Hi James, Before you decide, consider whether you will always be using the
entire area of your 35mm negatives. I do a lot of song bird photography and
song birds are quite small and shy. As a consequence, in order to get an
image that takes up a significant portion of my final print, I'm often using
only a portion of the 35mm frame. My prints range in size from not quite
7X10 up to 12X18. For a 11X14 print, I'd like to start with a file size of
at least 30 MB. For me, 2900 dpi would be a significant handicap. I have a
SS 4000 which I dearly love. I clean my slides well before scanning and I
work in a low dust enviroment so I don't really miss ICE. I have no direct
experience with Genuine Fractals but for modest file enlargements, I have
read a number of posts on this or another list (I don't recall where)
compareing GF to Bicubic interpolation in Phototshop which I use all the
time. That said, I'd really like to have a copy of Genuine Fractals. There
used to be a trial version for down load on the net but I heard that Alta
Mira (sp?) sold GF to Corel.
I'm a Canon camera fan but in scanners, I'd go with Polaroid. I'm sure
you'll get some advice to the contrary. Seems many on this list either love
or hate one make or another. Good luck with your choice. For an impartial
statement on Quality, you might want to check how many refurbished units are
available on E-Bay for each brand.
Regards, Ron Carlson
----- Original Message -----
From: <BeckettJB@aol.com>
To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 5:04 PM
Subject: filmscanners: 35mm filmscanner choice
> [apologies if this already posted]
>
> I have been a long time list lurker and will shortly take the plunge
for
> a 35mm scanner. I have read most of the online reviews as well as list
> traffic on the scanners which I think would meet my needs. (The best I can
> buy for around $1,000, thus eliminating the Nikon 4000 dpi from the
running)
> It seems my choices are
>
> the Nikon IV ED, Polaroid SS 40000 or the Canon FS4000,
>
> The Polaroid scanner offers much for the money, but no FARE or ICE, yet
good
> software, ie Silverfast. (Polaroid's current financial situation certainly
> makes me a bit nervous as well)
> I have read several negative comments on sharpness about the new Canon
> scanner yet read a reasonably positive review on Imaging Resources (Dated
> 6/27/01) which seem to address the sharpness issue.
> ()
>
> Last but not least the new "low end" nikon IV ED is tempting with ICE3 but
> only 2900 dpi. Will the decreased resolution of the Nikon be offset by the
> Genuine Fractals software??? Will it make a difference in the quality of
the
> final output (see below)
>
> I plan to use the scanner to produce 11 x 14 quadtone prints via
piezography
> from 35mm negatives, both color and black and white. (as well as maybe
some
> color work)
>
> Would greatly appreciate input from owners of any of the above scanners
>
> Thanks,
> James Beckett
>
