I'd go with the higher end flatbed scanner or an older film scanner.
Scanning film is too much work and too time consuming to invest the
effort in a system that would not produce the best results.
Regarding the dedicated film scanner - Earlier this year I bought a
Coolscan 8000 for around twice the price of an Epson 700. I'm not sure
if that was the right decision. Nikon Scan is like lots of software from
~10 years ago - it is quirky and annoying to work with. The alternative
- Vuescan - has an unfathomable interface, but is more stable. And my
used scanner, even though it had a CLA before I bought it, only lasted
about 1,000 scans (mostly medium format) before it developed a problem
and had to go back to Nikon for repair. I often wonder if the Epson 700
would have been a better way to go, but the quality from the Nikon is
outstanding - when it is working.
I have had an Epson 3200 and Epson V500. The 3200 was quite remarkable
with medium format film, but fell short in comparisons with a dedicated
scanner (Canon Canonscan FS-4000) for 35mm. It ultimately got a stuck
pixel. The v500 is not as good as the 3200 but made acceptable scans
from MF negatives. It was not too good with slide film (which I hardly
ever shoot) and the scans needed a lot of clean up - some parts of the
scan would be soft, I assume from film curl.
In any event - I would not invest in a lower end scanner, unless you are
just scanning for the web. The V700 would probably be a good choice,
IMO. Getting into an older, used, film scanner can be iffy.
- Mark C
On 10/14/2011 8:49 PM, Paul Stenquist wrote:
I don't scan film often, but I have hundreds of thousands of frames I've never
printed, and I occasionally need to scan something. (I still have a darkroom,
but have little time for that and definitely don't want to fool around with
color printing.). Some reviews say the Epson 700 flatbed is at least as good as
older Nikon film scanners. Others say the Epson 600, at less than half the
price of the 700, is almost its equal. I'm leaning toward the 700. What say you?
Paul
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