Thank you for the replies on the "how do I make fast, decent low res scans"
question I posted yesterday!
Based on the replies, I've done some more research, and have accumulated the
following information. I would like share it; I hope it will be useful to
one or more of you.
For making fast, decent low res scans, the Kodak 3570 Plus seems like a
dream. From Q&A on the Kodak site:
"What are typical scan times for scanning an image? For 1,000 dpi (50%
resolution), less than 10 seconds. For 2,000 dpi (full resolution), less
than 30 seconds."
<
PlusQandA.jhtml>
This is nice. The problem is that the best price I've found so far in the
US is $8200 <>. I guess this is
what Tony Sleep meant when he said these scanners cost as much as a
reasonable car.
In addition to the fact that the Kodak machine is very expensive, the
maximum resolution is disappointing, given how much it costs and taking into
account the other less expensive scanners on the market. It seems difficult
for me to understand why so much money doesn't buy you at least the same
resolution you can get with the Polaroid Sprintscan 4000 or the Nikon
LS-4000.
In any case, in terms of scanners that are lower in price, I was very
excited by Jerry Oostrom's post on the Acer Scanwit 2740S.
Jerry wrote that:
> if you ever start thinking about filmscanners and don't want to spend too
> much money initially, you should know that although 'Auto-levels' was said
> to be a Photoshop thing, the Acer Scanwit software called Miraphoto also has
> such a setting (called Auto-density). The Acer scans quite fast using lower
> dpi settings (e.g. 675dpi)...
The very high speed of the lower res scans is something I saw mention of
again from a review of the Acer 2740S at cnet.com:
"...I scan mostly for web and the proposed 675 ppi, well below the maximum
power available, is more than anyone will ever need for digital/web
purposes. Scans are blazing fast at this resolution, something like 5
seconds."
Then I read a review of the Acer Scanwit 2720 (the lower priced version of
the 2740S) that was quite positive- the review is at:
<>
The best price I've seen so far for the Acer Scanwit 2740S in the US is $485
<>, and less for the
2720 (about $330, but the 2720 doesn't have ICE; also, I believe that the
2720 cannot be used with a Mac).
Jerry, is the 675 ppi scan on the Acer Scanwit 2740S REALLY done in under 10
seconds?
Are there any additional thoughts or leads for me to investigate on other
scanners out there that can make low res scans quickly? I am obsessed with
making fast low res scans.
Philippe
phil@nonstock.com
Nonstock Photography
