I am new to the list but I can offer some help on this subject. I just
spent several months looking into this. As with telescopes none are perfect
so it is a set of compromises.

I assume you want a 35mm slide scanner. Larger scanners are available but
cost skyrockets.

There are two approaches:
1. A dedicated slide scanner
2. A flatbed scanner

(There is actually a third approach: a drum scanner but that is commercial
grade and costs more than a big Tak).

Dedicated slide scanners work a whole let better than flat bed scanners but
they cost more. On the low end Olympus and HP sell some simple slide
scanners but the quality is certainly lower. HP has a lower price unit with
moderate resolution, moderate Dmax and is now available with USB. I have
not tested these units to any great degree but they do represent a good
value at around $500 for casual use. If the results are intended for the
web then these units work well.

The higher end units are the Nikon Coolscan 2000, Polaroid 4000 and the
Minolta Dimage Elite. Prices change rapidly but last I remember the Minolta
was $1,200, the Nikon was $1,500 and the Polaroid was $2,400 but was headed
to $1,800 in the near future. IMHO these are the best three units.

Resolutions are: Nikon - 2700 DPI, Minolta 2840 DPI and Polaroid 4000 DPI.
More would seem better but I found the Nikon Coolscan 2000 provided the best
overall scans, Polaroid next (sharper but higher contrast and blocking) and
Minolta came in last. Your mileage may vary. Dmax or dynamic range is as
important as resolution, the higher the better and it is related to the bit
depth of the A to D converters. A Dmax of 3.6 is as low as you would want
to go and all of these units meet or beat that specification. Older and
less expensive units are 24 or 30 bit RGB systems while the three newer
units are 36 bit or better. All three of these units require SCSI. The
Nikon and Minolta also feature a scratch and fingerprint removal technology
called "Digital ICE" which works surprisingly well. The Nikon Coolscan 2000
can deal with APS film, 35mm mounted transparencies as well as film strips.
The Minolta can also work with all three formats but it is very clumsy.

Just as important as the scanner is the slide scanning software. The
software included with the units is acceptable but if you want the best
scans with the most control and dynamic range recovery then I would have to
recommend the SilverFast Ai software for the Nikon Coolscan 2000. The
Minolta software was buggy as well (something about companies that start
with M? - just kidding).

In the flatbed scanner domain none of the low cost units will give an
acceptable 35mm scan until you get to the commercial units (once again a lot
more than a big Tak). The Epson 1600 can do a reasonable job with 4 by 5
transparencies and a barely acceptable job with 35mm if you get the
transparency unit. The Epson has a real resolution of 3200 by 1600 DPI and
a DMAX of better than 3.6. It can connect with SCSI, USB or, optionally
Firewire. The dedicated slide scanners are going to do a lot better job
however. The Epson 1600 Professional can be had for about $1,400 with the
transparency adapter.

K & S on California Street in Palo Alto has most or all of this equipment on
display and the folks in the professional shop up the street are very
knowledgeable. Richard is very helpful.

My final choice was the Nikon Coolscan 2000, it works well with the
typically dense 35mm astrophotography exposures and it is superb for all
around photography subjects.

And now the bad news, a whole new generation of scanners are in development
which should hit the market at Photokina next year which will work at the
grain resolution limits of 35mm film with Dmax of 4.0 or better.

Hope this helps,

Glenn.

-----Original Message-----
Alan Voetsch
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 10:11 PM
Cc: MAPUG
Subject: [M]: slide scanners

Hey all,

I'm starting to research scanners for a future purchase. I checked the mapug
archives and didn't find anything, so I pose this question to you: where is
the best place to go to find info and comparisons about scanners? All
feedback appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Alan


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