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From: Chris on 1 Mar 2010 18:47
After scanning several thousand slides - but with many more to go - my
faithful old Acer Scanwit 2720 has finally given up the ghost. So,
unless anyone knows of somewhere in the UK that might repair it (Benq
won't), I'm looking for a new 35mm slide scanner.

I was very fond of the Scanwit - it did all I needed: I could get
reasonable A3 prints from the scans, and even though the slide holder
only took four slides, it was motorised, which saved a great deal of
effort.

My budget probably ranges between the Epson V500 and V700. These seem
like the best options. At least they will both scan multiple slides
in one go, which, as far as I am concerned, is a must, and (I think)
rules out the Plustek range.

What are the opinions on the V500 and the V700? Is the V700 twice as
good as the V500 (it's twice the price, after all!)? Is there
anything else out there that I ought to consider?

Thanks in advance!


Chris.
From: Barry Watzman on 1 Mar 2010 19:52
You should consider 6 models of Nikon scanners:

LS-30/2000
LS-40/4000
LS-50/5000

In each group, the first scanner is the "consumer" version while the 2nd
scanner is the "professional" version, but the differences are not great
with one exception: The "consumer" versions cannot use the bulk slide
feeders. Even the LS-30 produces breathtaking results if the scanner in
question is serviced, cleaned and working properly.


Chris wrote:
> After scanning several thousand slides - but with many more to go - my
> faithful old Acer Scanwit 2720 has finally given up the ghost. So,
> unless anyone knows of somewhere in the UK that might repair it (Benq
> won't), I'm looking for a new 35mm slide scanner.
>
> I was very fond of the Scanwit - it did all I needed: I could get
> reasonable A3 prints from the scans, and even though the slide holder
> only took four slides, it was motorised, which saved a great deal of
> effort.
>
> My budget probably ranges between the Epson V500 and V700. These seem
> like the best options. At least they will both scan multiple slides
> in one go, which, as far as I am concerned, is a must, and (I think)
> rules out the Plustek range.
>
> What are the opinions on the V500 and the V700? Is the V700 twice as
> good as the V500 (it's twice the price, after all!)? Is there
> anything else out there that I ought to consider?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>
> Chris.
From: Surfer! on 2 Mar 2010 02:19
In message <nckoo5lmf5df7qa29ns7flj6padkn86vgu(a)4ax.com>, Chris
<chris(a)anywhere.com> writes
<snip>
>
>What are the opinions on the V500 and the V700? Is the V700 twice as
>good as the V500 (it's twice the price, after all!)? Is there
>anything else out there that I ought to consider?

Does this help?
http://www.epson.co.uk/jsps/productComparison/layouts/landingPage.jsp?pro
ductIds=prod1554,prod1555

The Nikon scanners are fantastic especially with a bulk feeder for
slides but expensive.

--
Surfer!
From: 1Scan on 2 Mar 2010 03:23
On Mar 1, 11:47 pm, Chris <ch...(a)anywhere.com> wrote:
> After scanning several thousand slides - but with many more to go - my
> faithful old Acer Scanwit 2720 has finally given up the ghost.  So,
> unless anyone knows of somewhere in the UK that might repair it (Benq
> won't), I'm looking for a new 35mm slide scanner.
>
> I was very fond of the Scanwit - it did all I needed: I could get
> reasonable A3 prints from the scans, and even though the slide holder
> only took four slides, it was motorised, which saved a great deal of
> effort.
>
> My budget probably ranges between the Epson V500 and V700.  These seem
> like the best options.  At least they will both scan multiple slides
> in one go, which, as far as I am concerned, is a must, and (I think)
> rules out the Plustek range.
>
> What are the opinions on the V500 and the V700? Is the V700 twice as
> good as the V500 (it's twice the price, after all!)?  Is there
> anything else out there that I ought to consider?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Chris.

We operate various Nikon scanners and Epson flatbeds and scanning 35mm
is a major part of our business. I'd certainly agree that the Nikon
combined with the auto slide feeder is the better solution it is
undeniably expensive.

We have just invested in an Epson V750 Pro and I'm very pleased with
it. It can multiple slides or 35mm negative strips in a batch, it has
Digital ICE and this model comes with SilverFast. I've seen reviews of
the 700 suggesting that's as good in terms of delivered scans but
without SilverFast (not everyone's favourite software anyway).

In the past we've scanned 35mm on 4990 and the results have been very
good. You do have to accept that batch sizes are much smaller with a
flatbed, each set of slides takes time to set up, and each scan takes
longer to make.

For choice I'd go for Nikon, but if finances dictated taking the Epson
route I wouldn't feel terribly disappointed.

Jeff Underwood
www.1Scan.co.uk
www.freephotoscanning.com
From: Chris on 2 Mar 2010 18:35
Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate that a Nikon scanner would
be the best option, but a) they're not easy to come by, b) they're
beyond my budget, and c) I really can't face the prospect of feeding
my slides in one by one for the next few years so I'd need the bulk
feeder which would *definitely* be beyond my budget!

I've looked at the specs of the V500 and V700 on the Epson site, but
while I've found comprehensive reviews of the V700, I've not come
across anything similar for the V500. Does anyone know of one?

Is it possible to get additional slide holders for either of them? The
Epson site doesn't say...

It's a pity there aren't a few more mid-range slide scanners to choose
from these days. There seem to be a lot of cheap and (I presume)
nasty devices around - but then I suppose the market must be very
small.

Chris.
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