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View Full Version : HP scanjet 4890 - any experience ?



Matus Kalisky
30-Jan-2006, 09:40
Hi,

I am also one of those that are intereseted in flatbad scanners. Only recently I recognised that there is (rather) new model from HP. Specification wise it is similar to Epson 4990 or Canon 9950f, but the price is only ~ 50% of the mentioned scanners what makes it attractive. So is there anybody out there who has some experience with it ?

David G. Gagnon
30-Jan-2006, 20:47
Matus,

I have had that model scanner for over a month now, but I have not done much with it. I've tried 35mm negative film and 4x5 negative film. My first few attempts were not very good. And the scanner seems to be really slow, too. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but I have not devoted much time to using it. I found it on sale for $150.00 at Staples here in Florida. I don't think it is a very new model, though. In time I hope to have more time to devote to learning to use it to the best of it's (and my) ability.

When I bought it I was hoping it would be similar to the Epson you mentioned, but I was just kidding myself. Not for $350.00 less!

DG

DanJones
31-Jan-2006, 12:32
matus

i bought one of them about 4 months ago (buy.com/$170).
i too didn't have the extra money to get one of the higher end flat beds, so i thought i would give it a shot. i must say that i am very happy with the results. i use it for 4x5 b&w, and print mostly kallitype and gum, and don't print large than 11x14. i also found that it works best when you scan the negs on the "slide" settings.

Kirk Gittings
31-Jan-2006, 13:35
I have not used one and don't know anyone who has. There are no online reviews from anyone that I would consider knowledeable. The price is very attractive but I would want to know what kind of corners they have cut to get this technology down that cheap. It seems suspicously cheap to be really competing with the Epson 4990, Canon 9950F or the Microtek i900 which all run almost 3X or more the price. It may be great, but sometimes economy is a false illusion.

Patrik Roseen
21-May-2006, 01:05
Hi, I have the HP 4890 since a few days back and have scanned 4x5" chromes and 120-film with good result in my standards. I have not scanned at higher resolution than 1200 dpi not to get into memory problems due to my computer.

The 4890 feels very robust, the lid which includes the OH-scanner is quite heavy...does not feel cheap. There are three filmholders in A4 size. 1) 35mm filmstrips, 2) Mounted frames 3) 2 strips of continuous 120 film (works well even for 6x12) and one place for 4x5" slides.

I have not adjusted any colorsettings yet (would actually like to get some info about this) and noticed that my scans seem to go to blue in darker areas and redish in some of the midtones. But this is possible to adjust I guess. Here is one of my first 4x5" chrome scans (1200 dpi) with this scanner postprocessed in photoshop:

http://www.fotosidan.se/gallery/viewlarge.htm?ID=683265&target=_blank

As for the price I think that Epson 4990 is overpriced at the moment...they have managed to keep the price up since the competition was rather weak. HP is now entering the arena, breaking in at a more reasonable price. This was what I was waiting for and finally it happened.

I hope to provide more feedback when I have more experience of this scanner. Kind regards, Patrik.