need suggestions on a scanner purchase

I really like my Canon scanner. It's very small and light, but it's held up perfectly. With the LiDE technology, power is provided via USB. They discontinued the one I have (1220U), but the CanoScan LiDE 30 seems to be the next gen of the same thing. They claim it's OSX ready.

And Canon customer service is the best of any peripheral manufacturer I've ever used.


http://consumer.usa.canon.com/scanners/csl30/index.html

I know you're looking for something a bit higher end, but I just had to put a plug in for Canon products.

For both reflective and transparency scanning you cannot beat the Epson Perfection 2450 Photo scanner. Not only does it have an 8.5x11.7 glass area, but you can scan up to a 4x9 transparency. It has both USB (1.1/2.0) AND FireWire connections. The transparency adapter IS included with it (that's the way it comes) and you can scan from within Photoshop with easy (OS 9.x or OS X now). Since it is priced at $399 (even compusa sells it for that much) it's hard to beat. It also has an optical resolution of 2400x4800, which kicks ass.

There is another thread about this scanner, and the new software to scan from within OS X (PS 7 and right within OS X).

I use the Canon 1240. I spent roughly $150 on it. It's 1200X2400. According to the Canon website, it can run in classic mode only=(.

Remember folks, zed wants to scan negatives as well... The Epson scanner, with both interfaces, will work with both systems. The firewire connection for the iMac G4 and the USB connection for the old powerbook.

I have scanned negatives (35mm) with my Epson scanner, and you get excellent results at use size. You can have it scan the negative at xxx resolution at n"xn" size. Makes things a lot easier. You can also crop the image before scanning it, with the plug-in for either version of Photoshop.

I did a lot of looking when I was getting ready to purchase a new scanner several months back. I wanted FireWire since both my Mac's had that, and I wanted to be able to scan negatives at a high enough resolution (for any output). For the money, no one else could even come close to the spec's of the Epson scanner. All the others (with Firewire and the trans. adapter) were about 2x the cost, and not all were at the same resolution (most were lower). When I connected it up, I was scanning in moments from within OS 9.x and PS6. Recently (this week) I downloaded the new software and can now scan, via FireWire, in either PS7 or with the Epson Scan to File application (standalone).

Epson 1260 Photo is good. Make sure you get the Photo version if you want a Transparency Adapter. I don't think the 1260 is available yet, though. One of those coming soon things. We had the 1250 at work. They are nice, comparatively cheap (around $130), and should soon work with OS X.2. I'm assuming you are on 9 or Classic now.

Just don't buy a Mustek (too cheap) and DO NOT buy a Umax. No matter how much of a budget you're on. I made that mistake, it's okay, but if I want Drivers, I'm SOL. Check the boards for more info on Umax's support policy. I might get Vuescan if I need it. Or buy the Epson 1260 when available. Check http://www.hamrick.com/ first for a compatibilty list.

Good luck.

Re: thanks

Originally posted by zed
Thanks,

im currently running OSX 10.1.5, my old scanner is a UMAX with a transparency adapter and it sucks big time. Every time i scan a neg is comes out streaky and just generally nasty looking. And now I hear that they are not even going to write drivers for OSX....

anyway. thanks for the recommendations ill look into both scanners.

oh btw i just made member status

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I have an Umax Astra 1200S that I've been using for years. The bed is 8.5 x 14 and I haven't found anything reasonable to replace it.

I really like the Epson 2450 though for scanning printed materials, but I would suggest getting a 35mm scanner rather than bothering with a transparency adapter. I think it's Pacific Image which has 1800 dpi film scanners below $500. They do include the goodies the $2000 scanners do, but they work better than a flat bed for film.

You really want a FireWire interface to speed up the transfer time as USB is terribly slow with complex scans.

Re: Re: thanks

Originally posted by bousozoku
I really like the Epson 2450 though for scanning printed materials, but I would suggest getting a 35mm scanner rather than bothering with a transparency adapter. I think it's Pacific Image which has 1800 dpi film scanners below $500. They do include the goodies the $2000 scanners do, but they work better than a flat bed for film.

You really want a FireWire interface to speed up the transfer time as USB is terribly slow with complex scans.

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The Epson 2450 has an optical resolution of 2400x4800 (better then that pacific image scanner) and does a SWEET job of scanning negatives. You can put two 35mm strips into the holder, or use one of the other included holders for a variety of different sized negatives (like large format). Instead of purchasing TWO scanners, get the 2450, which DOES have FireWire, the integrated transparency adapter and can scan regular images (reflective) like there is no tomorrow. Epson also has a link to allow you to scan right in PhotoShop 7 (under OS X, via FireWire) or from the scan to file application (also allows you to use the FireWire interface).

At $399, it cannot be beat. Besides the fact that it will also take up less desk space then two scanners.

I went and checked out that Epson, Alpha, its not a bad little scanner for all that it does. But on the Epson website it doesn't say anything about OSX - have you got yours running on OSX?

I've got the UMAX Astra 1220 and a Nikon LS2000 hooked up to my machines (fast SCSI, not USB) so its not that bad - but I'm probably going to be looking for a firewire for my next one. I'd like to see the quality fo the Epson, though, it would save me a bundle if it did good enough quality.

D

Originally posted by dukestreet
I went and checked out that Epson, Alpha, its not a bad little scanner for all that it does. But on the Epson website it doesn't say anything about OSX - have you got yours running on OSX?

I've got the UMAX Astra 1220 and a Nikon LS2000 hooked up to my machines (fast SCSI, not USB) so its not that bad - but I'm probably going to be looking for a firewire for my next one. I'd like to see the quality fo the Epson, though, it would save me a bundle if it did good enough quality.

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Yo, dukester... Check out this url for the OS X native software for the Epson scanner... They might be 'trial' versions, but I have tried them, and they work. You know how picky I am about software too...

If you have PS7, scan from there, if not, then use the Scan To File application and then just pull it into the image editing app of your choice to crop and such.

Great, but I'm still curious to see how well it does compared to my Nikon - its great for film negatives and slides - but even so, its still damn slow. How many slides can you scan at once?

D

Originally posted by dukestreet
Great, but I'm still curious to see how well it does compared to my Nikon - its great for film negatives and slides - but even so, its still damn slow. How many slides can you scan at once?

D

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With the scan to file application, I can do two strips of 35mm at a shot. I've never timed the scan, since the time will be determined by what the final size and resolution will be. I do remember scanning some images off the glass (reflective) and it was pretty damn fast... The quality was excellent too (the print looked better then the original).

Another bonus with the Epson scanner is that the transparency adapter allows you to scan up to a 4x9 trans. (I believe that is the size). That opens up an entire range of potential sources for images. Where most negative scanners (even close to the price of the Epson) scan only 35mm negatives and slides.

I checked when I was looking for a scanner (last year) and the Epson had the best resolution and FireWire in it's price range. All the other FireWire scanners were at least a few hundred dollars more, and even then the resolution wasn't as high.

Well, it really sounds like a great all round scanner. I checked cnet for the best price and Amazon had the lowest, but its back ordered.

http://shopper.cnet.com/shopping/re...l?fl=0&tag=st.sh.11895-311-7312866.sort.price

How long has this scanner been out? Will a newer/better/cheaper one come out soon? I'm probably not going to buy a new scanner until I get my new machine next year, so chances are there will be an upgrade by then.

D

JUST DON'T GET A UMAX

I picked mine up late last year (around xmas time) and it was fresh to the shelves at that time. I was a bit surprised to find it at [in]CompUSA of all places too.

I wouldn't expect anything new to come out until at least later this year. One thing you can do, is call Epson's pre-sales support phone number (toll free I believe) and find out if they have a new scanner in the works, and a time frame for when it is coming out.

They have great people for support, both pre and post sales.

Originally posted by whfsdude
JUST DON'T GET A UMAX

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Yeah, I think unless you buy one of their high-priced professional flatbeds, you won't get any decent drivers from them.