Photo/Negative Scanners

[SherryMad90]

I am planning a community Photo Meet where I will be scanning lots of old BW photos and negatives, perhaps some slides. I really could use some help on choosing the right scanner. Any info at all is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[usayit]

You should probably first mention budget. Buying a scanner is like buying a camera, you get what you pay for.

Since you require both photos and negatives, a flatbed is probably going to be one of your few options (assuming you buy a single unit). There have been two recent threads on this topic. Both of which I recommended looking into the Epson V700 (or V750) or the less expensive V500:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...oducts-news-reviews/197124-photo-scanner.html

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/digital-discussion-q/62119-epson-v700-experiences.html

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...s-news-reviews/197281-scan-old-negatives.html

 

[Dwig]

You should probably first mention budget. Buying a scanner is like buying a camera, you get what you pay for.

Since you require both photos and negatives, a flatbed is probably going to be one of your few options (assuming you buy a single unit). There have been two recent threads on this topic. Both of which I recommended looking into the Epson V700 (or V750) or the less expensive V500:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...oducts-news-reviews/197124-photo-scanner.html

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/digital-discussion-q/62119-epson-v700-experiences.html

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...s-news-reviews/197281-scan-old-negatives.html

Seconded, all points. I personally own and use a v700 and recommend it as an excellent film scanner and superb print scanner.

While some of the difference between the v700/750 and v500 (and newer v600) has to do with dynamic range (Dmax), a good bit of the cost difference is the result of the difference in the maximum area they can scan when scanning film. This means both the maximum film size (8x10 for v700/750 and 120 roll film for the v500/600) and the size of the largest batch it can handle at once (4 strips of 6 frame 35mm, 24 images total, for the v700/750 and 2 strips, 12 images, for the v500/600). All four have the same maximum for prints.

 

[SherryMad90]

Thanks for the advice! The V500/600 sounds perfect!