Scanner recommendations?

I think my Epson scanner has finally shot craps. I can't remember the specific model name/number, but it had adapters to scan negatives, slides & transparencies. I've probably had it for about 8 years (yeah, it's a dinosaur, kind of like our computer). It worked great until just recently.

Although I've now switched totally to digital, I'd still like to have a scanner to use for old slides I might want to convert to digital format, and for home use (magazines, newspaper articles, etc.). Does anyone have suggestions for something that's decent but doesn't cost an arm & a leg?

It depends on what you want. To maximize your 35mm slides, I would recommend a dedicated film scanner, such as the Minolta Dimage or Nikon. You should be able to pick up a used one for a song. If you want an all-in-one to do both reflective, you sacrifice quality on the film side. Flatbeds do not come close to dedicated scanners. If you want a flatbad, look at the Epson V700/750 lineup. They do a real nice job on 4x5 film, but the quality is marginal on small film.

If you were happy with the results from your first Epson scanner, then the Epson v500 should be just fine. This scanner has Digital ICE dust/scratch remover which I found invaluable for cleaning up all slides that I scanned without hours of cloning work.
$199 at Amazon, along with a whole slew of user reviews.

Nikon Coolscan V has Digital ICE and a lot more. It's done some great work for me, and it's easy to use.

David M. Cobb

If you are scanning 35mm only, then a dedicated 35mm film scanner will provide the best results by a fair margin. I can provide samples on my website if you would like to see the difference in clarity. I would recommend the later Nikon or Minolta scanners. In Nikon I would look for an LS-4000 or LS-50 (CoolscanV). These scanners have nearly identical specs. The most recent model is the LS-5000. All have been discontinued, but they really are the best tool at a reasonable price point. However they are also slower to operate than flatbeds.

If you are going scan medium format, then you need to make a decision between the much more expensive Nikon medium format scanners and the Epson or Microtek flatbeds. Again the dedicated scanner provides much higher resolution, at a cost of production speed. If I were going with a flatbed, I would buy epson since microtek's US market presence has been very flaky in the last couple years.

I bought my used LS-4000 for $300. Its been good to me so far. If you're looking for a flatbed, then the current Epson choices are the V500 or V700/V750. The later is a better scanner and the only choice if you want to scan large format, but the cheapest I've seen them is in the $400 range for a V700 refurb.

Another vote for the Nikon Coolscan 4000, or the more recent model 5000. One caution: if you have an elderly computer that won't support modern operating systems, check carefully that there's still a driver for what you are using. Nikon doesn't support ah ... elderly ... systems.

Nikon Coolscan V.

In the past I've used both a (borrowed) Nikon Coolscan dedicated 35mm scanner and the Epson Perfection 3200 which I bought. I know I won't make any points with the Nikon devotees here but the Epson won hands down in my book. I ended up trashing the Nikon scans and redoing them with the Epson. OTOH that was 5 years ago, dinosaur era along with your computer, and things may be different today. Th Epson still works though and if I were in the market for another scanner I'd buy the latest version of it from Epson. That's my two cents worth.

Angela:

The slide copying problem is one which besets all of us from the old days!!!

The Nikon offered solution is nice and expensive. One problem they don't talk about is that the slides get jammed in the automatic feeders because some corners are round and some slides are warped!!

Here is a cheap solution you can live with:

http://secure.serverlab.net/shop/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=T00107&Category_Code=F2D

I've been really happy with the Epson V750 Pro. Regardless of which scanner you buy you should definitely consider SilverFast software to run it. The scanner software can make all the difference.