> Hello. > > This might be slightly off-topic, but it does include Canon equipment so > here is my question. I am currently using an EOS 3 and am looking to > purchase a new computer setup. I would like to get a setup which will > allow me to scan my negatives in to the computer. I am not ready to go > completely digital yet. I was just wondering what setup/equipment people > use and if many people actually do this? > > Does anyone use any particular system configuration or equipment (how are > Canon scanners) that has suited them well for photo editing, scanning and > storage? > > Sorry if this is a stretch on the topic, but if it is and you want to > respond off-list that is fine also. > > Thanks. > > Mike
Hi Mike, A stretch no doubt, but hey I'll stick my neck out as usual! Turkey day is over so I'm sort of safe. :^) What you need to ask yourself is the same as when you want to buy EOS gear, how will I be using the resulting pictures? If you want to send small, moderate quality images to friends and family in email or post them to a website, a simple, lower cost film or film/small print scanner and any recent PC (2 years or newer), computer with say 128MB of RAM may be a good choice. The photo editing program you choose and the maximum scanner file size will have a large influence in how much RAM you will need to successfully operate the program with minimal slow down but this is a good number to start with for Win98 and higher. A good rule of thumb is to use the largest size file that you will be manipulating in memory and multiply by 4-5 to have a comfortable amount of RAM for the photo editor program. If on the other hand you want to submit the resulting images for publication or for high quality output to say an Iris, LightJet or Fujix device you'll need at least a 4000ppi (optical, with at least 12bit color), scanner to allow reasonably sized files when cropping and to get as much image out of the shadows or highlights as you can. Using the same RAM ROT you'll need at least 256MB of RAM for this scanner and actually you may want much more if you will be doing much retouching and have redo turned on deep or scaling up the image files in size. Also worth knowing is that faster processors are better, more memory is better yet (up to a point), and faster hard disc and hard disc channels are best! A single ATA100 hard disc is MUCH slower in real applications than a single 40/MBs SCSI hard disc system. Access time or low latency is king, throughput is secondary except for non linear video editing systems. Most of the time you spend waiting for the system will be caused by disc I/O and RAM access, not processor speed. For some good information here are some good links in no particular order: http://www.scantips.com/ http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.html http://photographerusa.com/screencheck/index.html http://www.cix.co.uk/~tsphoto/tech/filmscan/menu.htm http://www.users.qwest.net/~rnclark/scandetail.htm#printpixels http://www.rgbnet.co.uk/ilyons/reviews.htm http://www.hamrick.com/ http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/contents.html There is also a good scanner mailing list, same caliber as the EOS list, O.K. maybe not. 8^) http://www.leben.com/lists/scan/ Hope this helps! Regards, Chip Louie * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
