Advice sought on scanning b/w negatives

On 1 Mar 2006 04:13:37 -0800, wrote:


Are you sure they are "awful" ? That is a Max D 4
machine. Even at double density a good Max D 3 should
do for many negatives. BTW, those white backers I looked
at were every bit as white and bright as any
baryta I've seen. Dan


Dan, there's a place for conjecture and
speculation, and a place for actually
trying stuff out. I do both, of course,
but so far from you all I've seen is the
former.

The Epson 4990 is a flatbed/film scanner,
but only a fool with money to burn would
buy it to scan office documents.

It's not that the 4990 can't do the job
(it most certainly can) but that it would
be overkill. What you pay for in the 4990
is the ability to scan large-format
*transparencies,* up to 8x10". It has a
clever and unique lighting system (a moving
CCFL in the cover) for doing just that.

When scanning reflectives, that "moving
lamp in the cover" is left off, and a
white backing is inserted over the TPA
unit. IOW, it reverts to a completely
standard and typical flatbed scanner
configuration.

If one's goal was to scan reflectives
only, a $45 Canon Lide 24 would do the
job nicely.

I don't even pay that much mind to the
resolution or Dmax specs on the Epson.
They're hugely inflated, but for $400,
there's nothing remotely comparable from
any "serious" scanner manufacturer (say,
Scitex or Imacon or Nikon.)

With regard to "backers" and "baryta," I
haven't a clue as to what you're talking
about.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com