Flatbed scanner for scanning newbie?

[Scott Mitchell]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get myself a scanner for Christmas but finding myself a
bit lost in the many dozens of different models that seem to be available
these days.

I've used HP scanners in the past at various workplaces, but with no real
idea what I was doing the results have been pretty uniformly bad, so I
definitely count myself as a newbie at this.

The scanner will mostly be used for printed material from books, newspapers,
magazine and probably also some prints for which no negatives exist (these
would be for screen/web page display and maybe printing at ~original size).
Long-term I'd like to get a real film scanner and archive 25+ years of
negatives, so something that could scan transparencies would be useful to
get some experience at this, even if the quality isn't the best.

Looking to spend somewhere in the region of £100 (I'm in the UK), although
anything up to £150ish is not a problem if it will do the job.

My research so far has me leaning towards the Epson Perfection 2480/2580 or
maybe the 3170, on the basis of mostly good reviews. I've also heard good
things about Canon from people with slightly older models... maybe a
current one like the CanoScan 3200F or 4200F would be a good bet? Are
there other brands I should be looking at, or avoiding?

I know it's a pretty vague and open-ended question, but any advice or
suggestions will be appreciated!

Regards,

Scott

 

[James Silverton]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get myself a scanner for Christmas but finding
myself a
bit lost in the many dozens of different models that seem to be
available
these days.

I've used HP scanners in the past at various workplaces, but with no
real
idea what I was doing the results have been pretty uniformly bad, so
I
definitely count myself as a newbie at this.

The scanner will mostly be used for printed material from books,
newspapers,
magazine and probably also some prints for which no negatives exist
(these
would be for screen/web page display and maybe printing at ~original
size).
Long-term I'd like to get a real film scanner and archive 25+ years
of
negatives, so something that could scan transparencies would be
useful to
get some experience at this, even if the quality isn't the best.

Looking to spend somewhere in the region of £100 (I'm in the UK),
although
anything up to £150ish is not a problem if it will do the job.

My research so far has me leaning towards the Epson Perfection
2480/2580 or
maybe the 3170, on the basis of mostly good reviews. I've also
heard good
things about Canon from people with slightly older models... maybe a
current one like the CanoScan 3200F or 4200F would be a good bet?
Are
there other brands I should be looking at, or avoiding?

I know it's a pretty vague and open-ended question, but any advice
or
suggestions will be appreciated!

I'm not sure what is the current equivalent of my Canon D1250 but I
think I recently saw something like it for not much more than $100
(USD). It has a rather useful set of programmable buttons that I like
when I am using it simply as a copier and it came with quite extensive
set of programs. I don't know what it would cost in the UK with
"value-added" taxes and whatever price fixing they get away with.
Mine has an attachment for 35mm slides and negatives. I would not want
to use it for large numbers but I found the results to be pretty
satisfactory for negatives enlarging to about 8x10.

 

[Scott Mitchell]

I'm not sure what is the current equivalent of my Canon D1250 but I
think I recently saw something like it for not much more than $100
(USD). It has a rather useful set of programmable buttons that I like
when I am using it simply as a copier and it came with quite extensive
set of programs. I don't know what it would cost in the UK with
"value-added" taxes and whatever price fixing they get away with.
Mine has an attachment for 35mm slides and negatives. I would not want
to use it for large numbers but I found the results to be pretty
satisfactory for negatives enlarging to about 8x10.

Something that costs you $100 usually goes for around £100 over here... this
is why we always come back from the US with more suitcases than we left
with

Thanks for the info. I guess the bundled software is something I should
take into account too.

Cheers,

Scott

 

[Charlie]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get myself a scanner for Christmas but finding myself a
bit lost in the many dozens of different models that seem to be available
these days.

I've used HP scanners in the past at various workplaces, but with no real
idea what I was doing the results have been pretty uniformly bad, so I
definitely count myself as a newbie at this.

The scanner will mostly be used for printed material from books, newspapers,
magazine and probably also some prints for which no negatives exist (these
would be for screen/web page display and maybe printing at ~original size).
Long-term I'd like to get a real film scanner and archive 25+ years of
negatives, so something that could scan transparencies would be useful to
get some experience at this, even if the quality isn't the best.

Looking to spend somewhere in the region of £100 (I'm in the UK), although
anything up to £150ish is not a problem if it will do the job.

My research so far has me leaning towards the Epson Perfection 2480/2580 or
maybe the 3170, on the basis of mostly good reviews. I've also heard good
things about Canon from people with slightly older models... maybe a
current one like the CanoScan 3200F or 4200F would be a good bet? Are
there other brands I should be looking at, or avoiding?

I know it's a pretty vague and open-ended question, but any advice or
suggestions will be appreciated!

Regards,

Scott

I have the Epson 3170, and it's fine for everything but 35mm negatives
and slides. But since you intend to get a real 35mm film scanner
later.... I'd say something like the 3170 would be a great choice.

 

[Dorothy Bradbury]

CanoScan 3200F
o Very fast
o Mains powered
o USB 2.0 High Speed
o Can scan film if needed
o Good quality

Buy the 3200F and have quite a bit of change from £100 in fact.

I've had 5 scanners, my favourite except for a hugely expensive
Arcus Agfa was a CanoScan LIDE 20 as it did so well for so little.
For speed I now use a CanoScan 3200F - very quick, good quality.

Works reliably under XP/XP-Pro (plug-n-go & actually works).

I looked at HP & Epson, but decided on CanoScan simply due to
their plug-n-go reliability under XP/XP-Pro. Never had a problem.

If you go for a higher model, check the specs for what more you
get - the 3200F is both quick & good quality, film unit is ok too.
When you go for a dedicated film scanner, check speed carefully.

 

[Scott Mitchell]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get myself a scanner for Christmas but finding myself a
bit lost in the many dozens of different models that seem to be available
these days.

Thanks all for the useful replies. Just one more question before I go off
and buy something...

I've been looking at the CanoScan 5200F which seems to be quite widely
available just under my £100 price point. This model includes 'FARE Level
2' - I believe this is Canon's version of 'Digital ICE' dust/scratch
removal? Seems like quite a good deal.

Given that the main use for this scanner won't be film/slides, is there any
advantage to having FARE - does it do the same magic on scanned prints?

I think it's either this or a Perfection 2580 - slightly cheaper, but higher
resolution, good reviews and what looks like a better software bundle.

Regards,

Scott