New Scanner recomendation

[more photography]

Hi

Can you recomend a scanner for 5x4 and 6x12, cost up to $1000. Or is it betttr to use a third party high quality scanning service.

[Aender Brepsom]

In the price range up to $1000, you can only use a flatbed scanner like the Epson V700 or 750, if you want to scan 6x12 and 5x4. They are quite good and more than enough if you only want to display your images on the web or do small prints.
For nice large prints, I would strongly recommend to use a 3rd party high quality scanning service. I get my 6x17 and 5x4 slides scanned on a Hasselblad (former Imacon) X5 with good results. One scan is 5 EUR. It saves me a lot of time and money, especially since I do not produce masses of slides.

For 6x12 or 6x17, some people use a dedicated 6x9 scanner like the Nikon Coolscan 9000, do 2 scans and merge them in Photoshop. I do have a good 6x9 scanner, but have not been very successful with that approach. I prefer the scanning service.

[Ron Marshall]

With a sub $1000 flatbed, good quality prints sized about 3-4 times the linear dimensions of the film can be made. For larger prints go for a drumscan.

[Paul Kierstead]

I get my 6x17 and 5x4 slides scanned on a Hasselblad (former Imacon) X5 with good results. One scan is 5 EUR.

Wow, that is crazy cheap. Around here you would be hard pressed to get away with 10x that for a good quality scan.

[Bruce Watson]

Can you recomend a scanner for 5x4 and 6x12, cost up to $1000. Or is it betttr to use a third party high quality scanning service.

You want what everyone who's looking to scan film wants. A reasonably priced scanner that gives excellent results. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist.

You can get consumer level flatbeds for under $1000 USD that give good results (up to say 4x enlargement). You can get professional level flatbed scanners for more than an order of magnitude more money that give excellent results (say 4-8x enlargement). Or you can buy a used drum scanner for somewhere in between (usually below $5000 USD with all the bells and whistles for a turn key installation, but anywhere from $500 USD to $25K+ USD) that gives the outstanding results (8x+ enlargement).

Getting the best out of any scanner takes lots of scanning. There's no way around this. No magic bullet. You have to do lots of scanning to find out the operation and limitations of your hardware / software.

In the face of all this, many people seem to come to a split decision. They get a consumer flatbed for proofing, web sites, and small enlargement prints. For more enlargement they send their film out for scanning on either a professional flatbed or a drum scanner.

There are many paths to the waterfall, so of course YMMV.

[Lenny Eiger]

Hi
Can you recomend a scanner for 5x4 and 6x12, cost up to $1000. Or is it betttr to use a third party high quality scanning service.

Before anyone can - one needs to know what kind of photography you do, how large you want to be able to print, and what kind of quality you are looking for.

Lenny

[more photography]

Before anyone can - one needs to know what kind of photography you do, how large you want to be able to print, and what kind of quality you are looking for.

Lenny


Hi lenny

Looking to scan landcaspes only. regarding print - on average I am looking at 16x20 print for 5x4 format and 16x8 print for 6x12 format.

I do like the idea as suggested at buying a epson V750 for proofing and small prints and only use drum scans for large prints and good slides.

[Lenny Eiger]

Hi lenny

Looking to scan landcaspes only. regarding print - on average I am looking at 16x20 print for 5x4 format and 16x8 print for 6x12 format.

I do like the idea as suggested at buying a epson V750 for proofing and small prints and only use drum scans for large prints and good slides.

as long as you actually do it - I think its a fine strategy. Use every tool to good purpose...

Lenny