When I was printing optical/chemical color prints before the last year my
645 16X20s were strikingly superior ot 35mm at that size. Now I scan 35 on a
Nikon4000 to 67Mb files but I scan 645 on a 1640 SU Epson flatbed. The 27Mb
files I get on the 1640 are inferior to the 67Mb files from 35mm even
accounting for the difference in negative sizes. The only option for getting
back that former "Medium Format Advantage" is drum scans at 80 dollars each.
They are truely stunning, but too expensive for most of my uses. IMO, what
is needed to save 645 and other MF sizes is an affordable MF scanner that
will output files good for 300 dpi at 16X20 and 20X24, at least. Epson is
rumored to have a 3200 flatbed in the wings now.
Bill Lawlor
