Scanner advice

Hi All, looking to shoot some 35 mm film again and was just considering my workflow would be to Dev film myself (B&W) and then scan into my iMac . I currently have an Epson 2450 flatbed scanner that has a transparency head for film scanning but was considering wether it would be worth getting a film scanner if I could pick one up at a reasonable price. I have seen some really cheap looking ones but am sceptical as to what the IQ would be like, thanks.

Hey there

Do you feel like the 2450 lets you down? I did a quick scan of flickr for Epson 2450 and there are some OK looking scans. Do you want the files for printing or screen?

If I were you, I'd keep using the 2450 and see how you like it. I bought one of those cheap 35mm scanners and used it once. So bad. Now I digitise my negs on a DSLR/macro lens/lightbox type arrangement. It's not as good as a decent scanner but it's better than that awful thing I bought.

If you want to buy something new, consider what formats you're likely to need. 35mm is cool but a little low res for me so I shoot 120 now, and who knows what else in the future. So a decent flatbed is on my wishlist. I've seen some really good results that way.

Good luck

A good film scanner will beat any flatbed hand down. Dmax will probably be higher, the film if it isnt held flat, will have an autofocus facility andthe colour reproduction is as good as it gets. I have a Nikon LS5 with a max resolution of 4000dpi and a dmax of 4.2.

The downside is, unless you can master 3rd party software, Silverfast etc, (not always straightforward to load.) or you have a computer running the Windows XP operating system. you are in difficulties. I run mine on a cheap 2nd hand laptop with XP save onto a flash drive and transfer to my main computer with Adobe CC. You can also scan with NEF - Nikon's RAW file which can give far more detail than say Jpg or TIFF.

The superb Digital ICE cubed facility is in my mind unsurpassed in removing unwanted dust, scatches etc. That alone is worth keeping it running.

A good film scanner will beat any flatbed hand down. Dmax will probably be higher, the film if it isnt held flat, will have an autofocus facility andthe colour reproduction is as good as it gets. I have a Nikon LS5 with a max resolution of 4000dpi and a dmax of 4.2.

The downside is, unless you can master 3rd party software, Silverfast etc, (not always straightforward to load.) or you have a computer running the Windows XP operating system. you are in difficulties. I run mine on a cheap 2nd hand laptop with XP save onto a flash drive and transfer to my main computer with Adobe CC. You can also scan with NEF - Nikon's RAW file which can give far more detail than say Jpg or TIFF.

The superb Digital ICE cubed facility is in my mind unsurpassed in removing unwanted dust, scatches etc. That alone is worth keeping it running.

The 2450 is marginal for a flatbed film scanner. It was one of the first and isn't as good as later models. If you are only scanning 35 mm, your best investment would be to buy a dedicated 35 mm scanner. You will see a noticeable improvement in resolution.

Doug

Thanks of all your comments all valid points and have given me some food for thought. I will shoot a couple of rolls and get them scanned professionally and then see how that compares with my scans using the 2450 hopefully that will give me and indication as to which way forward to deal with workflow, thanks again. I will be reading this Forum with great interest.