Epson 6400 ppi LF film scanner

[Jim Jones]

for hybrid film/digital photographers Epson has announced new flatbed scanners for up to 8x10 film at 6400 dpi and 4.0 Dmax. Two models will be available for under $800.

[PieterB]

That's nice. Fluid mounting is the best option, and now it becomes "cheap"

[roteague]

I saw that.... of course, I just bought a Epson 4990 a little over a month ago.

[Joe Lipka]

Makes sense. That is how electronics companies time their new product releases. Just as soon as you get "the latest and greatest", the "next generation" is released. I wouldn't feel so bad about it, but when you read the new product release it seems to make what you just bought is the technical equivalent of the ox cart.

[Changeling1]

Could this flatbed scanner with the accessory transparency unit be put to any good use in this current day and age. The scanner works perfectly and the trans unit is NIB. I have a number of negs and chromes I would like to scan and archive (now that I have a HD about 148 GB larger than the previous).

Or... is this 11 year old set-up truly an ox-cart with no practical use whatsoever? The SCSI scanner is currently hooked up to a semi-retired Power Mac 7500.

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Baxter Bradford]

I wouldn't worry about the new model Robert. You are getting really good results with the 4990. The resolution figures will not really be achieveable without some serious internal optics - not really evident from the press-release. The pixel-packing approach saddens me since it produces far larger files than are necessary thus slowing the workflow for every owner on every scan. Why have 2000 pixels defining a fuzzy line when 1000 with a sharp lens lends itself far better to upres-ing? Because Optical res figures are punchy to state, explaining that money was invested into esoteric lens design etc gets lost in translation. The Dmax of 4.0 is likely to be optimistic too.

As for the wet scanning, hmmmmm it's hard enough to clean a dry piece of film and wouldn't want to try to re-scan. A well known colour Landscape photographer has refused to let his trannies be drum-scanned because of the gel mess.

Changeling - Improvements have been massive in hard and software for budget scanners in last 4/5 years. You would do far better to seek out something from this period. in fact such is the obselescence that you might even get given something from 4 years ago! Ox-cart goes Mooooooooh!

[roteague]

Hi Baxter,

True, I do get pretty good results with the 4990, and for most of my serious 4x5 stuff, I have it drum scanned. With the 4990, I usually only scan at 720dpi; which is sufficient for the web. I am quite satisfied with what I have.

I also got a new Minolta DiMAGE 4500 Elite II scanner for 35mm stuff - I'm amazed how good this scanner is. Last night, I was scanning some handheld 35mm stuff I took in Cambridge a few years ago.

[donbga]

Could this flatbed scanner with the accessory transparency unit be put to any good use in this current day and age. The scanner works perfectly and the trans unit is NIB. I have a number of negs and chromes I would like to scan and archive (now that I have a HD about 148 GB larger than the previous).

Or... is this 11 year old set-up truly an ox-cart with no practical use whatsoever? The SCSI scanner is currently hooked up to a semi-retired Power Mac 7500.

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Modern flatbeds with film scanning capability will certainly out perform your model. If you can afford it, get a new scanner or look for a reasonably priced used model of recent vintage. If sheet film is your primary interest there are several good choices you could make in the used scanner market. Just bear in mind that Epson and other manufacturers over hype their product specs.

So buy the best you can afford and hook it up to a modern computer. If the largest sheet size is 4x5 you might want to consider a usec Imacon.

Don Bryant