Shopping for professional scanner - advice?

[Cduggie]

Hi there - I'm new to this forum and have already learned a lot from reading through these threads. I can tell this place will be an invaluable resource when I need advice and reviews on equipment - so here it goes:

I'm looking for a professional grade scanner that 1) has a large or over-sized scanning area. 2) Can scan 35mm negs/slides, med format, 4x5 & 8x10 negs and trans. 3) Can reproduce art with excellent color accuracy and 4) is not too terribly expensive.

I've been looking at the Epson 10000xl photo scanner. For $3000 new this is definitely in my price range. My goal with this scanner would be to reproduce art and scan negs/transparencies to be printed LARGE. I'm concerned about a couple things. First is image quality/grain quality. I can't seem to find any example scans anywhere. Second is some of the reviews are negative when operating this scanner from a MAC - and of coarse I'm on a MAC pro. Anyone with experience with this that can tell me what the issues are?

Also - are there any other scanners that you folks can recommend I research?

Thanks for your time!
Colleen

[Lenny Eiger]

You ought to search this forum for scanning choices, it has been covered from many angles. I'm partial to drum scanners, they're available in your price range, specifically a Howtek 4500, which would far exceed the capability of the 10,000.

There is no cheap scanner that does everything and is top quality, tightest grain, etc. Quality and price often go together. Drums are generally superior, tho' some have a few issues. But they don't scan flat art that can't be bent. You will have to read some (this isn't a bad place to do that) to get a sense of what the different offerings are. Better here than at a store, definitely.

Lenny

[bob carnie]

I own a Epson 10000xl - it is a great scanner but not one I would want to scan small medium format negatives and then print large.
For that I would use other types of scanners and you will get all kinds of recommondations from Aztek to Heildelburg.
I use the xl for flat art and large negatives and small for low rez archiving purposes.. It is great for batch processing but it really excels at flat art.
One concern is that the two I owned both got a scan line issue which in my case is not a big problem but for others may be problematic.
I operate this unit from an old G4 Mac so no issues there.


Hi there - I'm new to this forum and have already learned a lot from reading through these threads. I can tell this place will be an invaluable resource when I need advice and reviews on equipment - so here it goes:

I'm looking for a professional grade scanner that 1) has a large or over-sized scanning area. 2) Can scan 35mm negs/slides, med format, 4x5 & 8x10 negs and trans. 3) Can reproduce art with excellent color accuracy and 4) is not too terribly expensive.

I've been looking at the Epson 10000xl photo scanner. For $3000 new this is definitely in my price range. My goal with this scanner would be to reproduce art and scan negs/transparencies to be printed LARGE. I'm concerned about a couple things. First is image quality/grain quality. I can't seem to find any example scans anywhere. Second is some of the reviews are negative when operating this scanner from a MAC - and of coarse I'm on a MAC pro. Anyone with experience with this that can tell me what the issues are?

Also - are there any other scanners that you folks can recommend I research?

Thanks for your time!
Colleen

[Cduggie]

Thanks Bob and Lenny. I'll dig deeper into the forums and see what I can find. I know you "get what you pay for" in terms of scanning equipment, I just wanted to know whats the best in that price range. Right now I work on a Scitex Eversmart Pro - and I know I'll not find that quality in the epson. I just need the most versatile machine I can find for a decent price.

[sully75]

If you are not going to buy a drum scanner I think you might end up getting a Nikon Coolscan (expensive and used) and then an Espon 4900 + Better scanning film holder (for your LF pictures). Coolscan is going to be better for roll film than any flatbed, but can't do LF. Epson is adequate for 4x5 and above.

Drum scanner would be better for both but costs a ton and is a pain to maintain.

Imacon would do all up to 4x5 I think but costs a ton.

I make do with an Epson 4870 and make pretty damn good prints but it's always a pain in the ass and I feel like I'm fighting the thing constantly. And the Epson software is truly awful, and the alternatives are just as bad.

There's no good/cheap/easy option. So if you don't find it, you're right.

Paul