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Joe Hunt
21-Jan-2005, 14:36
I want a dedicated film scanner for formats to 4x5, and the new Epson F-3200 is in my price category at £599 in UK, but I don't know of anyone who's used it.

Maybe it's not in the Hasselblad/Imacon league but I'd want it to be clearly better than a flat bed.

Does anyone know it first hand or has heard how it does?

Alan Gage
21-Jan-2005, 17:03
From what I read here I'd start looking somewhere else...or just buy a flatbed.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Epson_F3200/page-1.htm

Alan

Tim Chakravorty
21-Jan-2005, 17:14
I have no experience with the F3200, but give due consideration to the Canoscan 9950F. Its simply outstanding ! Initially I was disappointed that the colors were not coming out right and the scans were a little dull. Incidentally this also happens to be the concern raised by some users on the web.

The trick lies in turning off all auto settings and scanning WITHOUT a specified target space and then later assigning the supplied Canoscan transaparency profile in Photoshop. Voila ! The image magically springs to life !

Initially I was torn between the 4870 and the 9950F, but what clinched the deal was an image posted on the photo-i website which showed similar scans from both scanners brightened to the max. The highlights were obviously blown but the shadow revealed some hidden secrets about the Epson. There was much more noise in there. The Canon produced cleaner scans.

That along with the fact that there is a sharp asphereical lens in the Canon (Canon obviously knows a thing or two about making lenses), and Canon being leader in digital imaging made me get the Canon.

I have also compared 35mm transparency scans made on the Holy Grail of affordable deskstop scanners (Coolscan 5000) to a 4x5 scan on the cheap 9950F. The Canon simply blows thems away. There is no comparison. One user even claimed that the 4x5 scans off the Canon produced images superior that from the EOS 1Ds Mk II. I don't know about that but I am extremely happy with my scanner.

Jim Ewins
22-Jan-2005, 00:01
I'm reasonably happy with my Epson Perf 3200. I purchased it because it will do a fair job with 4x5s although it doesn't compare with the color target that is supplied by Burkholder as print and on CD. I'd welcome evaluating a good comparison with other makes & models.

neil poulsen
22-Jan-2005, 04:37
Why can't I find this scanner on the USA Epson website? I tried a search for 'f3200', and couldn't find it. ???

Joe Hunt
22-Jan-2005, 05:50
I'm presently using a Canoscan D2400U which doesn't seem sharp enough for quality film scans, and I wonder where the plan of sharpest focus actually lies - given that it functions to scan copy on the glass as well. Also all the other issues of gamut etc.

Maybe flat beds are really getting better (besides generating bigger files). I'm dissappointed at the reservations expressed about the F-3200 (not to be confused with Perfection 3200) but glad to have had them pointed out to me.

Neil - you might like to try the link here to Epson UK showing the F3200... www.epson.co.uk/products/scanners/F-3200.htm

Leonard Evens
22-Jan-2005, 09:46
I've been following reports about the F 3200, and they seem mixed. It is not clear that it does any better than the 4870. It is very likely you will find it acceptable for 4 x 5 and perhaps also for 6 x 7 and 6 x 9, so you aren't likely to be terribly disappointed by it. But I think we have to wait a while to see more reports.

ADG
22-Jan-2005, 10:25
It seems there are many of us seeking a high quality scan at sensible cost for output to a photoprinter and as yet, no machine capable of the sharpness and dynamic range needed to do justice to a 5x4 transparency. Also there appear to be as many different opinions on 'acceptable quality' as users. As LF users I assume any loss of sharpness or dynamic range in a medium size (A3+) print is unnacceptable, yet I see enthusiastic recommendations for equipment I know from personal experience to be poor.
Is there any test we could devise between us to evaluate scanners so as to make the choice an objective, rather than subjective one? I belive this has been muted before, but cannot remember if this was relating to scanners or lenses.

Rainer
22-Jan-2005, 12:25
Agree with Alan and Tim.

The F-3200 seems not to be worth the money. My Canon 9950F performs very well on 4x5 and MF for prints up to 16x20.

buzzardkid
10-Jan-2019, 12:06
Close to 14 years later, how has the Epson F3200 held up? Anyone still using it, and are your results satisfactory?

Ulrich Theus
2-Mar-2022, 04:47
Close to 14 years later, how has the Epson F3200 held up? Anyone still using it, and are your results satisfactory?
After retiring, finally found the time to go after the large stock of mostly B&W MF negatives left over from my parents, shot on Ikonta and Rolleiflex cameras.
Thanks to Vuescan, there is a workable driver for the F-3200 even for the latest MacOS, and if you find the right "color" setting for the negative to positive conversion, the results are o.k.
With respect to the usage of the scans, i.e. display on a 4k computer monitor, I have restricted myself to 1600dpi which seems appropriate both in terms of the resolution on the negs and the capability of the F-3200, avoiding to create too large files with little usable content.
Definitely, the CFL lighting is old technology, but so far I did not see any limitation due to the F-3200, as I have seen with actual scanners of the same price range.
So, yes, it was a good decision to buy this scanner almost 17 years ago.

Alan Klein
2-Mar-2022, 08:43
I want a dedicated film scanner for formats to 4x5, and the new Epson F-3200 is in my price category at £599 in UK, but I don't know of anyone who's used it.

Maybe it's not in the Hasselblad/Imacon league but I'd want it to be clearly better than a flat bed.

Does anyone know it first hand or has heard how it does?

This scanner seems to be a 17 years old design. Will it work with your current computer operating software? Why buy old technology? Warranty? Technology?