Need Help Buying A Second Scanner

[fc.moreira]

Dear Fiends, I have an HP G4050 flatbed wich I use to scan medium format

transparencies in most, and eventually some 35mm also. As everyone knows,

flatbeds doesn't make a perfect job on 35mm films. For this reason, I'm

considering the possibility of buying a dedicated Nikon Coolscan V ED to scan

35mm. Does the difference in the final result compensate the investiment for an

enthusiast amateur like myself? I shall appreciate very much your opinion.

Thank you very much

[harryo]

Since you want to scan both medium format and 35mm, I suggest you look at a used Nikon 8000 / 9000 scanner. These scanners are optimized for the medium format, but handle 35mm also very well. They can produce a true 4000 dpi scan and come with digital ICE for automatic dust spec removal. You can get these for less than $1000 used.

 

I believe if you are shooting medium format, you are so because of the quality images the large negatives can provide. To get the most out of these negatives, a dedicated scanner like the Nikons will blow away what you are getting from a flatbed. Personally, I would not shoot medium format and degrade the final result by using a flatbed scanner.