Re: Slide Scanner - Much Appreciated Advice ...

jgunning Wrote:
========================================
> ... Money no object, get a Nikon 5000 (35
> mm only), or better still an 8000 or 9000.
> They can do the 35mm plus all the 6x7 or
> any other medium format film ...

IIRC, I actually had an 8000 (or was it a 9000?) on order several years ago, but it turned out to have been recently discontinued and already out of stock.  So I ended up getting the CanoScan 9500, which Consumer Reports had rated sharpest of several scanners tested for high-end home / "serious amateur" use and which included holders for 6x7 cm slides & negs (a 'must' in my case) and even 4x5" film.

> ... Short of the Hasselblads or drum scans they
> are as good as it gets. After that, The Minolta
> Dimage scanners are supposed to be about as
> good, but I have zero experience with them ...
>
> ... eBay is the obvious place to look, and their
> guarantees if used carefully would help you steer
> around a problem with a seller. One thing to keep
> in mind. If you get what you want scanned and no
> longer need the scanner, sell it. The Nikon 9000's
> are selling for more than they cost new.   If I had
> to buy today, I would buy a Nikon, scan like crazy
> until I had the job done, then sell the scanner.


Thanks again, Jim -

First, once the replacement for my dead "graphics machine" is up and running, I'm going to re-re-scan a few 35 mm and 6x7 cm images using the V600 following the advice I've gleaned from Wayne's site.  Very, very few of my photos are both artistic and historic enough to rate super-hi-res archiving, so if the V600 does O-K then I'll send the few "gems" to DigMyPics or some similar hi-res service and do the rest myself.  If the V600 proves just too weak even for the vast majority of my collection, then I'll follow your much-appreciated eBay advice above.

- Russ