Burning questions about purchasing a Scanner

Hello. Looked over feedback forum and had a few additional questions, mostly for those who have Epson

700 series scanners, but will take reccomendations.

 

I am looking to buy a scanner to archive my old 35mm negatives, slides even some pocket instamatic

negatives. I work on a Mac (I think the Silverfast might not be compatible) and I will be pretty as large as I

can on an Epson 2400. I am avid non proffesional photographer and would like to participate in shows.

 

I want full frame neg scans and have read that one can file out the holder for the scanner like you did for

this effect with an enlarger. I think I also understand that one must use a holder because placing the neg

directly on the glass causes rings.

 

I also read that the Digital ICE does not correct scratches etc. for non-C_40 processed B and W film.

Almost all my B and W was processed with Kodak D76. Is this correct and would it be better than to

purchase the V750 M because of the wet mount?

 

Is the wet mount process better overall and worth the money?

Lastly, are the Epson 700 series dual lens work the extra money?

If you mostly scan 35mm negatives/slides you should get a dedicated film scanner. Flatbeds will not give you the quality you are looking for.

Terssa: I have both the Epson V700 and the Nikon Coolscan 9000. I print my large format negatives on the V700 and everything else on the Nikon. I print using the Espon 3800. I was unhappy with medium format scans on the Epson, after using a dedicated film scanner. 35mm scans on the Epson were always awful. I will be blunt and say, in my opinion, there is no way one will get the quality to "show" work, as you mention, scanning 35mm on a flatbed. Others may have different experiences. Good luck and enjoy your artistic endeavors.

While you may want to scan your photos in order to print them digitally, please understand

that SCANNING is not ARCHIVING. Film is a better archive than a digital scan. Digital

storage media is NO WAY guaranteed to be a long term archiving medium. Hard discs fail,

CD's and DVD's can get scratched rendering them unreadable, and formats change so your

CD's and DVD's may not even be readable in 10 years, with equipment you can buy.

 

Under proper storage conditions film can last for many decades and still yield good

results. So, by all means scan your film if you want to work on your images in Photoshop,

and want to print digitally, but understand that you should always keep your film, as it will

be good long after your digital media had died.

 

McCluney Photo

Thanks Juergen. I had know idea that the scanners that were fully dedicated made such a

difference.

Thanks Kirt. I wish I could spend that kind of money for the Nikon. Could you recommend a

less expensive dedicated scanner,or would then it be equal in quality to get a better flatbed

scanner...could you say the V700 or the V750 wet mount might be compriable? really, My

budget is around $800 for this piece of equipment.

A used Nikon 8000 can be found for around $800, and I don't think it is significantly

different from the latest Nikon 9000. [bTW, I use the 8000.]

If you are doing 35mm (and smaller) only, a dedicated film scanner is the best option. You do not need the Nikon 8000/9000, unless you want to scan medium format film as well. The Coolscan V would fit within your budget, and provide good quality 35mm scans.

 

Do note that you will need to play around a bit first to get the feel of things, before you start scanning proper.

Kodak will tell you to move digi files to film to archive them. Then the film needs to be stored properly.

 

Flat beds have insufficient quality. The best would be a Nikon film scanner today

"Kodak will tell you to move digi files to film to archive them. Then the film needs to be stored properly."

 

Is there a source for this claim? I know people who are still at Kodak who advocate this (I used to be one of them). I wasn't aware they were having any luck promoting the idea. I'd be interested to learn about any public announcements.