatbed I think it makes sense to get a flatbed scanner that can handle large format too, just in case.
BTW, that 4990 I ordered just came in. It appears to be in good condition. Hopefully I'll have time to do a scan on it tonight, though I do have some things to attend to.
Thanks for your input guys. I ended up buying this scanner and used for the first time tonight.
I posted the image in the ESS forum. My first impressions of it are very good, I'm completly inexperienced in digital scanning and processing but I feel I'm getting better scans than those done at my lab and the purchase price was less than 20 scans. So far I've only used for 6 x 4.5 transparencies but love the preview crop and scan abilities
Discussion
5 repliesCan't beat the price $226+ shipping. at B&H. I believe it was $250 at Staples +tax. It scans at 6400 DPI and has a lot of features..
If you're thinking about shooting any size of film larger than medium format, consider one of the larger scanners, either the V700 or V750 (or the discontinued 4990 if you can find it). They'll let you scan anything up to 8X10 film.
I picked up a 4990 Monday from Epson's refurb site (aka Clearance Center) for $279. Admittedly I've been watching for one of these to show up for a while. I think that is a much better bargain than the V500.
Mel-
Also be aware that the 6400dpi number is pure marketing hype. For starters there isn't 6400dpi worth of detail on any film. Second, the ability to resolve detail relies on more than just the alleged optical resolution. I would seriously doubt you can get more than 2000-2500dpi worth of actual image detail from a flatbed in this range. By comparison, most dedicated 4000dpi film scanners actually do manage to resolve that much information (which at these levels will also include film grain).
Guy
If you're just going to do 35mm, a dedicated 35mm scanner is going to perform better. I think when you get into limbo is medium format. The dedicated medium format scanners like the Nikon 9000 are a significant amount more expensive than the 35mm versions, but they'll get better image quality than the flatbeds. But if you're going to scan MF film on a consumer flatbed I think it makes sense to get a flatbed scanner that can handle large format too, just in case.
BTW, that 4990 I ordered just came in. It appears to be in good condition. Hopefully I'll have time to do a scan on it tonight, though I do have some things to attend to.
I posted the image in the ESS forum. My first impressions of it are very good, I'm completly inexperienced in digital scanning and processing but I feel I'm getting better scans than those done at my lab and the purchase price was less than 20 scans. So far I've only used for 6 x 4.5 transparencies but love the preview crop and scan abilities