What is... the best scanner?

[$DaRkSoRcEr$]

My uncle and I are looking to get a good scanner for scanning transparencies because he has a lot of old negatives that he would like to scan. We've been looking online at quite a few scanners, and so far, I've found the HP ScanJet 7400c and the Canon D2400UF to be the best. There are both a little more pricey than what's we'd like, but I think you need the good resolution that comes with these for a good scan of negatives. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
So, my question is, do you guys think these are good scanners for what we'll be doing? C-net rated them both a 3 out of 4 for scanning transparencies, but it's hard to find reviews specifically on transparency scanning. I think I've gone to most of the major scanner makers as well, and it seems to me these are the best.

I hope someone can give me some more insight, and hopefully if someone has these scanners let me know how you like them and if someone thinks there's something better, I'd be more than happy to hear what you have to say. Thanx everyone.

[Brangwen]

I have had great experience with HP scanners. Never tried Canon. On name alone, I'd "blindly" choose the former as HP has a very good reputation.

I have not looked at the specific models you mentioned: are they USB or parallel port? USB is slower in my experience, though ease of installation and ability to utilize scanner with multiple computers makes USB attractive. Are there any professionals who work with negatives who you can ask?

Microtek puts out a good product also. Sometimes, as you likely know, the software that comes bundled with the scanner can make all the difference.

I would like to offer you a solid opinion, but I (frankly) have <u>never</u> scanned a negative http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

Good luck.

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[fastmail98]

After reviewing various units on cnet.com and weighing all of the pros & cons, I went for the Epson Perfection 1240U. I couldn't wait for the on-line discount houses to get it listed, so I picked it up at full retail ($199.99) at CompUSA. It's great. The software is up front and understandable, there's no seperate holding file to click to on the desktop to view scans, it's fast, and accurate. I've become partial to Epson printers and scanners. The only down side is that it's noisy just like many others. It's also a bit larger, too. The software loaded in just fine except for one hang-up: Epson REQUIRES that the OS be factory installed in order for the drivers to function. Well, my OS is a Win98SE upgrade and I couldn't load the drivers because of it. However! I downloaded the necessary drivers from the Epson website and worked around the OEM installed business without another hitch. Highly recommended.

[$DaRkSoRcEr$]

I was really considering that HP or the Canon but I had someone tell me too that AGFA's are really good. He said that when you scan it in just 300DPI it looked better than anything he had seen before. He made a strong point of saying that you get what you pay for too. HP and Canon are expensive scanners, I have to doubt about that, but I just don't know what to look for in a scanner now. As for the Epson, I had an Epson printer, I don't know if this reflects on the quality of their scanners, but the printer broke down and the heads stopped printing after a while, never could get 'em clean. I've never tried HP or Canon though, I think they are pretty reputable though.

Please keep any more suggestions you guys have comming too. Also, I should ask the question of what exactly if anything I should look for in a scanner, and what is some good software? The main thing we are gonna be doing is scanning negatives. Anyone know what the best software is for this?

[$DaRkSoRcEr$]

Sorry, I forgot to mention to, the scanners I've been lookin at are USB. I would think USB would be faster than parallel? but maybe not... That makes me wonder, are there any USB 2.0 scanners out there I wonder? I would like too get firewire, but those things are way expensive!

[jbob]

I'm kinda partial to Umax scanners. I have an Astra 2400s (SCSI) that Umax says isn't supposed to work with Windows 2000. Mine works great, and is quite fast.

[$DaRkSoRcEr$]

Haha, that's kinda funny. It's a good thing though, cuz I have Win2k Pro too...