# Photo Scanner Recommendation



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

I am looking to purchase a photo scanner to add my old photos to my digital collection in Aperture. I would prefer one with software that is Universal as I will be using it with my new iMac. I would also prefer firewire connection. 
Is the quality better to scan the photo or to scan the negatives? I am looking for the best quality in the $300-$500 range but not sure if I should get a flatbed or film scanner. I have not scanned much so I am looking for advice/recommendations
Thanks


----------



## onion (Feb 26, 2003)

i would suggest something like the epson 4990 perfection. it's a flatbed scanner that does a pretty good job with film as well. i think it will be more then useful for most purposes. very versatile and not (too) expensive. 

i use the v700 which is a little pricier. it went a little haywire so, it's getting replaced and i also used the 4890 with good results. . . ..


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

You don't need Firewire. The scanning process is slow and the interface is not the bottleneck
The Epson Perfections are incredible and do a job very close or as good as a dedicated film scanner.
Skip scanner software from the scanner maker - nothing but trouble.
Photoshop Elements is very good for photo work and reasonably priced.


----------



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

Thanks for the replies.


MacDoc said:


> Skip scanner software from the scanner maker - nothing but trouble.Photoshop Elements is very good for photo work and reasonably priced.


I use Photoshop, but don't I require the scanner software plugin to get it into Photoshop?
Does anyone know if there is a quality difference scanning negatives compared to photographs.


----------



## mactrombone (Nov 3, 2004)

I've been using the Canoscan 9950F for the last couple of years and I have been very happy with it. Considering what you are doing I would think of getting a flatbed scanne with the capability of doing film The 9950 does a nice job for me as I can scan mounted slides, 35mm negs and MF negs. Twelve slides at once and up to 30 exposures of 35mm negs at once as well. Quite happy with it.

To answer your question of scanning the neg vs a print: If you have the negative you're likely to get a better scan from that than from the print. The print has already been enlarged so you are scanning enlarged grain, dust, scratches etc. I would think a good scanner will almost always get you a better scan from the negative vs scanning the print. Don't forget cleanliness, though! Clean the negative on both sides best you can, clean the top of the scanner and clean the bottom of the scanner or you're just magnifying all the crap and dust and stuff that is on the glass AND negative.


----------



## onion (Feb 26, 2003)

of course, the epson scanner software comes with digital ice which does a decent (but slow) job at getting clean scans and removing artifacts.

the problem with scanning prints is that the resolution of the print itself is at a maximum 300 dpi. so, unless you're dealing with a very large print there's a pretty evident cap on the amount of data that you can get from scanning a print. if you have no intention to enlarge or aren't a perfectionaist with regards to colour, shadow detail etc. scanning the prints will be quicker and easier to handle.


----------



## mactrombone (Nov 3, 2004)

Onion has a good point. Scanning prints will almost always be faster so depending on your intended use of the final product you may be quite happy with the scans from prints as opposed to spending the time with the negatives.


----------



## scootsandludes (Nov 28, 2003)

Kirtland said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> I use Photoshop, but don't I require the scanner software plugin to get it into Photoshop?
> Does anyone know if there is a quality difference scanning negatives compared to photographs.


I know with the Epson software, you don't need PS to get into the software, it works on it's own, and also as a Photoshop plugin, as well as third party software work the same way. I however still go into photoshop, usually cause I need to go in there anyways. Only time I don't open PS is when I'm scanning documents.

The Epson flatbeds do a very nice job at scanning film. I used to have both a dedicated film scanner and a Epson flatbed. I got rid of the film scanner just cause it wasn't necessary. There is a quality difference between scanning film and photographs. It's always better to start with an original than reproduction. One thing that a lot of people don't consider or realize is that the average 4x6 is a blow up of the film, keep that in mind when scanning. Scanning a 4x6 is sort of like analog interpolation (or digital zoom), anytime there's a blow up, no matter how minor, you start to loose quality.

vince


----------



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I think he wants to archive so yes negs are better quality but take longer.

Epson will come with the PS plugin as mentioned - most scanner supplied software is not kept well supported so we recommend the PS route.

Scanners have progressed amazingly as it's similar technology to digital cameras.
You'll be very pleased by the Perfection Photos.


----------



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

MacDoc said:


> I think he wants to archive so yes negs are better quality but take longer.


Yes you are right MacDoc, I will sacrifice time for quality. I want my archive to be comparable (or as close as possible) to my digital collection. 

Thanks all


----------



## Darien Red Sox (Oct 24, 2006)

HP has a number of nice scaners and an easy to use interface for Mac OSX, all the scaners functions can be acessed visa the dock. In my persnal experence Epsons have given me truble.


----------



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

> In my persnal experence Epsons have given me truble.


What sort of trouble has Epson given you?


----------



## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Scan the negative rather than the print. One thing that I learned years ago in a basic photography course was the bracketing of exposures (one at the exposure the light meter suggested, one slightly underexposed, one slightly overexposed). However it was also pointed out to us that automatic film processors would always correct the bracketed exposures so it looked like you had 3 the same. The negatives of course would be different. 

The prints you have were probably developed by an automatic processor (they go back to at least the mid-70's) so depending on their interpretation of the negative, they might have made corrections that you didn't want.


----------



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

Oakbridge said:


> The prints you have were probably developed by an automatic processor (they go back to at least the mid-70's) so depending on their interpretation of the negative, they might have made corrections that you didn't want.


Good point. I know I have taken prints back to the developer in the past when they tried to "correct" a shot that, for example, was supposed to be a silhouette, but they washed out the sky to get the person.


----------



## Darien Red Sox (Oct 24, 2006)

Kirtland said:


> What sort of trouble has Epson given you?


After every 1 to 3 scans the scan software can no longer connect to the scaner and I need to turn the scaner off and then back on wating for it to worm up again.


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

What is the workflow for scanning multiple negatives in a strip? 

What scanning software? What photo-editing software?


----------



## MacAndy (May 17, 2004)

The Epson Perfection 4490 I have at home scans slides and transparencies of all sizes using rigid plastic guides that define the areas. When the preview of the flatbed occurs, the lead area signals to the scanner what transparency holder is in place and automatically defines the scan area of each. You can then click on 4 of the 8 slides and make them 200%, and the other 4 at 400%, or all individually different sizes, resolutions, etc. Then click scan and walk away, enjoy life, interact with other human beings, or other of your ilk, and when you come back, voila, auto-saved images on your drive.

I am in the middle of scanning a mix of almost 2000 prints, slides, 2x2 and 4x4 transparencies, all the while still being able to enjoy the company of my family. Most nights.


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

So this is Epson's software? It does it all?


----------



## MacAndy (May 17, 2004)

Hi, yes, the software that comes with the scanner, you can run it independently and it will just drop the images into your Documents folder by number, or you can scan individually into PhotoShop to edit and save as required.

Another cool option - descreening. If you need an image that has been printed in a magazine or book [watch the copyrights] you choose the descreen feature so you do not amplify the printed halftone and cause moires in the reprinting.

One odd thing though, I am not able to name my presets. I figured it was a glitch in the two+ year-old software and a newer OS I am using. Would like to be able to rename the presets by their purpose - B&W print, colour print, slide, etc...


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

What do you use to clean the negatives? Compressed air or a microfibre cloth?


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Here's similar thread from October: http://www.ehmac.ca/showthread.php?t=46118

Costco upped the price of this scanner by $20 since then:
http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10292242&whse=BCCA&topnav=&browse=









PrimeFilm 3650u
35 mm Film and Slide Scanner
Digital ICE3™ Technology
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 3.0 with Adobe® Photoshop® Album 2.0
$319.99


----------



## MacAndy (May 17, 2004)

Hi Gary,

I use compressed air when it there is a light amount of anomalies on the surface and a microfibre cloth only when someone's fingerprints got on them before mine!

I'm about 2/3 of the way through these 2000+ pics, hoping to finish by end of this weekend, just in time to run proofs and meet the client the following week.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I have an Epson 4490 and it's a dream to use. Biggest difference that I can see from the 4990 is the transparancy adapter, which is big on the 4490 but _huge_ on the 4990.

Oh, and Epson has started delivering their new models (v350 and v700) to retailers, so watch out in the next few weeks for deals on the older (ie: 4490/4990) models.


----------



## jhollington (Jan 29, 2007)

Yes, I second the Epson 4490, which is what I used to scan in a bunch of my older negatives, including my wedding photos from about 10 years ago. 

In my case, most film scanners only do 35mm, and almost all of my really good shots from my pre-digital photography days are in medium format (120 film) from my old Hasselblad, for which dedicated film scanners tend to be much more expensive. The 4490 includes an insert for handling the medium format negatives, and has a high enough resolution to do them justice.

In fact, on my initial scans, the software was producing resolution that was too high to realistically work with, so I had to actually scale it down for normal storage. I did keep the higher-resolution ones for archival, however, and even used a couple of them to order 16x20 prints online which were of very good quality.

The 4490 is not necessarily up to the quality of dedicated film scanner, but it's the closest general purpose flat-bed scanner I've seen for doing that job. Once thing to watch out for with transparency-based scanners is the consistency of the backlighting. A lot of lower-end units only provide general illumination, which may look okay to the eye, but will be observed as an inconsistent exposure when doing high-quality negative scans. The 4490 and other better scanners move the illumination backlight with the actual scanner head to produce a consistent exposure level.


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Is $239.99 a good price for the 4490?
http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10287683&whse=BCCA&topnav=&browse=


----------



## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

Epson Canada sells it for $599.99.  This looks so good I just might grab one.

OOPS: my mistake, that is for the 4990. I couldn't find a 4490 Photo on their sight, just the 4490 Office for $419.99.
Future shop has it online for $319.99 so this price does look good. This model even has an intel Mac driver :clap:


----------



## jhollington (Jan 29, 2007)

I paid $319 for my 4490 in November 2005, so I don't know what the pricing now is, but that price sounds fairly reasonable.


----------



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I paid 349$ CAD for mine about 6 months ago, so yes I'd say that 239$ is a good price!


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

This is sooo tempting. I have decades of 35mm to bring to digital.

My wife would kill me. How do I position the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor)?


----------



## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

Does your wife feature prominently in many of the decades worth of photos? If not you might be out of luck...


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Okay, I'm just about to convince my sister-in-law to get one of these Epson 4490s.

About scanning slides and negatives... What kind of file should one be saving archival photos? What is the best resolution that doesn't sacrifice too much but has a manageable size? For the average family user, that is.


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

The Epson 4490 is $137 + taxes AFTER MIR at TigerDirect!

Epson Perfection 4490 Photo Scanner - 4800 x 9600 DPI, Flatbed, 48-bit, USB B11B176013 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Oh! It's only $149.99 at BestBuy.ca! That's $120 + tax + shipping after the MIR.

Get in on this. I bought one and there's only 4 left. Not posting this on Red Flag Deals.


----------



## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

I have a slightly cheaper Epson Perfection, the V350. I find it exceptional for all kinds of scanning.

One point that nobody has mentioned - get a scanner with TWAIN compliance for maximum flexibility. You don't even need extra software with TWAIN - you can use the Image Capture app included with OS X.


----------



## screature (May 14, 2007)

One thing that people should bear in mind when it comes to scanning that is particularity important when scanning negatives and slides is the Dynamic Range also called Density Range which is listed as a Dmax value.

This has not been discussed in this thread but it is nearly as important as resolution when deciding on a scanner. The Dynamic range is going to determine the amount of detail that you can can see in both your highlights and shadows. In other words a scanner with a low Dmax value, say 3.0 is not going to give you anywhere near as good shadow and highlight detail as a scanner that has a Dmax value of 4.8.

What this means is that as you enlarge a picture in areas where you should be seeing detail, all you are going to see is a mass of either dark or light colour as opposed to the details in those areas.

No flatbed scanner made can match the Dmax capabilities of a midrange dedicated film scanner. For example the Dmax value for the Epson Perfection 4490 that people have been extolling the virtues of here is Dmax 3.4. With the Nikon CoolScan V ED the Dmax is 4.2 and with the Super COOLSCAN 5000 ED the Dmax is 4.8. The Super Coolscan whould be out of the price range referred to early as it is about $1200 the Coolscan V ED is much more reasonable at $550. Believe it or not even the Super Coolscan is considered only a midrange film scanner and Coolscan V ED is actually a budget film scanner.

So what type of scanner you get will depend on how much those decades of photos mean to you and how good a quality scan do you want that will be your archive. If you are only ever going to want to print a 4"x6" the Epson Perfection 4490 will probably suit you fine. If you want to print 8" x 10" enlargements and still see shadow and highlight details, go with a dedicated film scanner.


----------



## lakhanisky (Feb 15, 2008)

Hmm Yeah he's right I own a camera store and I can asure you scanning negs on a flatbed always turns out to be so so. And you can forget scanning slide on a flatbed it's a waist of time of course I have acces to a 20 000$ neg scanner but still wouldnt recomend it I would invest in a good neg scanner like on of the nikon's best bet and the resale value is high so you can always sell it afterwards We actually rent them out at 100$ a month for a nikon 4000ed with stack loader you should ask at your local camera store if they could rent you one.


----------



## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

" ... What scanning software? What photo-editing software? ..."

" ... I use Photoshop, but don't I require the scanner software plugin to get it into Photoshop? ..."

" ... I know with the Epson software, you don't need PS to get into the software, it works on it's own, and also as a Photoshop plugin, as well as third party software work the same way. ..."

Actually, it's not a PhotoShop plugin, but PhotoShop is compatible with the plugin. What you are looking for, as Gerbil has mentioned, are the magic words "TWAIN Plugin" and "TWAIN Compliant".

The TWAIN Plugin comes from the scanner manufacturer, usually, and you want the graphics or scanning app you intend to use to be "TWAIN Compliant".

The good news is I really don't know of any scanner that can do slides or film that doesn't have a TWAIN Plugin available, nor do I know of any decent graphics app that is not TWAIN Compliant.

So, use almost any scanner with almost any app. Easy.

There is one caution ... if you have an Intel Mac check to see if the TWAIN Plugin available from the scanner manufacturer is Intel native.

Every OSX Mac comes with Image Capture, which does a very nice, quick and simple job of scanning, and yes, it's TWAIN compliant (although it probably will just recognize your scanner, no fuss, no muss).

Hot Tip: Image Capture is fully Automator-aware ... build a Workflow to save repeatable steps.

Next is usually the manufacturer's scanning software, which might have other features.

The best scanning software, bar none, is VueScan, which costs $40 or $80 for the Pro version. It's PPC and Intel native, in case your scanner doesn't have an Intel application or Plugin ... (much faster if you do) and supports almost every scanner on Earth. Very new models might mean you have to wait a short while for it to be updated to be compatible with your scanner.

I recommend the Pro version, which does OCR (not a biggie for most people but handy none the less if you clip articles like I do), but also has free upgrades for life. Anyone who's ever owned a computer for more than 5 years can see that's an extra $40 well spent.

Oh, and Ed Hamrick takes on the task of keeping your registration info, so if you ever lose your S/N, he'll fetch it, or generate a new one, and eMail it to you. What ever happened to that kind of service from software vendors?

Some people complain that VueScan is upgraded every week, two weeks, sometimes twice or more a week. But, that's almost always just adding new scanners to the compatibility list ... if yours works then upgrade every six months or so and you will be fine.

You can demo it, but it watermarks the images, so it's not worth doing any serious scanning with the demo version. Check it out, but buy it if you want to use it for archiving.

I use Image Capture 90% of the time, and VueScan when I need an excellent image.

If you don't want to pay for VueScan, be sure to download the manual, which is probably the most comprehensive document on high quality scanning on Earth. Free, of course.

Some examples of images created with ViewScan:
Dawn Campbell, Calgary AB; Epson 1650, ViewScan
ImageryLab-Professional Scan Lab
The Sechtl-Vosecek Museum; Tabor, Czech Republic


----------



## TeeC (Feb 5, 2005)

I have recently completed scanning 6,000 of my own slides, most 40-60 years old, 8,000 slides for a Photo-Journalist which were also 40-50 years old & about 400 slides for a Mate. I used a Canon All-in-one & was exstatic with the results, the Canon software was very good, quite advanced etc. Also scanned in about 200 old Family photos, mostly B&W, many with creases, folds etc., which I restored.
I save all photos to folders after importing everything into Photoshop Elements 4 first.
I have now replaced my Canon, easily sold for what I paid 2 years ago, with an Epson CX 8400 & the software ain't a patch on the Canon, but is adequate.
I've also scanned a few Negs, but they seem more damaged than the slides. PE4 enables one to do wonderful restoration. That's my 2 cents worth.
TTFN, TeeC


----------



## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

The Tiger Direct 4490 is $167 plus shipping plus taxes ($198.88, PST exempt, to my Postal Code) less $30 for a net of 168.88. If you live in Ontario you will have to add PST to that, or HST in some provinces.

Costco is $184.99 with free shipping, plus taxes ($203.95 with GST & my PST), less $30 for a net of $173.95. You can collect the rebate through Costco as soon as they send you a shipping confirmation eMail, plus you get Costco's generous return/exchange/refund policy; 90 days, no questions asked, on computer stuff and 6 months on everything else. For me, it's worth the extra $5 and if you're in Ontario or Atlantic Canada, it's actually cheaper than Tiger Direct due to PST/HST.

The Best Buy is the best deal, if you can actually get one.


----------



## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I'm going to be the devils advocate and say that if you have a large number of negs or slides, you may want to think about having them professionally scanned.

This of course costs money, probably in the neighbourhood of $1-2/each. And you have to hand over the originals for a short time, which makes some people quite nervous. But they use equipment you couldn't possibly afford, scan at rates that are downright ridiculous (4800dpi!), colour correct like the best labs in Hollywood (if they're good) and store them on disk for you. The time saved is absolutely ASTOUNDING, and the results are usually better than anything you could do.

That said, sometimes that's not the point.


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

My sister-in-law looked into having them done by London Drugs (in B.C.) and they wanted $5 per slide scanned to CD-Rom. Not cheap at all.


----------



## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

Typing "slide scanning service canada" in Google results in quite a few hits ranging from under $1 to $2+, depending upon quality/quantity.

$5 per slide is unacceptable and leads me to believe they're being scanned on a flatbed or an excessively high markup is being applied.


----------



## rb42 (Jan 21, 2005)

*Scanner Recommendation*

Check out the Epson V200. I know it is the low end of the line but I have been getting great results from it. The OCR software is slow but does the job. The quality of the scans is fantastic and the software that comes with is very useful if you don't have Photoshop etc... Also at $89.99 it is the cheapest.

EPSON Canada, Limited - Product Information - Epson Perfection V200 Photo

Check out the review at:

PC World - Epson Perfection V200 Photo Review


----------



## jcharlesworth (Aug 8, 2007)

gmark2000 said:


> Oh! It's only $149.99 at BestBuy.ca! That's $120 + tax + shipping after the MIR.
> 
> Get in on this. I bought one and there's only 4 left. Not posting this on Red Flag Deals.


Good price.

Unfortunately, the fine print on the rebate form states:


> This offer is not valid for purchases made in store or online at Best Buy, Future Shop and Staples Business Depot.


So $149 + tax + shipping at bestbuy.

.../j


----------



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

A-ha! Good find. I might have to buy the Costco one as well now.


----------



## rodkin (Jan 7, 2003)

If you're contemplating scanning a large number of slides, I think it's definitely worth having someone do it for you. I found a company that charged the following for scanning slides and putting them on a DVD:

1-499 - 25¢ ea
500-999 - 15¢ ea
1,000 and up - 11¢ ea

And they scan them at 4,000 X 2,600 pixels. Not bad. It sure will save you a lot of time.


----------

