Gents, I need to scan a lot of 35mm colour negatives and so need a scanner. SCSI won't do (no space for the card) so it has to be USB. Any ideas? Jessops catalogue lists:
Jessops: 1800dpi, 36bit, £149
Jenoptik: 2400x4800dpi, 36bit, £249
Hewlet Packard: 2400dpi, 36bit, £399 *
I want to be able to print up to A4 size, so 1800dpi would be marginal, 2400 should be fine.
Any comments, advice, alternatives, suppliers, cheapo offers? I'm in a bit of a hurry, need to get the job done by Christmas.
* also scans prints up to 7"x5", not relevant since I already have a decent flatbed scanner.
My experience with USB 35mm scanners has not been very good, it is not down to the fact that they are USB devices it's the fact that they are meant for the home user therefore the quality of the scans are not very good. The resolution of a scanner is not the only deciding factor on the quality of the scans, the lens and prism assembly and the focusing capability have to be also taken into consideration. If you try to enlarge a 35mm slide to A4 size on a domestic slide scanner, it will be very soft and out of focus, regardless of the resolution that it was scanned in at.
To get in-focus and sharp images you will have to buy the more expensive semi-pro 35mm scanners, like the Nikon or Ricoh scanners, unfortunately none of these offer USB as a connection.
Hope this helps
Lui
Alan,
May I refer you to the topic "Jessop's cheapo scanner" (you actually submitted replies to it) in the 'Digital Stills Photograpy' Forum.
Judging by your standard of work though, I can't see you going for the 'Jessop's' somehow.
Cheers, Chirpy.
P.S.
Just a thought - I'm sure if you tried the Jessop's one and wasn't happy with it, they'd give you your money back.
I blew the CCD on mine by connecting it to the wrong transformer but they still swapped it for a brand new one under the guarantee. And I'd thrown the original box away!
(Jolly nice people don't you think? 
)
You can always ask them first.
Cheers, Chirpy.
Yes, I knew of the diatribe about Jessops , I'm simply trawling knowledge for something better, that's why I put it at the start of the list and implied that it wouldn't do.
------------------
alan@mugswellvillage.freeserve.co.uk. Delete village for a spam-free diet.
Minolta have a new film scanner out. USB 2800dpi. Have seen it at my local Jessops store in Birmingham. I think it was about £450. Minolta scanners are usually top quality, but it may be a little slow using USB, anybody use it?
Depending on 'lots' , might it not be cheaper to get them scanned onto photocd by kodak ?
£400+ will get a lot of negatives scanned
About 3000, that I've found so far. I reckon a scanner'll be cheaper.
------------------
alan@mugswellvillage.freeserve.co.uk. Delete village for a spam-free diet.
You might be interested to know that the Jessops Scanner is on offer at £120 currently. At that price, I just bought one without thinking too hard about it. I expect to scan all my old negs and then sell it for not to much of a loss. I have only had a couple of goes (while semi-inebriated) so far and it seems to be OK for my purpose.
[This message has been edited by Tropi (edited 02 December 2000).]
I finally plumped for an HP, from Jessops. I'm waiting for it, and will report back on how it goes. It had to be USB because I've got no PCI slots free for a SCSI card.
------------------
alan@mugswellvillage.freeserve.co.uk. Delete village for a spam-free diet.
It arrived yesterday, so here's first opinion.
It installed without problem, worked first time, has stand-alone software and apperas as a TWAIN device in Paint Shop Pro and Photo Shop.
It will do 35mm neg or slide as film strip (max 5 exposures/strip), 35mm slides in mounts, and prints up to 7x5. Max resolution changes with application (film/print) and will do 2400 on film, good enough for me. It has loads of presets, so can cope with colour neg, B&W neg, old stock, faded etc, much more than I'm going to need. Nice features abound, you can decide where the exposure boundaries are (e.g. take a scan of 5 as one file) although it works out the structure itself first. All the usual processing tools (rotate 90, free rotate, colour cast, exposure, sharpness, histogram etc, plus it gives the RGB, density or L*a*b* values under the cursor, and that's really nice) in the stand-alone software and you can roll up the settings into self-defined filters for favourite settings.
I did a few test runs on negs, slides and prints, and couldn't fault it. I know it's a bit high on the price scale, but it effectively replaces a flat-bed, apart from big stuff, so I've actually saved some desk space as a result.
I'm happy now. So far. Thanks for all the comments.
------------------
alan@mugswellvillage.freeserve.co.uk. Delete village for a spam-free diet.
Which model is it, Alan?
Paul
S20, half way down the left hand column of these beasties in the Jessop's catalogue.
------------------
alan@mugswellvillage.freeserve.co.uk. Delete village for a spam-free diet.
This looks like it's actually the Microtek FilmScan 35 ( http://www.microtek.nl/english/products/scanners/filmscan35.htm ) re-badged. Not surprising as Jessops are really a badge-and-package outfit - though nothing wrong in that.
I just came across the Mirotek and thought of this thread - so it looks like you've ended up with the same device anyway!
Dabs do the Microtek at £129 + VAT - does the Jessops price include VAT? If so it's a pretty good deal!
------------------
Richard Jones, http://www.activeservice.co.uk
Home of the MediaStudio Pro Tutorial
No, it's not a Microtek 35, that's a completely different beast. The HP S20 says on the top "Hewlett Packard Photo Smart S20", and underneath it says "Hewlett Packard C5101A, made in Singapore" etc. Apart from that, the specs are different:
HP S20, scans 35mm neg and pos, mounted slide, prints up to 7"x5", max res 2400dpi.
Microtek 35, scans 35mm neg and pos, max res 1800dpi.
So, I reckon the HP S20 isn't a rebadged Microtek 35.
------------------
Alan Roberts
[This message has been edited by Alan Roberts (edited 14 December 2000).]
Interesting - it was just that looking at the pictures they appear to at least use the same case, which tends to suggest they have something in common.
Could be the same basic physical engine and different electronics - that happens a lot with laser printers.
Still, if you're happy with the S20 I'm sure you don't really care
------------------
Richard Jones, http://www.activeservice.co.uk
Home of the MediaStudio Pro Tutorial
I'm very pleased that Alan seems to have found exactly what does his job to his satisfaction.
I just thought I would add that, because I have been too busy with other things, I lent my aforementioned Jessops 1800 scanner to a friend who, with zero previous experience, has already produced a lot of quite good scans with it. I am very impressed with the results for just £120 outlay. I think it cannot be in the same class as the other more expensive, higher resolution film scanners mentioned. But, for those on a limited budget, I thought it might still be good to hear that the little cheapie is not at all bad.
[This message has been edited by Tropi (edited 19 December 2000).]
Aha, the penny drops. Richard, I guess you're meaning that the Jessops scanner is a Microtek. Could be. Certainly the HP S20 doesn't look anything like either of them. Sorry if I confused anyone.
------------------
Alan Roberts
No apology required Alan, I was the one getting confused! I just scanned (sic) over the messages and there are intermingled comments about the Jessops scanner and you buying your HP from Jessops.
The fog has just cleared
------------------
Richard Jones, http://www.activeservice.co.uk
Home of the MediaStudio Pro Tutorial