All,

just to pull the last few emails on scanners together:

The Epson 4870 Stylus Perfection Photo is their current 'best' quality
consumer scanner. It does not in the least surprise me that it creates
betters scans than the old 1680 pro which is now around 3 years old. It
will scan negs/slides, but only a strip about 4in wide whereas the 1680 Pro
will take negs/slides up to A4.

Although the 1680 Pro will do large negs/slides it has no where near the
specification of the 4870 and will certainly struggle to provide any
quality with 35mm slides and could in no way compare with a dedicated 35mm
scanner.

The Epson 4870 actually scans 35mm slides remarkably well. I agree not as
well as a dedicated slide scanner but certainly in the same ballpark and
easily good enough for all online use. Certainly much much better than a 1680.

So the 1680 provides strength, reliability and A4 scanning, but low quality
scanning for 35mm slides
On the other hand the 4870 gives reasonable scans of 35mm slides, but can
not do large negs/slides
Dedicated 35mm scanners will always outperform low-quality and cheap
flatbeds, but the 4870 gives the cheaper units a run for the money.

Some of the Microtec flatbed scanners are certainly worth
considering.....but are most probably too expensive and are similar to 1680
in terms of performance, ie I am not sure they would do 35mm slides very
well but will be able to scan larger negs/slides with ease.

As ever with scanners, it is hard to recommend something that can do
everything well. You do just have to look at what is most important to
you...and the budget available and then make your choice

cheers

eib











At 13/12/2004 12:38, Denny Plowman wrote:

>In my experience flatbed scanners with a transparency hood cope OK with
>larger transparencies (e.g. 5 x 4) but not with 35mm slides. For these a
>dedicated 35mm scanner is needed. I would suggest determining which type of
>scanning you will do least of and getting such scans done elsewhere. For
>example, 35mm slides are used less frequently for day to day photography in
>this digital age - however, you may have a lot of pre-existing 35mm slides
>which should be scanned (the dyes in many of them do fade, even when stored
>in the dark)
>
>Denny Plowman
>Access Team
>Museums and Art Galleries
>Nottingham City Council
>tel 0115 915 3690
>www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Raymond Devlin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: 13 December 2004 11:57
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Neg/Slide Scanners
>
>
>We "rolled out" the Epson 1680 pro (£750 inc VAT) A4 scanners to our
>departments as part of our digitisation process. They can cope with A4 size
>transparencies (negative/positive).
>
>Ray Devlin
>Developer (British Museum)
>
>________________________________
>
>From: Museums Computer Group on behalf of LifeTimes Staff
>Sent: Mon 13/12/2004 11:02
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Neg/Slide Scanners
>
>
>
>Has anyone had any recent experience of purchasing a 'reasonably priced'
>scanner that can scan 35mm slides and Victorian glass negatives/slides, as
>well as normal flatbed prints?
>
>This is for a community based project so the budget looks like being in the
>region of £500 max.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Ken Craven LifeTimes Research Officer
>Salford City Council Heritage Service
>Education & Leisure Directorate
>51 Crescent
>Salford M5 4WX
>Phone or Fax 0161 736 1594
>Visit our website at www.salford.gov.uk/lifetimes
>
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Ed I Bremner
BremWeb Imaging
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http://www.bremweb.co.uk
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