Scanner questions

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

I bought 'a lot' yesterday and it included 3 scanners, I know nothing about them. They came with nothing, no software, cables, attachments, holders..nothing.
I've looked them up on Google and the only one I can get any information about is the Epson Perfection 2450 Photo, G860A
It gives 2400x4800 DPI and has a 8.5x11.7 scanning bed.

How good are those numbers? Is this a good scanner or not? I plan on shooting 4x5 and 8x10 B&W. I have a 4x5 enlarger. I have never scanned a negative before.
I guess that after scanning then it's on to Photoshop. Will this scanner do the job and give me good quality?

The other 2 scanners I could find nothing on.
Microtek MRS 800A-3
and
Microtek MRS 2014 TP

Does anyone have any knowledge of these Microtek scanners??? Will they give good quality scans.

I paid pennies for them, so I could easily just throw them into the dumpster. But I want to hear from the Forum as to whether they are worth fooling with.

Thanks in advance,
Bill

[Leigh]

Microtek was big in scanners some years ago. I haven't heard anything about them recently.
I had one of their scanners and it worked well. I only used it for documents, not photography.

I have an Epson V750 and I'm quite pleased with it. I don't know anything about your 2450.

For any scanner to work you need the correct driver software for your computer.
Without the drivers they're just door stops.
You also need the proper cables and interface for your computer.

- Leigh

[chuck94022]

Leigh is right that the first question is interfaces. If they are SCSI devices, you will need to buy an adaptor for your PC or Mac. Once connected, you can probably use VueScan to operate them. It has the most flexible support of the available scan software.

In terms of quality, as long as the scanner can scan the width of 4x5, I think you would be satisfied with their performance on large format. For home use you generally won't be scanning more than 2400 ppi and most will do that. Even 1200 ppi for large format gives pretty big files.

Granted, you won't getting the most your film has to offer, but it should be pretty good, especially for black and white.

[pinup tragic]

Drivers should not be a problem, maybe not available for a modern OS although the driver hack for Windows 7 and the Nikon 9000 works well so there could be others - there are a couple of high end Microtec used at a couple of hundred bucks on offer but why when the V700 is very ok...unless i start collecting scanners... hmmm.. food for thought.

[Brian Ellis]

Wasn't the 2450 the predecessor to the 4990 (which was the predecessor to today's 700/750)? If so then it's the scanner a friend of mine used for years and may still use. He got very good results with prints up to about 4x from 4x5 negatives. You can download a driver for the 2450 that will work for PCs as old as Windows 95 and as new as Windows 7 from the Epson web site. I don't know about cables.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks everyone,
So it sound like the Epson Perfection 24 50 Photo G 860A is a keeper!!! I am in the process of buying another one from the "For Sale" section of the Forum. It comes with everything, mine came with nothing.
It does 2400x4800, and you guys agree that is enough, so I'm fine with it. How large can you print from it? Say starting with a 35mm, 6x6, and lastly with a 4x5. I'm talking about B&W.
Can it do color? Does it scan prints and negatives.
It comes with a 8.5x11.7 scanning bed, will it do a 8x10 negative? Can my computer/photoshop keep up with a 8x10?

The place I got them was a commercial printing shop that went out of business. Everything had been picked over by the time I got there but for $200 they let me in and I could take anything I wanted. I took a bunch of things, the best was a set of 3 enlarger lenses in pristine shape on a revolving really nice commercial mount. El-Nikkor 150 1:5.6 and 75mm 1:4 and Schneider 50mm 1:2.8 I really got my money's worth. Almost filled a F-250. A lot was office supplies and some expired chemicals.
I really appreciate your help, (AGAIN)
Bill

[Leigh]

How large can you print from it?

If you scan at 2400 ppi and print at 300 ppi, that's a factor of 8x. A 4x5 negative would yield 32" x 40". Other formats are proportional.

- Leigh