Film and Transparency scanners

ray wrote:


And for good reason. It means virtually nothing. Most scanners I'm
familiar with do not have a fixed sensor as in a digital camera, they
instead have a linear array which travels along via the aid of a stepping
motor to scan the negative.

No, I have seen this. It is a 2D imaging chip- same as in cameras, with
a fixed focus lens. The advantage of it is its convenience and ease of use.

Several years ago 5 Mp would be considered okay. Now, maybe not in
these days of 10 Mp cheap P&S cams.

However, for the price it is okay- cheaper than most flatbed scanners
that do negs and slides.

Will it get all of the data on your films? Depends on the film you
used, the quality of the camera you used, etc. Also, the quality you
need is dependent on what you will do with the results. If you intend
large prints, maybe it is better to go with a more expensive scanner. If
you just want them to keep in a computer or digital picture frame, or to
do 4 x 6 prints, that unit is probably fine. It certainly will make
digital files to save your heritage.

On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:09:54 -0600, Don Stauffer wrote:

ray wrote:


And for good reason. It means virtually nothing. Most scanners I'm
familiar with do not have a fixed sensor as in a digital camera, they
instead have a linear array which travels along via the aid of a
stepping motor to scan the negative.

No, I have seen this. It is a 2D imaging chip- same as in cameras, with
a fixed focus lens. The advantage of it is its convenience and ease of
use.

Thanks for the info. How are they speed wise?


Several years ago 5 Mp would be considered okay. Now, maybe not in
these days of 10 Mp cheap P&S cams.

However, for the price it is okay- cheaper than most flatbed scanners
that do negs and slides.

I've found several refurbished models at the Epson online store that are
under $100 and do negatives and slides.


Will it get all of the data on your films? Depends on the film you
used, the quality of the camera you used, etc. Also, the quality you
need is dependent on what you will do with the results. If you intend
large prints, maybe it is better to go with a more expensive scanner. If
you just want them to keep in a computer or digital picture frame, or to
do 4 x 6 prints, that unit is probably fine. It certainly will make
digital files to save your heritage.

ray wrote:
On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:09:54 -0600, Don Stauffer wrote:

ray wrote:


Thanks for the info. How are they speed wise?
Undoubtedly faster than setting up a transparency cover and template on
a flatbed

I've found several refurbished models at the Epson online store that are
under $100 and do negatives and slides.


I bought a flatbed with a transparency adapter for seventy something,
about the same price as those gadgets, but of course far more flexible.
I would expect the quality is a bit better, but the convenience of the
gadget is fine. It takes some physical time to set the transparency
adapter up, and then more time to get into the driver and set it from
print scanning to transparency scanning.