Scanner for previews and smaller prints

[Matus Kalisky]

Please read first before cursing on me for another thread of this kind ...

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I am deciding between Epson V750 and Microtek M1 (actually F1). I want to use it as for preview and we scans and smaller prints for formats up to 4x5. For larger prints I am having my films scanned by Imacon X5.

I am aware of the limitations of these kind of scanners (resolution, DMAX). I will be scanning mostly at 1200 dpi (35mm maybe more). I seem to remember reading that Epson has a bit better max resolution and the M1/F1 better DMAX though I do not know what kind of difference does this makes.

I will be scanning BW, color positive, color negative. Formats: 35mm, 6x6 and 4x5.

What interests me is the compatibility and user friendliness. I will be using this scanner on a MacBook (the "aluminum" one) with OS X 10.5.8. I use Photoshop CS3.

I am also interested on the stability (drivers etc) and true speed of these scanners. Are they noisy? How many 35mm and 6x6 can I make per batch?

I live in Germany - so if any problems appear - how is the support for Epson and Microtek in EU?

Is there a true advantage of the bundled Silverfast software difference between V700 and V750? How do theses compare to M1 concerning the color output (color negatives)?

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So - with the above said - what would be your choice?

[percepts]

I own an Epson f-3200. This is perfect for previews and scanning for the web.

I think they have stopped production recently. This is NOT the epson 3200 although it may have the same sensor (inverted so dust is not a problem). This is a very small footprint scanner which will scan 35mm, 120 and 4x5 and scans at 3200 spi native. Will scan 6x17 too. Output quality is not really good enough for the highest quality 20x16 prints but for smaller format you can scan for twice required output dpi and downsize which gives really nice smooth tones.

I recommend it simply because it is so easy to use. Just load the film holder and stick it in front opening and away it goes. Piece of cake. They crop up on ebay from time to time. I wouldn't recommend it for the best quality prints. The reason is because the film holder has a plastic anti newton base in it which you can't take out. The "grain" pattern in that base can and does show in areas of scan which have large areas off sibnle tone. But for I what I use it for it is perfect. Mine came with Silverfast as well as Epson scan. I fine epson sacan well enough for needs and only resort to Silverfast Occasionally.

Won't be as high quality output as the scanners you are looking at but is even simpler to use than a flatbed. Very quiet too.

old review at:

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Epson_F3200/page-1.htm

p.s. the anti newton glass is not glass. It is plastic.

[drew.saunders]

I own a Microtek M-1 non-pro, which is no longer being sold in the US. The biggest difference between the pro and non-pro was that the pro included Silverfast Ai, which will do 16/48-bit scans, while the non-pro includes Silverfast SE, which won't. The Pro also came with 2 of each holder and an IT8 target for calibration, which you'd probably want. I found the included Microtek software worked pretty well (and did 16/48-bit scans), but it isn't OS X 10.6 compatible, and won't be until November (or later), so I've switched to using VueScan, which I'm finding I like better. When the M1 came out Ed Hamrick told me he didn't think there was enough interest in adding drivers for it to VueScan, but it seems that he changed his mind sometime in the past year.

I don't scan much color, but the M1/F1 can be calibrated to an IT8 target. I think the Epson can too.

It is slow and noisy as hell, much noisier than my Epson 3200Photo that it replaced. A used 3200 would actually do your previews just fine, and could be gotten for free or cheap.

If I were buying again, I'd get a 750 or 700, mainly because Epson will be around for the long haul and updates their software more regularly, and because I actually liked the Epson software for the 3200. Since it doesn't auto-focus, it'll probably be a lot faster than the M1/F1 as well.

Drew

[Matus Kalisky]

- percepts -
I am aware of the F3200, but it is getting quite old and I would be worried about the remaining lifetime. Also - they come up very rarely here in Germnay

- Drew -
thanks. One reason I am considering the Microtek is that there is one refurbished unit with warranty on the german eBay, though I have to check which Silverfast software is included. Otherwise the F1 is much more expensive than the V750 here too.

I am also considering the Epson 4990, but there seem to be only the so called "Photo" models here and they include only the Siverfast SE.

Unfortunately the German EPSON does not seem to offer refurbished models.

[Matus Kalisky]

I have just "won" a Microtek F1 for a reasonable money (1/2 of the new) - once I get some experience I will let you know. For now I keep my fingers crossed ...