Opinions for Print/Slide Scanner

[pc_guy]

Hi everybody, I need some advice on which scanner to buy.

I have a bunch of old family pictures dating back 60 years, I also have boxes full of slides/transparencies.

I wanted to find out which scanners are good, especially from people that actually own scanners. I don't trust the over-hyped specs that manufacturers give, I prefer hearing the results from people that have experience using the scanner.

The scanner has to have some kind of transparency backlight and holder to scan all my slides. The all-in-one Lexmark unit I use now is complete garbage, while my old Microtek doesn't have enough dpi resolution for scanning small prints or slides.

I'm not looking to break the bank either, $100-$150
I also don't need ultra-high resolution, just enough to make decent prints from all the transparencies, they are slowly starting to deteriorate.

Please help, before its to late. The color on my slides is fading as I write this!

EDIT:
Been looking at:
this and this
scanner, the Epson looks good.

[gvblake22]

Looks like the Canon has better DPI and is in stock (compared only to that other Epson you linked to). I really don't know much about scanners, so that's about all the help I can be, sorry.

[pc_guy]

Thanks,
Stock availability at NewEgg isn't a huge concern, I will have to buy from a different source anyway, I live in Canada.

The Epson is around $160 Can. The Canon will probably be $200+
I would go with the Epson, but the slide loading mechanism looks funny, don't know if it's gonna work.

[screwballl]

based on those 2 options, I would say the Canon would be the better way to go. Canon knows photography and from other reviews they seem to have persuaded the manufacturer to do this their way and turned out very nice. The specs all seem to be worthy of the money versus the Epson just seems a bit.... lacking. This higher resolution and photography background of Canon makes that the better deal all all things considered.
I myself have a flatbed ViewSonic 1280p (USB 1.0 meaning around 5 years old) scanner that still works very nicely. I used to scan pictures into the computer and keep a digital copy of them but theres so many that I stopped. Now it is pretty much just for odds and ends... this is a tough scanner too, has been dropped and banged all over by cats and daughter and still works beautifully. Previous one died after 2 months of this abuse.

[pc_guy]

I found the 8400F model instead if the 8600F for only $200Can. - futureshop

Will probably pick this one up.

[offRoadguy]

If you want to know about scanners for photos you may want to visit the popularphotography forums. They do a lot with photos and probably would be a good resource.

[pc_guy]

What I'm also not sure about is the software drives that comes with non-microtek scanners. My 8 year old Microtek's driver is superior that the ones I've seen even on recent scanners made by other manufacturers.

Thanks for the reminder, I will check out PopPhoto forums for more info.

[screwballl]

I use Photoshop and import scans directly without the extra software from the vendor.

[pc_guy]

Originally Posted by screwballl

I use Photoshop and import scans directly without the extra software from the vendor.

I like to Microtek software because it's like a mini-photoshop with all the advanced functions for color correcting/enhancing before the actual scan, saves me some time having to do it in PS.

I'm probably going to go with a Canon, I've become a Canon fan recently.

[JCLW]

I have a 8400F and am currently working through my grandparent's ~2,600 2-1/4" slides. Since Canon only includes the basic holders I had to make a custom slide holder (out of thick cardboard) but that was easy enough.

This is really the first time I've really pushed the scanner and all-in-all I'm pretty happy with the scans. I'm using Irfanview as a front end (IrfanView - free) for batch scanning. Each slide is scanned individually - one slide takes about 10mins total (load slide, preview, crop slide frame, zoom, image adjustments, and two pass (FARE) final scan @1200dpi).

I havn't tried 35mm yet, but they're probably faster because you can load six at a time (and they are smaller).

I found the Green likes to fade out of the Kodak slides. A lot more then the Ansco slides.

Good luck with yours!