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Epson 3200 2450

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Guest

So has anyone had any experience scanning with the new Epson 3200 flatbed scanner? I'm aware that my friend Tony Sweet www.tonysweet.com has had great success using the 2450 it just seems that the new 3200 will be that much better and a solid low cost choice for scanning the XPAN format. The other route is to get a medium format scanner or get drum scans. Tony's experience is for stuff that can be printed off of the Epson 2200 the 2450 was fine. Interested in your thoughts.
 
Since February the new Epson Perfection 3200 is in the shelves in Europe. So far there a only little reviews to see on the internet.

Most users are interested to use this scanner as a cheap scanning alternative for Medium Format.
 
One intersting online review about the new scanner from Epson is at the following website.

At the same website, there is also a review about the new Canon 9900F, which seeems to be inferior to the 3200.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Epson%203200/page_1.htm

If you go over the main homepage of www.photo-i.co.uk it is kind of difficult to find that review. Click on the Epson 3200 picture and on the next screen at the buttom click on the word "Epson" or "Canon" depending on the review you want to read.

Sounds really like a great scanner, especially for Medium Format, but also not bad for 135!

Dirk
 
Hi all !

I've been waiting for they day when a dedicated XPAN forum would start. I hope that this forum will be a great community for us.

I bought my XPAN with the 45mm and the 90mm as a special price kit that Hasselblad is offering here in Sweden. It was a bargain! I got the kit for the same price as the body used to cost. Makes me wonder if there's a new XPAN on the way ?

I mostly use the 45mm lens which is a superb lens in my opinion. No visible distortion if I don't tilt the camera up/down. MY XPAN is used most for street photography, but as my big passion in life is car photography I'll use it to get a new "edge" on those pictures.

As I've only used digital SLR's for the past years I don't own any film scanner, something that's about to change in the next couple of weeks.

Do any of you have any special recommendations about a good scanner for the XPAN? I've looked at the Minolta III and the Epson 3200 scanners. Comments are welcomed.

Best of regards,
Karl
 
Karl:

I use the 2450 and no complaints. If you're looking at the 3200, I would get it!

Tony Sweet
 
Hi Karl,

I moved your question to the Scanner section in this forum: This will help others to find the same question easier und you will get hopefully faster an answer.

Regarding the Epson 3200 for the XPan, I would be intersted to hear more about your experiences with the XPan. Til now I heard only good reviews for the 3200 for Medium format, but not yet for Panorama or plain 135.

Dirk
 
Karl: I've seen Tony's stuff and the 2450 has done well by him. My guess is the 3200 will be that much better. Do follow the link posted about and I believe you will want to get the 3200. I would also suggest spending the xtra money for the Pro version that has the Full version of Silverfast a very worthwhile piece of scanning software. The pro version also comes with Monaco 2.5 profiler software worth $300 on it's own and very good too.
 
I think the Epson is the better choice for me since I don't have to modify the film holder for the XPAN slides.

I've heard that some other XPAN users use the Nikon Coolscanners with good result. But they have to file of some parts of the film holder and scan one image in two session. Then they'll use a stitching program to put the two scans into one.

One regard that I have of the 3200 is dust and fingerprints on the scanner bed. I'm also put of a bit by the size of a flatbed instead of a film scanner. My desktop is getting cr&ed ;)

No descions made yet, though the 3200 is the stronger candidate. I'll do some more research. I'll keep you informed about my progress.

Regards,
Karl
 
Regarding scanning xpan negs with a 35-mm film scanner. While it can be done in my experience it is a pain. I have used many of the Nikon scanners over the past 5 years and am very familiar with the software for ex&le saving color settings, curves etc. In my experience what happens is that the left and right side of the scan never match up regardless if you turn all auto density settings off. Now this is not anything that cannot be fixed in less that a few minutes in photoshop but I would rather get my balance and density where I want it and scan in one pass. The other problem I have with scanning in two sections is that there is always a slight tilt in the film holder. So when matching the left and right either the bottom or the top match perfectly but the other side is blurred. This is irritating for in the center of your amazingly sharp print there will be a little sliver of blurred pixels. So long story short, while it can be done, if you plan on producing many panoramic scans you may find it much more productive to use a scanner that scans the whole image. I will say though that all of my xpan scans thus far have been in 2 parts.
 
>What about some flatbed scanners that can take up to 4x5 negs ? Those >might do a better job. One might also be able to make a home made >"sandwich" of opaque plastic film that would be cut out for the XPan >panoramic size but fit in the 4x5 holder ( fortunately 4x5 has a >considerably thicker base than roll film) of some true film scaners. >Haven't tried it, but seems possible.
 
Hi,
I am new here, but I have used the Epson 3200 recently for a period of a week to scan Xpan negatives. I must say the results are the best I have gotten from a consumer range of scanners. There's no hassel of stitching up images.
I scanned one of my image at 3000dpi and printed a 5ft (length) image for an exhibition. The scan was great.
I highly recommend this scanner.
Cheers!
 
Hi Terry,

Thanks for the feedback. It's always nice to hear from people with actual hands on use. I'm pretty well convinced that the 3200 is the way to go for XPAN right now.
 
Sounds great, but 2450 owners don't pitch your scanner!
I also printed a 2x5 feet image from a 2450 scan and it looks excellent! Don't forget that the larger the print, the greater the viewing distance, therefore the less resolution is needed. For ex&le, for a 13x19, 240 to 300 dpi is what's needed, but for a 2x5' print, about 140 dpi works fine. In order to try to maintain one's sanity in the digital "arms race,' upgrading every 2-3 generations of a product is probably ok.
 
Hi Andrew and Karl,

I just bought the nikon 8000 scanner and ordered the optional panoramic film holder which is exactly the dimesion of the xpan negatives. I was told that this holder was the solution to my desire to scan and archive my panoramic pictures. I am new to scanning and am no expert on the computer. i would not venture doing the modification on the existing holder, scanning both ends and pasting them together. Here is where i envy computer savy people.

raul
 
Gentlemen - I have just got my x-pan and am keen to get a scanner. Thanks for your feedback on the Epson 3200 scanner. Does anyone have any experience with the Epson 4870 model?
Thanks & kind regards
Daniel
 
I use the Epson 4870. Excellent value ! I really like the scanner. It's not expansive and not very fast, but for the price you can't expect better, and it's competitive for scanning. You can buy better but it's the Nikon LS 9000, and it's very expansive !

http://www.monochromatique.com
 
Hi Daniel Rocha
Thanks for your feedback on the Epson 4870. I will probably get one unit next week. I visited your web-site, nice photos. I wondered how some of the photos would have looked like if they were shot in colour such as the ones on Chinese Parade.
 
> Thanks for your feedback on the Epson 4870. I will probably get one > unit next week. I

I think you'll notr regret the buy !

> I visited your web-site, nice photos.

Thanks !

> I wondered how > some of the photos would have looked like if they were shot in colour > such as the ones on Chinese Parade

Don't try to imagine the pictures in colour, I love b&w ;)) The Chinese Parade is seen by everyone as a touristic event. I prefer b&w to gives to the event a more human look.

Thanks for your visit, Regards,
 
Hello Friends
I have bought the Epson 4870 scanner for a few months now and it is a great scanner! Very simple to scan the X-Pan format, normal 35mm and 6x7 negs that I shoot in.
Problem is with the instruction manual, it does not provide sufficient info on the "dpi" stuff.
Can someone help with info on how many dpi is required to scan a neg to produce a high resolution A4 and A3 sized photo? Most articles state at least 300 dpi. So when should I use the 900 dpi or larger setting? Is there a guideline or formula to work on?
I print my enlargements at home, and also use the local lab.

Thanks & regards
Daniel
 
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