I am investigating the possibility to buy a high-end scanner suitable for
5x7 and 35mm in the $5000-$7000
range. So far, I've seen three categories of scanners:
<ol>
<li> Used drum scanner (ex: ICG 355i, various Howteks)
<li> Used high end flatbed (ex: Fuji Lanovia, Scitex Eversmart Pro, Screen Cezanne)
<li> Used Imacon flextight scanners
</ol>
Beside the flaar sites, I have seen very little information on the web about
the respective merits of those options (http://www.flexoexchange.com/gorilla/cndnprntrarticle.html).
Apparently the common wisdom is that
the high-end drums will yield better scans than the CCD scanners, but their operation is considerably more cumbersome. How do the high end flatbeds compare to
the Imacons and to the low-end 4000dpi drum scanners such as the Howteks ? Even
used, the Heidelberg Tango is still $25000, way out of my price range.