Flatbed Scanners

[The Vulcan]

I wonder if anyone has knowledge of the best flatbed scanners available.

I've some 10,000 slides and negatives, ranging from 35mm through to 5x4, that I'd like to scan into my PC.

I figure that the best option is a good high end flatbed scanner that will comprise a transparency adapter/hood.

Canon and Epson seem the choice BUT, which is the best?

Hope you can help

[bino]

I've got a Canon flatbed scanner that I am happy enough with for scanning photo prints, misc documents to PDF files, etc.

However, if you are serious about your slides and negatives, a Nikon film scanner is the way to go.

[Tywais]

However, if you are serious about your slides and negatives, a Nikon film scanner is the way to go.

Flatbed scanners are really not the best choice for film scanning if you want the best reproducibility. The scanner mentioned above is nice but at $1695.00 probably not what you want. One of the best for price/performance has been the Minolta DiMage Scan Dual III though don't think it is made now. Might find one on e-bay or similar though.

[Goshawk]

I'd go with Canon...

CanoScan 4400F, 80GBP

CanoScan 8800F , 150 GBP

They have a 'slide adaptor' that give very good results...

[Tywais]

I'd go with Canon...

CanoScan 4400F, 80GBP

CanoScan 8800F , 150 GBP

They have a 'slide adaptor' that give very good results...

Those don't look too bad actually. Looked up a review for the 8800F > 8800F Review

Prices on Shop4Thai.com:

4400F > 4,270 Baht

8600F > 7,597 Baht

8800F > 7,351 Baht

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Depends on what you want to spend. If you are only working with 35mm, the previously mentioned Minolta is still a good product though you will have to look on Ebay for it. For 4x5 a flat bed or an ultra expensive drum scanner is the only way to go.The Scan Dual II isnt a bad scanner for 35mm either. For flatbeds Epson makes excellent scanners that can handle every size negative or slide up to 8x10. Not as good as a drum scanner but not bad either. I plan to purchase an Epson as soon as my medium and large format equipment arrives which should be later this month. HP also has a good product though not as good as the Epsons according to some reviews. They aren't as expensive either. Look at the bundled software an let that be part of you decision. Even on Ebay good quality scanning software can be expensive in some instances more than the cost of the scanner. If you want to compare scanners including scanned images to compare different models they have some reviews here:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN1.HTM

[The Vulcan]

Thank you all for your input, views and links which were most helpful.

I've decided to go for the Epson Perfection V700 Photo.

Now, the question is: Where is the best place to get this item?

Appreciate your advices

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

I haven't priced them in Thailand but an online merchant in Singapore has them for about 19531 Baht. Duty on computer hardware is minimal but you have to include 7% VAT and that is on the price plus shipping. That should at least give you a benchmark when negotiating with local merchants. I have generally found it less expensive to deal abroad and import. Local computer merchants don't understand the concept of competition. Even when you show them what you can buy for abroad and direct import they won't lower the price. Everyone seems to work from the same price list. I was looking for a Firewire board a few weeks ago to add some additional ports. Most local merchants wanted 1200 baht up (it was probably my face). The best price I got was 600 baht plus 100 baht shipping from a local online merchant. I ended up buying one from Hong Kong camera merchant I had done business with in the past. They had to in turn buy it from a computer merchant to sell it to me. The price was all of 330 baht including shipping. I will owe VAT and duty when it arrives but it will be no where near 600 baht not to mention the 100 baht shipping.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Found another Singapore merchant with a better price. They quote factory suggested retail but suggest the final price is even lower. You must call to get the final price. B&H in the US works that way at least with Jobo parts and accessories. They must offer at list over the internet due to a contract with the vendor but actually sell for substantially less. I suspect thats the case here too. The US low range for that scanner according to one price comparison site is about $470 or about 15,500 baht.

http://www.exporters.sg/member_profile.asp?co_id=42934

address and contact is here:

http://www.kopiteh.com/profile.aspx?lang=0...CookieSupport=1

[The Vulcan]

Thank you "CMA" very helpful.

I'll go down the routes you suggest

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

I found another possible source. I saw a post on a Malaysian board where they were discussing the V700. The price mentions was substantially less than the Singapore price. I found an list of Malaysian computer stores that offer online shopping. I plan to email several to inquire about the price. The list can be found here:

http://www.mycen.com.my/malaysia/pc.html

[Tywais]

Shop4thai has it listed for 24,503 (VAT included) > http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=16337

You should be able to get it cheaper at a local shop who is willing to sell without paying VAT. This would eliminate concerns about uncertainties with customs and how much they are going to charge and the shipping costs.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

The price mentioned on the Malaysian board was 1700 ringgit which translates to about 17,000 baht. Shipping should cost no more than 2,000 baht and that would be high. bringing the total to 19,000. Duty appears to be no more than 5% per the APEC tariff database found here http://www.apectariff.org/. Use the search term, "data" then scroll through the categories. Click on the number of the category found on the left. Five percent of 19000 Baht is 950 baht. Add 7% VAT to that total and it becomes 21346 Baht. You can always call customs to inquire about specific duties and verify the rates which will give you a better idea of what to expect.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Here's a brand new V700 from a US Ebay electronics vendor. This vendor will ship to Thailand. If my math is correct the delivered price is about 22912 Baht including duty and VAT. Check with customs to affirm the duty rate of 5% before ordering if you choose to do so. Also, in Bloomberg this morning, Compusa a big computer superstore chain is closing. They could no longer compete with Walmart and Best Buy. If you have anyone in the US who can send things you can likely find significant savings. There will be some deep discounts over the next few weeks as inventory is eliminated.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EPSON-PERFECTION-V700-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[careerbreak]

I bought the Epson V700 Photo in a suburban (Bangkok) IT City about a year ago for THB22,500.

FYI I did a lot of slide scanning with mine and am very happy with it.

[The Vulcan]

I managed to get a V700 at IT City for 22,500 in the end. They threw in a Kingston 4Gb traveler for free so I guess the "real" price was somewhat nearer the 20k mark.

Thanks to you all for your input.

As a side issue, does anyone know where I can get a lightbox from?

[The Vulcan]

Update

2 weeks later and 200 slides/negs scanned. Awesome scanner, Silverfast bundled software is brilliant. Highly recommend this machine.

[jukapot]

Your epson V 700 sounds like the machine to have. I have an older epson perfection 4490 and use it to copy photos and my few 2 1/4 negatives. For slides, my old Nikon coolscan IV Ed is is doing just fine. I suspect that your V700 is just as good though.

Here is a major problem that I haven't seen discussed anywhere. My negatives and slides go back 40 years. Not only do I get involved with film restoration for faded colors, scratches and the like but there is the plague of smudge marks, grease, dirt and just plain dust. I clean the negatives and slides with regular photo cleaner, the kind used on my old super 8 movies and carefully apply it with a soft clean cotton cloth. I been meaning to purchase special cotton gloves for handling film but keep on putting it off. Every thing should be perfect but I still have a major problem with the dirt and dust that won't blow off with a blast of canned air. When I clean the slide I seem to just push the crap to the edges and corners where it gets stuck against the cardboard. At times the only solution is to crop when possible.

How are others dealing with this problem? The dust removal filter in photoshop can only be applied to small selected areas. Sometimes I can go to channels and use the blue channel only. Often I can apply the filter without damaging the whole image.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.....

[The Vulcan]

I was in a similar position with identical problems.

I simply removed the trannies from the holders, cleaned them up, and replaced them. However, I benefited from the fact that all my trannies were self mounted with GEPE holders and easily removed.

GEPE slide mounts are still available (I think FotoFile have some) so I'd suggest transferring your slides accordingly.

Lint gloves are the ones to buy as opposed to cotton.

Take a look at the mess this slide was in before restoration - this is what happens when we fail to store them carefully!

I'm a lot more careful now for sure

[Nordlys]

Nice pic that is.

[jukapot]

Vulcan

Thanks for the tip on cleaning slides...I was hoping to find an easier way, but removing the slide from the mount is probably the best way to go. Just got a supply of mounts and will start cleaning later today. Years ago i used to develop my own slides with Anscochrome film and mounted them with the aid of a special hot press for sealing the mounts. Although anscochrome film was very forgiving and allowed amateurs like my self to develop color slides, Its easy to tell which slides are mine and which are Kodaks. My slides often have a green moon in the sky from air bubbles on the film.

thanks again for the tip. :D

[The Vulcan]

I've bumped this thread for those of "us" that are using flatbed scanners on our film stuff.

First things first. I approached Niks in Bangkok for a Nikon 9000 ED dedicated scanner - WOW 150,000 baht!

Ok, how good is it? I used their machine to scan in a 6x7 (Rollei 6006) slide and compared it against my Epson V700 which cost 23,000 baht. - I could barely see the difference!

take a look at this link for instance

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interacti...V750/page_6.htm

Since then (2 weeks ago) I've purchased these items for a total outlay of $171

http://www.betterscanning.com/

What an improvement! I would suggest that my scanning is now equal to the Nikon and this is evidenced by the very picky n choosy Alamy library accepting my scans!

Here's a recent re-scan using the new mounts which I'm quite pleased with - this slide is some 20 years old!

Just thought you might like to know

p.s. the 120,000 baht saving will buy a lot of film methinks!

[Khutan]

This is a very interesting and useful thread, as I have a similar project to scan a large number of family pictures.

Can you tell me if there is software to handle C-41 Negatives to make proper colour ?

[The Vulcan]

This is a very interesting and useful thread, as I have a similar project to scan a large number of family pictures.

Can you tell me if there is software to handle C-41 Negatives to make proper colour ?

Yes - Silverfast. Either SE version or full Ai. You could also take a look at Vuescan. All these products are downloadable for trial

Hope this helps

p.s. attached image is a negative scan from Ilford fp4. C41 should produce similar results. I scanned this image in some time ago BEFORE I acquired the better plates

[Khutan]

Thank you - I now have some purchasing to do.

[svenivan]

I was in a similar position with identical problems.

I simply removed the trannies from the holders, cleaned them up, and replaced them. However, I benefited from the fact that all my trannies were self mounted with GEPE holders and easily removed.

GEPE slide mounts are still available (I think FotoFile have some) so I'd suggest transferring your slides accordingly.

Lint gloves are the ones to buy as opposed to cotton.

Take a look at the mess this slide was in before restoration - this is what happens when we fail to store them carefully!

I'm a lot more careful now for sure

This is how some of my slides look like. So how did you "restore" them?

[svenivan]

I have just ordered a HP Scanjet G4050.

I have been doing some research in Internet and it seems that this one will meet my needs.

Here is a very good site where you find links to other sites that have been doing reviews of different products.

http://alatest.co.uk/user-reviews/scanner-...u3-34860641,45/

Here you can find 23 "Expert" reviews and 161 User reviews of this G4050.

You can search for whatever product you want and got links to all reviews about this product.

Very useful in my opinion.

I will give my review of this scanner, the HP G4050 whan I have got it and when I have tested it.