Film Scanners... wats more important?

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 8th November 2005

Is Resolution, Dynamic Range or Color, which is more important in choosing that scanner to buy?

icarus · 8th November 2005

DR+Depth+Speed

jbma · 8th November 2005

All the above

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 8th November 2005

Originally Posted by jbma

All the above

wah lao like not helping leh...

i saw some scanners got 3.3DR, some 4.8DR... den i think wah...

den some got very low res, some high res but low DR..

den some only 16bit color depth...

end of the day, can someone recommend me a cheap & good film scanner? not doing everyday scanning lah, once in a blue moon kind...

madmacs · 8th November 2005

resolving power & sharpness...

reno77 · 8th November 2005

DR most important for me.. resolution 2700 is enuff.

kahheng · 8th November 2005

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt

wah lao like not helping leh...

i saw some scanners got 3.3DR, some 4.8DR... den i think wah...

den some got very low res, some high res but low DR..

den some only 16bit color depth...

end of the day, can someone recommend me a cheap & good film scanner? not doing everyday scanning lah, once in a blue moon kind...

Get a secondhand Nikon.

Neo · 9th November 2005

Dynamic range is important. If there's no details from the shadow or highlight, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Most scanners now do 2700dpi or 4000 dpi, which is good enuff for A4 and A3 respectively. Colours can be adjusted later in Photoshop, so unless it's way off, it still can be compensated (although troublesome).

So the only factor unrecoverable seems to be dynamic range, although Photoshop CS2 has some nifty feature for highlight/shadow correction. Not sure if you can scan the film twice (once for highlight/once for shadows) to superimpose over each other to get the best details in both extremes. Perhaps someone well-versed in Photoshop would like to advise...

Oh yes... scanning speed counts too, esp if you have lots to scan...

BBTM · 9th November 2005

Don't wait, go n get KM 5400 ll from BHphoto. There best choice u going to get for a 35mm scanner

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 9th November 2005

Originally Posted by BBTM

Don't wait, go n get KM 5400 ll from BHphoto. There best choice u going to get for a 35mm scanner

u think i print money sibo? not like u lor... u buy 5400II, i go get cheapskate stuff...

BBTM · 9th November 2005

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt

u think i print money sibo? not like u lor... u buy 5400II, i go get cheapskate stuff...

I buy liao also from Bhphoto, cheaper than local. I need that, no $ for DSLR mah. You got DSLR liao, D7 can sleep liao lor

Anyway, spend some reasonable $ on the scanner is a must if you really serious on getting good result. That is me.

BBTM · 12th November 2005

Just check from Nikon website, I found that their scanner got only 2 line CCD. KM got 3 lines, is that the reason of having higher resolution? Think for me to eat grass, maybe can slim down after investing on scanner, haha!

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 12th November 2005

Originally Posted by BBTM

Just check from Nikon website, I found that their scanner got only 2 line CCD. KM got 3 lines, is that the reason of having higher resolution? Think for me to eat grass, maybe can slim down after investing on scanner, haha!

u no need to eat grass lah, just go play mahjong, eat win (chi hu) can liao...

BBTM · 12th November 2005

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt

u no need to eat grass lah, just go play mahjong, eat win (chi hu) can liao...

OT abit. I actually gd in MJ. Too bad every time play "chicken hand" with my wife n her family, luck not enough, lose most of the time.

yellow_kiwi · 13th November 2005

How about the CanoScan 9950F. I'm considering it as it scans medium format as well. What do you guys think?

Fire Kirin · 1st December 2005

Hi!

I intend to get one KM 5400 II from BHphoto. However, the power adaptor they supplied is 110/120V. They don't offer 220/230V. What should I do?

Seeking your advise please.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by BBTM

Don't wait, go n get KM 5400 ll from BHphoto. There best choice u going to get for a 35mm scanner

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 1st December 2005

Originally Posted by Fire Kirin

Hi!

I intend to get one KM 5400 II from BHphoto. However, the power adaptor they supplied is 110/120V. They don't offer 220/230V. What should I do?

Seeking your advise please.

Thank you!

buy a transformer lor

make sure amp enuff

Fire Kirin · 2nd December 2005

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt

buy a transformer lor

make sure amp enuff

Where can I get one of the right rating?

yeocolin · 2nd December 2005

Originally Posted by BBTM

Don't wait, go n get KM 5400 ll from BHphoto. There best choice u going to get for a 35mm scanner

BBTM is absolutely right. Before 5400 II was out, you can compare 5400 with Nikon's equivalent model (can't remember the model no.), but with 5400 II, its a no-brainer.

No doubt 5400II costs a lot, but its really worth every cent of it. I own the 5400 and its superb. Only down side is the slow scan speed when ICE is turned on, although the same problem arises for the Nikon model too. ICE drains lots of computing power. However, KM has made an industry revolutionary change in 5400II. This is where the 5400 II excels.

Of course, the change in the light bulb to a less costly type in 5400II also makes the initial capital investment and subsequent maintenance of the 5400II better than the 5400. See reviews for more details.

oeyvind · 2nd December 2005

can 5400 II scan xpan?

View Poll Results: Which one is your deciding factor
Resolution	12	46.15%
Dynamic Range	12	46.15%
Color Depth	1	3.85%
Others... Pls specify...	1	3.85%
Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll

8th November 2005	#1
Del_CtrlnoAlt Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Outside the Dry Box. Posts: 16,342	Film Scanners... wats more important? Is Resolution, Dynamic Range or Color, which is more important in choosing that scanner to buy? __________________ Logging Off Permanently. Those who need to contact me will know where to contact me.

8th November 2005	#2
icarus Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pasir Ris Posts: 3,234	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? DR+Depth+Speed __________________ Ricoh GR Digital, Minolta Hi-matic 7SII

8th November 2005	#3
jbma Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Tampines Posts: 3,315	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? All the above

8th November 2005	#5
madmacs Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 5,436	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? resolving power & sharpness...

8th November 2005	#6
reno77 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bedok Reservoir Posts: 881	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? DR most important for me.. resolution 2700 is enuff.

9th November 2005	#8
Neo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 947	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? Dynamic range is important. If there's no details from the shadow or highlight, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Most scanners now do 2700dpi or 4000 dpi, which is good enuff for A4 and A3 respectively. Colours can be adjusted later in Photoshop, so unless it's way off, it still can be compensated (although troublesome). So the only factor unrecoverable seems to be dynamic range, although Photoshop CS2 has some nifty feature for highlight/shadow correction. Not sure if you can scan the film twice (once for highlight/once for shadows) to superimpose over each other to get the best details in both extremes. Perhaps someone well-versed in Photoshop would like to advise... Oh yes... scanning speed counts too, esp if you have lots to scan...

9th November 2005	#9
BBTM Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: BB West Posts: 713	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? Don't wait, go n get KM 5400 ll from BHphoto. There best choice u going to get for a 35mm scanner __________________ Believe in yourself, dont trust other so much. :)

12th November 2005	#12
BBTM Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: BB West Posts: 713	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? Just check from Nikon website, I found that their scanner got only 2 line CCD. KM got 3 lines, is that the reason of having higher resolution? Think for me to eat grass, maybe can slim down after investing on scanner, haha! __________________ Believe in yourself, dont trust other so much. :)

13th November 2005	#15
yellow_kiwi Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 246	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? How about the CanoScan 9950F. I'm considering it as it scans medium format as well. What do you guys think?

2nd December 2005	#20
oeyvind Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,556	Re: Film Scanners... wats more important? can 5400 II scan xpan?