There seem to have been no new highish-end scanners since about, 2005. It seems hard enough for people to find software that runs on modern computers, let alone modern scanners. Is the market dead? Will we start seeing new scanners again in the future?
It's a very small market, mainly big institutions, like big libraries and museums, especially since pre-press houses don't use them much anymore. They probably bought capable machines fairly early on. Since there hasn't been much progress with these machines, as long as they are running, why buy more? As far as I know, Kodak is the only one still producing these scanners.
It is a sad reality of photography.... not enough film is shot to justify NEW scanner R&D to further the technology and produce new products.
Speaking to a Screen rep least year.....he mentioned they sold about 300 Cezzanes per year, till about 2001....then, sales fell off a cliff.... since 03, they sell maybe 5 per year. So IMO, the only makers that will continue to sell and support new scanners are the ones in which all the R&D was covered long ago.
As mentioned, Kodak still sells and supports a line of high end flat beds, (which they acquired from CREO). Screen still makes the Cezanne Elite and one drum scanner, Aztek in USA still has the old Howtek line, as well as one flat bed, and ICG with offices in the UK and USA sells and supports the best drum scanner made.
The likelihood of a new prof. scanner is near zilch IMO..... the best we can hope for is, the scanning backs improve, their cost keeps falling and someone decides to modify one, with some added software and lighting system, to work as a film scanner.... at least for LF film. But even scanning back sales are way down, as one-shot backs keep gaining more resolution....
What about mid-high-end stuff like the V7x0 from Epson? Nothing more in that price range?
There are still faint mumblings of a new Epson (V900?)... Going blue in the face by holding my breath, though.Originally Posted by AutumnJazz
Since I am looking for a new scanner that ca do 4x5 to replace my Canon 8600F, I asked myself the same question. In the flatbed division the Epson 700/750 is considered by many the top of the line, but those were released some time ago and I heared nothing new about a scanner that would better those and can scan large film ( 4x5-8x10 ). Wondering if those will surface sometime or we will be hooked with those that are in production now and in ten years we will not be able to scan our negatives.
As scanners gradually disappear copying negatives and chromes can be done using a digital camera equipped with a closeup lens and a backlighted setup. Scanning backs with high Mpix count could be used for high quality work. In 10 years I would expect that 100 Mpix capture might be in the realm for the average photographer and that would be in the range of average resolution found on 4X5 color films.
Nate Potter, Austin TX.
For drum scanners I make that mid-1990s. All R&D stopped about the time of the big digital capture wave, because the vast majority of pre-press houses were lost, so there were no customers for $50k+ new drum scanners. Not only did R&D end, so did nearly all manufacturing. For a while we were down to just two manufacturers (Aztek and Screen). Then a couple of years ago ICG was resurrected from the rubble, so there are three again. From what I can tell, yearly sales from any of these three are in the single digits. They are making all their money in parts and service.
Flat bed scanners were a different story. R&D there didn't suddenly end, it more tapered off. There is little R&D going on right now. I doubt there has been any R&D in sensors for these beasts since the mid 2000s. Screen, Aztek, Kodak all still make professional flatbeds. I don't know as much about this market -- there are probably other current manufacturers. But I wouldn't expect to see much of anything in the way of new products.
Consumer level scanners (film scanners and flatbeds) have similarly tailed off. I wouldn't be surprised if we've seen the last new scanners, especially film scanners. There may be a few flatbeds in the pipeline; I don't know.
The market is, for all intents and purposes, very dead indeed. Anyone who wants one has one. If they don't, the used market if floating in the things. There's little to no incentive for a manufacturer.
Very low probability IMHO.
Bruce Watson
I don't know the sales figures for the so called prosummer type flatbeds like th V750 but from my perspective there appears to continue to be quite a bit of interest in them. Many people are still using film but want to print digitally, plus most photographers over the age of 35-40 have large film archives. This two things should keep a small market for medium price flatbeds so it would not surprise me to see two or three more generations of Epson prosummer quality flatbeds over the next decade.
Sandy King
I need a good scanner, are there some "best buys" out there?
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