> Does anybody have any suggestions or comments on this or any other > slide scanners? It all depends on what you plan to do with the scanner output:
1) I want to post my shots on the web. In this case, buy the cheapest scanner you can find. I think either the Microtek or Minolta would be just fine, and those can be had for well under $1K. Let's face it -- it doesn't take much to produce a web quality image -- why waste extra money if you don't need to? Web publication is probably the only legitimate use of these sorts of slide scanners. 2) I want to print my shots in a newsletter. You can probably get by with the same scanner as above, since you generally don't need a super high quality image for things like newsletters. If you want to spend the extra money, you might consider one of the Polaroid SprintScans or one of the Nikon CoolScans, but that probably isn't necessary. 3) I want to print my shots in National Geographic You're screwed. None of the CCD or LED slide scanners out there (including the very expensive Leaf35) are capable of producing images suitable for this level of use. For these applications, you really DO need a PMT drum scanner, no matter what the morons at Nikon or Polaroid say. Of course, IF you have about $35K laying around, you can buy one, but you also need some degree of skill to operate it. 4) I have no real application, but just want to play Buy whatever you feel you can afford. Slide scanners ARE great fun to play with, but when it comes right down to it, they are really nothing more than expensive toys at this point. Sure, you CAN publish images scanned with these things, IF you do a hell of a lot of clean up in Photoshop, AND you are printing them in a half-assed publication. Surprisingly, resolution is NOT the real problem here; capturing adequate image density IS. You can always spot a bad scan from a mile away because it has NO detail in either the highlights or shadows. Then again, maybe I'm being overly demanding here. Seems to me most (not all) railfan oriented publications have gone to hell anyway, so half-assed image quality is probably well above what most of them can produce. I best drop this topic before I ramble on for hours... I have owned both the Nikon LS10 Coolscan (which I hated), and the Polaroid SprintScan 35 Plus (which I hate to a much lesser degree). I totally agree with Dave that the Nikon name alone is a good enough reason to stay away from that scanner, but if you go into the deal knowing full well there is no such thing as customer service or support, then perhaps you will be happy. Polaroid customer service is better, but is still not what I would call great. I cannot speak of other scanners, as I have not owned them. I WILL caution you to listen to none of the lies that are advertised about any of these scanners -- remember, the goal of a salesman is to sell something, NOT to tell the truth about it -- it's YOUR money, and your decision. Good luck: Grumpy Jim Gilley [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.eesoft.com/rr --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
