Decided to get a Howtek 8000HiRes

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Fully refurbished, 6 month warranty, set up, comes with computer to run it, software etc. I looked at tango, but they are quite heavy, and from research require a fair amount of servicing whereas the Howtek I can service on my own with the tech on the other end of the phone or on webex/facetime to guide me and parts are not as expensive. Aesthetically, the Tango looks cooler. In the end, it will come down to how much skill I develop using it coming from a V850.

[Michael Roberts]

Awesome! I got to use a 4500 earlier this year; scanned 15 8x10s on it.

Congrats!

[nbagno]

I have the same model. I wanted a desktop scanner and this suits me perfectly.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I am getting a good deal so to speak, I am just curious about how it compares to the Tango. Tango is a bit more, but not much and freaking huge. How many 4x5s can you scan on the Howtek8000 at same time? If I could do like 4 at a time, that would be freaking awesome.

[Michael Roberts]

That shouldn’t be a problem. It can handle 11” x 11.8”. Although, at high resolutions you might run into file size limits.

[nbagno]

I am getting a good deal so to speak, I am just curious about how it compares to the Tango. Tango is a bit more, but not much and freaking huge. How many 4x5s can you scan on the Howtek8000 at same time? If I could do like 4 at a time, that would be freaking awesome.

You can just fit four 4x5's.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I keep my tiff file sizes between 1gb and 3.95gb for 4x5. I like to scan at max resolution and the bin down to half that. But with the drum scanner, I might get files at 3200dpi as good as scanning at 6400 and doing a 2x2 bin reduction to 3200dpi. Which on my V850 does a really good job and keeps files small, in a relative way. Looking forward to the drum scanner and getting more out of my scans.

[interneg]

I keep my tiff file sizes between 1gb and 3.95gb for 4x5. I like to scan at max resolution and the bin down to half that. But with the drum scanner, I might get files at 3200dpi as good as scanning at 6400 and doing a 2x2 bin reduction to 3200dpi. Which on my V850 does a really good job and keeps files small, in a relative way. Looking forward to the drum scanner and getting more out of my scans.

You'll discover that even at 2000ppi, if it's in good order, it'll knock the stuffing out of the Epson. You'll also likely discover that going beyond 3000ppi often becomes one of diminishing returns - film flatness in the holders in the camera etc can become problems, as can the limitations of some lenses. You'll also find out how much easier it is to get a qualitatively excellent scan with good flexibility for post production. Have fun & good luck!

[Steven Ruttenberg]

You may very well be correct. Final scan resolution is dependent on a lot of factors. For the V850 after setting correct focus and becoming proficient at wet scanning 6000 bind to 3200 works the best. I also have my cleanliness down to a good science as well so dust is minimal. I will have to learn how to drum scan, then become proficient at it and then figure out what resolution provides me with what I want. The upside is that if I can get away with less, that saves a lot of disc space and over the next 30 years, I can see consuming a butt load of disc space even if done economically.

I'm looking forward to it. I sent 6 negatives off to the company to scan for me on a Howtek8000 for comparison to what I have been doing. I sent some of my more difficult color/bw/slide 4x5's. When I get the results back, I will post up side by side comparisons of those with my Epson scans along with all the pertinent information.

That should start another scanner war thread! :)