taylorgahm Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I mainly shoot bands for national rock magazines. I want the best medium format (120) scanner possible and I am willing to spend a few thousand $$$ on one. Which one should I buy and why? Nikon 9000 looks tasty... but I hear good things about the epson 750 too. Cheaper isn't actually better for me- but if better happens to be cheaper... score. I think my needs are fairly simple... enlargements no greater than a tour poster (24" x 36") crisp sharpness and good color reproduction! I might shoot color reversal but I am curious how to reverse a color negative with a scanner. Software I know- but what kind? I have shot digital for 3 years and finally burnt out on it. I just picked up a medium format (6x4.5) and I am itching to go! I am going to stick to the digital darkroom though... I guess I finally see the light... glory hallelujah take me home... Seriously though, thanks for your responses... I am new here after poaching info from the sidelines for quite some time. tg<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecu Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I don't have any experience with the Epson, but I have a Nikon 8000 ED at home and I can tell you it's fantastic at color reproduction for both slides and negatives. You simply don't have to do any corections pre or post scan. Resolution and sharpness is great and afaik the 9000ED has the same specs as the 8000ED only a little faster. If you are willing to spend the bucks, go for it. Great works, by the way! Take care, Alecu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Get the Nikon Coolscan 9000 and a glass holder. It's your best choice for less than $2,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Here's a nice comparison of film and flatbed scanners: http://www.terrapinphoto.com/jmdavis/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Go with a Imacon, expensive, but if money is no object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Medium format film scanned on a V700 has about the same resolution as 35mm film scanned on a Nikon LS-4000/8000 (same resolution specs). Considering the cost of equipment and materials, it is a waste of time and money to use a flatbed scanner. Buy a decent scanner or stick with 35mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The Imacon scanners lack Digital ICE - stick with a Nikon. I agree with Edward - stay with 35mm unless you are willing to buy a good film scanner instead of a flatbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Imacon scanner have a software call (dont remember, dont have the scanner close to me for the past 2years)) that do exactly the same as Digital ICE. But between you and me i much prefer to run a action that i create to remove as a batch all the small imperfection and dust across my image that taking much more time using Digital Ice on my images. What you can do also is buy a used digital back so you can still shoot with your medium format and have the image already hirez ready to go for the price of a imacon scanner : ) Also, i had a v750 epson scanner fluid mount that was pretty close to what i could get from a Imacon, i say pretty close, because once the image blowup you could see that the epson was less define on the smaller details..but for a 16x20 it was pretty impressive, and pretty good compare to a 10 0000$ scanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_hardy1 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Nikon 9000 dedicated film scanner at $1800-$2000.....then you step up to Imacon. You did say best and willing to spend thousand? I've seen scans from Epson750...great results Nikon 9000...exceptional results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorgahm Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 I appreciate everyones quick response! Great feedback. For those suggesting Imacon: how much and which model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 i bought a used Imacon Flextight III 4years ago for 10 000$CAN. There is a Imacon 848 and 348 i think that are way more faster (it could take up to 30min to get a full rez scan from a medium format) but with all of them you could also scan up to a 8x10..thats impressive. google imacon and you should get a price range for your need, also check them used, you could get a pretty good deal (if you undersatnd that my scanner was selling for 24 000$ 7 years ago and i pay *only* 10 000$) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_l3 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 imacon 343 new $5000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 The Imacon 343 does not appear to support 4x5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_l3 Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 "The Imacon 343 does not appear to support 4x5." using the 57x120 holder, you can scan 4x5 in two passes, giving you a 500mb scan, 4x5 scans on a $5000 machine rather than a $10000 machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_fatin Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Minolta Multi Pro I bought mine for 1500 ? brand new last year. With Scanhancer, it's better than the 9000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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