Film scanners

[yeppie99]

1) Which are the places to look for film scanners (dedicated)?

2) Is the Nikon LS-20 and LS-30 still around? Where and how much are they?

3) If all discontinued models are no longer available, should I get the Nikon LS-40 (Coolscan IV), Canon FS2710 or save a little bit more for the Canon FS4000US?

 

[Adam Goi]

Originally posted by yeppie99
1) Which are the places to look for film scanners (dedicated)?

2) Is the Nikon LS-20 and LS-30 still around? Where and how much are they?

3) If all discontinued models are no longer available, should I get the Nikon LS-40 (Coolscan IV), Canon FS2710 or save a little bit more for the Canon FS4000US?

IMO, get Coolscan IV ED! It's the best value for money! But bear in mind though, if you forsee yourself 'ditching' film and go for digital photography within a year, may I suggest that you simply send your positives and negatives to the lab to get them do it for you...you'll save!

 

[ckiang]

Get the Coolscan IV ED. If you can get an used LS30 for cheap, that should do fine as well. Trouble is, I don't see any of them being sold. I also missed the chance to get a Canon 2710 for a measly $250.

The FS4000U is nice, but it has only USB and SCSI-2 interfaces. Most people will opt for USB, but transferring a 42-bit 4000dpi film scan through the slow USB is going to be a pain. If you want 4000dpi which frankly I don't think most people will need (but they will WANT it), then go for the Coolscan 4000ED which has a much faster Firewire interface.

If on budget, can consider the Benq (Acer) ScanWit 2720 and 2740 scanners, at $600 and $800 respectively. Think they are 2900dpi scanners, and the 2740 has Digital ICE.

Regards
CK

 

[yeppie99]

Originally posted by ckiang
Get the Coolscan IV ED. If you can get an used LS30 for cheap, that should do fine as well. Trouble is, I don't see any of them being sold. I also missed the chance to get a Canon 2710 for a measly $250.

The FS4000U is nice, but it has only USB and SCSI-2 interfaces. Most people will opt for USB, but transferring a 42-bit 4000dpi film scan through the slow USB is going to be a pain. If you want 4000dpi which frankly I don't think most people will need (but they will WANT it), then go for the Coolscan 4000ED which has a much faster Firewire interface.

If on budget, can consider the Benq (Acer) ScanWit 2720 and 2740 scanners, at $600 and $800 respectively. Think they are 2900dpi scanners, and the 2740 has Digital ICE.

Regards
CK

The Acer scanner, where to get it? And the Coolscan 4000ED, I believe its big bucks right?

 

[yeppie99]

Originally posted by AdamGoi


IMO, get Coolscan IV ED! It's the best value for money! But bear in mind though, if you forsee yourself 'ditching' film and go for digital photography within a year, may I suggest that you simply send your positives and negatives to the lab to get them do it for you...you'll save more!

Are the scanning services from the lab of the same/worse/better quality than using a film scanner?

Is there a significant difference in image quality between scanners like the Acer 2740/2720 and Nikon Coolscan IV?

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by yeppie99


The Acer scanner, where to get it? And the Coolscan 4000ED, I believe its big bucks right?

You can get the Acer at Laser Distributors in Sim Lim Square, 5th floor. The 4000ED costs $2400 or thereabouts. Like I said, 4000dpi is really unnecessary for most people, so save the money.

Regards
CK

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by yeppie99


Are the scanning services from the lab of the same/worse/better quality than using a film scanner?

Is there a significant difference in image quality between scanners like the Acer 2740/2720 and Nikon Coolscan IV?

I have not personally tried any of the film scanners (I am not quite decided if I should get one), but the lab scans depend on the lab. Colour Lab does pretty good negative scans, but slide scans are not that good. Photo Friend does slide scans very well, but costs $18 per roll of unmounted slides or $1.80 per mounted slide for a 3072x2048 (16-base) resolution.

Regards
CK