Leafscan 45, Sprintscan 45, Artixscan 2500: hi-res "desktop" scanner recommendations

[sanking]

If you could find a Leafscan 45 in good working condition, and only wanted to scan medium format B&W film, it will still do a better scan than anything on the new or used market outside of a drum scanner. I have owned one for a bunch of years and scan MF up to 6X12 cm in two passes at 5080 spi and stitch in Photoshop. It takes 20 minutes per pass for a 6X9 cm negative, about 35 minutes for a 6X12 cm. The result is much better than the LS-9000 at 4000 spi or the Imacon at 3200 spi or any of the other scanners mentioned in this thread, and yes I have made the comparisons with the LS-9000 and an Imacon Flextight Precision III. I have made prints up to 40" X 60" from Leafscan 45 scans of 6X7 cm Mamiya 7II negatives and the sharpness is just stunning. I was on the verge of buying an 8000 spi drum scanner last year but after looking at the 40" X 60" print I asked myself, what would be the point?

BTW, I use a fluid mount system with the Leafscan 45 that was not widely available even back in the day, and would probably be very hard to find today. But it improves scan quality very significantly.

For 4X5 I don't believe the Leafscan 45 is worth the trouble. One pass resolution is only 1200 spi. You could always scan ate 2400 spi in two passes and stitch, but even at that resolution the Epson V700 is almost as good.

For scanning LF film I use a Creo Eversmart Pro, and while resolution is limited to 3175 spi the results are oustanding. And frankly, there is rarely any need to scan anything 4X5 and larger at more than 2400 spi.

Both of these scanners have very big footprints, and may also require vintage MAC computers and software so one needs to have the space and be prepared to deal with the vintage computer issues. But believe me, there is no comparison in scan quality between a 4X5 done on an Epson V700 and one done on an Eversmart Pro or Supreme. Yes, the V700 is good enough for a lot of work, and I have one myself that is used primarily for editing and early contact proofing.

Sandy King

[Jonathan Taylor]

Leafstuff.com has refurb SCSI LeafScan 45 for $1200-- a very appealing option, but I guess despite it's great performance with medium format it not going to meet my needs for 4x5. I don't understand why the LeafScan and Flextight quality declines so quickly for 4x5. Does the Polaroid Sprintscan 45 have the same problem?

6x9 on my LS-9000 gets me to a 2'x3' print which is nice, but I'm shooting 4x5 to get bigger. Sounds like 4x5 on an Eversmart will get me to 3'x4' which is... good enough. :-)

I guess I need to find an Eversmart or a cheap drum. I see alot of Scanmakers around. Do those pass muster?

Anyone have tips for finding a good Eversmart? Anyone know any refurb Eversmart dealers?

_For under $3000._

[Lenny Eiger]

The Howtek is the best bang for the buck of any of these choices. Certainly the best quality. If you have the opportunity to get a drum, go for it, especially if you are looking at med format scans.... To compare any drum scanner to some of the lower choices is just, well it doesn't make much sense.

Lenny

EigertStudios

[Peter Mounier]

I have a Polaroid Sprintscan 45. Generally I've been happy with its performance for such old technology. The scans are good, but the dmax is only 3.4. When I bought it used about 10 years ago, the only film with a higher d-max was Velvia (3.7). I've attached a scan of a 4x5 neg., and a couple of crops to show the shadow details and sharpness. One drawback to getting an old scanner is the lack of support, should it need repairs.

Peter

[Jonathan Taylor]

The Howtek is the best bang for the buck of any of these choices. Certainly the best quality. If you have the opportunity to get a drum, go for it, especially if you are looking at med format scans.... To compare any drum scanner to some of the lower choices is just, well it doesn't make much sense.

Lenny (or anyone else) what's the minimum entry fee for a Howtek? Is is realistic to hope for a complete working outfit for under $3000 (excluding a G3, G4, or G5 workstation that I already have)?

[Jonathan Taylor]

I have a Polaroid Sprintscan 45. Generally I've been happy with its performance for such old technology. The scans are good, but the dmax is only 3.4. When I bought it used about 10 years ago, the only film with a higher d-max was Velvia (3.7). I've attached a scan of a 4x5 neg., and a couple of crops to show the shadow details and sharpness. One drawback to getting an old scanner is the lack of support, should it need repairs.

Great info, Peter-- thanks! Do you know where I can find further specs? It looks like Silverfast supports the Sprintscan 45 Ultra. Is that what you have? Does the Polaroid have ICE? What's the bit depth?

[Peter Mounier]

Jonathan
I use VueScan for my scans.

It doesn't have ICE.

Here is more info from the Sprintscan Hardware Manual...
Max scan time: 26ms/RGB line.
Actual resolution: Min:72 dpi, max: 2000 x 4000 dpi
Density range: 0.0 - 3.4 OD
Sensor technology: single-pass, RGB CCD
Bits per color: 12-bit A/D conversion per RGB; 8-bit or 12-bit output to host.
Light source: Cold cathode fluorescent.
Signal processing: Software based, real time color processing.
CCD calibration: Auto white point adjustment and dark field subtraction.
Interface: SCSI-2 (1 50 pin connector,and 1 25 pin connector).
Operating voltage: Voltage: 100-240VAC; Frequency: 47-66 Hz
Power: 40 watts.

Peter

[sanking]

I don't understand why the LeafScan and Flextight quality declines so quickly for 4x5. Does the Polaroid Sprintscan 45 have the same problem?

The lower resolution with LF film is due to the nature of the scanner. The CCD on both the Leaf and Imacon is quite small. When scanning 35mm the CCd can be placed very close to the negative to be scanned and the resolution is very high. To scan MF the CCD must be moved farther away to cover the entire negative, and resolution decreases. It increases even more with LF since the CCD must be moved even farther away.

Both the Leafscan 45 and Imacon function pretty much like a reverse enlarger, with the light source at the bottom, the negative to be scanned next, the lens above the negative, which focuses the image on the CCD. If you think about it, the resolution of an enlarger at any given spot on the baseboard decreases as you move the negative farther away from the baseboard. Same is true with the Leafscan 45 and Imacon. Both the Leafscan 45 and Imacon Flextight scanners use very high quality Apo enlarging lenses to focus the image on the CCD. The Leaf, for example, uses a 75mm Apo-Rodagon D so it should not be a surprise that the resolution on the CCD is very high, about 90%-95% of theoretical in my experience. So when scanning at 5080 spi the effective resolution is at least 4600 spi, which is about 90 lp/mm. For comparison purposes, that is way better than a Howtek 4500. Very few MF cameras are capable of that much resolution on film, which explains why the Leafscan 45 is still one helluva scanner for B&W film.

But for color forget it if you are working with MF and want to scan at 5080 spi. The Leafscan 45 has a linear CCD (not tri-linear) so color scans are made in three passes with Red, Green and Blue filters, which triples the exposure times I noted earlier for MF scans in two passes at 5080 spi.

Sandy King

[Lenny Eiger]

Lenny (or anyone else) what's the minimum entry fee for a Howtek? Is is realistic to hope for a complete working outfit for under $3000 (excluding a G3, G4, or G5 workstation that I already have)?

The last few I saw were about $1500. Many folks end up adding the newer software at $500-$1500, depending on what you need. Sometimes you get lucky and have a drum and mounting station that comes with it.

It's possible, just depends how lucky you get, or how long you are willing to wait. I had one of these and it was terrific. I have its big brother now, but the 4500 was a great machine. The dealers are always overpriced and almost none of them have any idea about the high end equipment (I've been floored at the incompetence, generally). They come up for sale here, EvilBay and on the Scan High-End list regularly.

Good luck with whatever you get,

Lenny

[Findingmyway4ever]

But for color forget it if you are working with MF and want to scan at 5080 spi. The Leafscan 45 has a linear CCD (not tri-linear) so color scans are made in three passes with Red, Green and Blue filters, which triples the exposure times I noted earlier for MF scans in two passes at 5080 spi.

Sandy King

In layman's terms, what exactly happens when one scans color film at 5080 spi or is it damaging to the point that it plainly looks ugly and should be scanned at a lower rez?

When you are talking about that 40X60 print from the Leafscan, what sized LF film does it take off your Eversmart to make an equally nice print OR where are you beginning to see the differences between the one and the other?

To add to Lenny's thoughts, the 4500 can come around for $300 locally to $3000 on Ebay. It all depends on the market, one's luck, etc. They are very large machines, but are not as "fat" sized as the pro-flatbeds like Creo/Eversmart/Cezanne.