affordable scanner for 4x5 negs?

[viridari]

Howdy all. I've been very pleased with results of my V500 flatbed scanner, working primarily with 120 roll film. However I just scored my first 4x5 camera (Speed Graphic) on the big auction site & realize I'm going to have to retool a bit to handle those big negatives.

What's most comparable to a V500 that works well with 4x5 negatives? I already have Vuescan software so I don't really care what software comes with the scanner. More interested in the hardware.

 

[pellicle]

Epson 4870, 4990 or of course V700

quite good for scans up to x5 enlargement and acceptable to x7

overview

detail section:

I have a nice 70cm wide print of this above my desk at the moment

 

[cooltouch]

I haven't had the chance yet to use my new (for me) Epson 4990 with 4x5, but it sure does work nice with 35mm and medium format. They tend to appear on eBay only occasionally, so I did a nationwide (USA) search of Craigslist, and located mine in Chicago (I live in Houston). Paid $200 for it, which seems to be market value for that scanner at this time.

Best,
Michael

 

[mrladewig]

4870, 4990, V700 or V750 are the Epson choices. There were some Microtek options, but they've exited the market. I have a 4990 purchased as a refurb from Epson's clearance center. All of them come with some version of silverfast, either SE or Ai depending on which you purchase and EpsonScan. Originally I liked silverfast, but have come to prefer EpsonScan. I haven't felt compelled to use vuescan, but may try it sometime.

 

[cooltouch]

I too prefer Epson Scan. I bought my 4990 used, and it didn't come with the software, so I was dependent upon Epson's offerings, which didn't include Silverfast. However, I have tried the demo version of Silverfast, and honestly didn't care for it. The interface is not as intuitive to me as Epson Scan is. I've been using an earlier version, which came with my Epson 3170, and I'm comfortable with the interface. It does everything I need.