A
35mm film scanner is useful even if you already have a flatbed scanner.
With
so many 35mm and 4x5 slide scanners to chose from, it helps to have
some informative reviews. Here are links to tests, product comparisons,
computer hardware, peripherals, flatbed scanners, drum scanners,
and scanner software.
When
seeking information on what slide scanner is best for home use,
SOHO, desktop publishing, be sure the scanner you are considering
works with SilverFast
scanning software from LaserSoft Imaging. In most cases
do not expect this software will be included with the scanner; in
most cases you have to order it separately. Don't let the price
stop you because this software is well worth its purchase price,
www.silverfast.com.
If
you need prepress quality scanner software, our favorite is
the scanner software for the Creo
EverSmart series of scanners, the EverSmart Jazz, Jazz+, Pro
II and Supreme. I especially like how the Creo can take a 35mm slide
and enlarge
it to 42 x 36 inches with plenty of dpi to spare. The Creo
Eversmart Supreme scanner is so good that it could enlarge
the 35mm slide further, but my wide format printer can only go to
42 x 36 inches. As soon as I get a 54" or 60" printer
I will use the Scitex scanner to make an enlargement to that size.
Review
of the Leaf 35mm slide scanner and Leaf 4x5 transparency
scanners: (we can save you the trouble of linking. The Leaf
slide scanners are technology of previous generations, are long
ago obsolete, and if they were as quirky as the Leaf Lumina scanning
camera it would be hard to recommend them no matter what). The Leaf
4x5, however, was technologically far ahead of its day (mid 1990's).
Too bad it got killed off when Scitex gobbled up Leaf.
Review
of the
Leaf Lumina in 100 words or less: avoid it. We tried it
out; had difficulty getting it set up. The lens was a cheap off-brand.
The balance was overweighed to the front so the scanner always tipped
over. It was already years old technology when we first tried it.
Conclusion: no pros, all cons.
Other reviews are available now on our new site www.flatbed-scanner-reviews.org |
Although
many people have suggested this mask looks as though it came
from New Guinea or other primitive island or remote jungle
area, it is actually from Guatemala, probably the Highlands.
Although the visage is certainly not "Classic Maya"
it is nonetheless from a culture related to the Maya.
Unique
ceramic mask, Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquin.
6x6 cm transparency scanned on a Kodak large format slide
scanner courtesy of the National Museum of Ethnology,
Osaka, Japan.
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Leaf
scanning backs are the non plus ultra of high-end professional photography
and the company that makes them (Creo) stands for the ultimate high-end.
But this again is all a reputation made several years ago before
the onslaught of more aggressive midrange and even low-end companies.
Our
test staff disliked the original model of the Polaroid
4x5 film scanner so thoroughly that they refused to use it.
Now there is a real test, equipment in an actual digital imaging
office. No commercial test lab can duplicate the daily reality in
a photo studio or in a desktop publishing office. Polaroid has since
come out with a newer model, but in the meantime Imacon has produced
a top-of-the-line 4x5 scanner so why try a flawed solution. The
fact that Polaroid itself had to fix the original model sort of
suggests our reaction to the original model was proper.
The
Imacon, now here is a product we like for scanning 35mm slides.
But if you need
to scan hundreds, or thousands of 35mm slides, then you need
the Creo
EverSmart flatbed
scanner
or Fuji
C-550 Lanovia from Fujifilm Electronic Imaging.
No
sacred cows in the scanning world. We review as we find the products.
If the product is good it will prove itself relatively quickly.
We also attend leading international trade shows, in Germany (Photokina
and CeBIT) as well as across the USA (from Orlando in the
East to Long Beach-Los Angeles in the West).
All
kinds of new reviews of midrange and high-end scanners are
in the works, indeed this week we are registering an entirely new
additional web site dedicated to professional scanners for business,
graphics design, museums, photographers, and other sophisticated
end users. Check out www.flatbed-scanner-review.org
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Showing
actual
3-D objects (rabbits) and then showing the resulting scan.
Scanning
40
35mm slides all at once.
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Comparing
a 3-D object scanned with a 1200 dpi scanner and the Fuji 5000
dpi scanner. |
The
Fuji is
large enough to scan an object up to 45 cm long. Here we
show how this scanner handles a large 3-D object, a carved wooden
effigy of a jaguar. |
| Enlargement
of a scan of a native Mexican handicraft to reveal the full
detail in depth of focus that the Fuji C-550 Lanovia can
achieve (horse). |
Two
especially beautiful scans done with the Fuji scanner, on the
bottom
of this page of all the internal links to this site. |
Scans
of architectural history
(Missouri Ozarks) done with Fuji scanner. Bottom of the
page. |
| Scanning
4x5 chromes with the Fuji results in ability to enlarge
small details to poster size (jade). |
General
discussion of the Fuji Lanovia flatbed scanner. |
Mention
of the drum scanners which Fujifilm also makes. |
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Now being prepared, FLAAR reports by the Senior Review Editor
on flatbed scanners for prepress, photo archives, and museums.
Additional reports evaluate what scanner(s) are best for digitizing
your slides and photos for digital printing, especially fine
art giclee.
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FLAAR Premium Report - Series on Scanners |
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FLAAR now has a great variety of reports, where you can find practical information,
help and tips about which you need.
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