Harald

I got the Epson V600 from Amazon not long ago and I am just starting to learn it. Fortunately, it is very user friendly for a novice, and I am happy with the results. I have 3x5 color pics from the 70's onwards and many of them have faded quite a bit, but the color restoration feature works great and reasonably accurately, too. I have not scanned negatives yet, but color slides come out great. Obviously, the higher DPI you want, the slower the scan is. Most photos are just snapshots, so I scan them to be about 2MB. The slides I scan to about 4MB, but if I come across "good" pictures, I may go higher. Make sure the platen is dust and finger-print free, and that that whatever you scan is absolutely dust free.

dragonswing Loc: Pa

Just talked to the Best Buy store around me and they have the V600 for $180

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Unless you want dual purpose, to be able to use a flatbed scanner for documents, prints and such too... I'd recommend a dedicated film scanner. Especially if all your film is 35mm, a high quality film scanned will give higher dynamic range and greater resolution than any flatbed can accomplish.

Specifically, look for a used Minolta or Konica-Minolta 5400... You can probably find a used one in your price range. There were versions that could handle both 35mm and medium format film... but for what you want to spend it would likely be the 35mm only model. It scans up to 5400 pixels per inch.

Second to those I'd suggest one of the Nikon dedicated 35mm film scanners. I use one of those with 4000 ppi resolution, that has added benefit of being able to batch scan. It can handle film strips and will scan all 6 images in sequence... or uncut rolls of film sequentially scanning 36 or more images. I also have a special adapter for it that allows me to batch scan up to 40 mounted 35mm slides. At highest resolution and 16X oversampling, each scan takes some 10 or 15 minutes (and produces a 16-bit, 130MB TIFF file)... So when I need to scan a lot of images I set it up to run overnight. I haven't priced those recently, but they are pretty widely available used. (Folks buy them, scan all their images, then turn around and sell the scanner... often recouping much or all their cost).

There have been a few other high quality, dedicated film scanners (Plustek, Pacific Image and others). There also are some cheap junk that aren't worth even the small amount they cost.

Depending upon the particular model, two possible problems with buying older models of these scanners are the type of connectivity and the software they use.

With my Nikon, the original software isn't compatible with Windows 7 and later operating systems. It also uses a Firewire 400 connection (originally came with special software & hardware, because that was a new form of connectivity when the scanner was first being offered). Depending upon what's needed by the scanner, if your computer doesn't already have it, you might be able to add a board with the necessary connectivity.

If needed, updated software is available for most scanners (check to be sure, before you buy)... Vuescan is fairly affordable and pretty basic. Silverfast Ai is very full featured and maybe the best, but is fairly expensive too.

All the following were shot with film (mostly slides) and scanned using my Nikon 4000... some have been printed as large as 11x14 or 13x19:

brent46 Loc: Grand Island, NY

Use your DSLR

(Download)

Kuzano

A 25 mp dslr or up, a macro lens, a slide/neg holder and light is faster & as good as any scanner .....cheap n guick---

Paul Buckhiester Loc: Columbus, GA USA

Also consider Canoscan 9000f

RTCreed Loc: Forest Park, IL

I have the Epson V600 and it works like a charm. You can purchase additional size film holders, such as 126, 110, 16MM or Minox from negative-solutions.com.

Bob

the hiker Loc: San Diego

Epson v600 $229.00 you can get it at Staples.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

I have had an Epson v500 scanner since before the turn of the century. Have done numerous scans including negatives and 35mm slides. Have had excellent results until last month when my grandson dropped the scanner while we were moving. Unfortunately, it didn't survive. I'm currently purchasing another Epson scanner v700 for its replacement. I have nothing but excellent words for the Epson scanners.

Harald

One note about the software that comes with the V600. If you are running Windows 10 and the CD with various programs does not say it is compatible with WIndows 10, don't load the AABBYY program - it screws up MS Word and Excel. Better yet, download drivers etc from the Epson website.

Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

Good advice. I have had software that messes with Microsoft products, to beat it in Windows 10 I load and run the software from the root directory, not where the program wants to install itself. Most times this will fix that issue!

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Look for a Minolta Dimage scan elite on EBay etc... pair it up with Silverfast software and you should get top quality scans. Yes, I know it's older, but the quality is there.

Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

That's what I use, Minolta Dimage works great!

srt101fan

Encouraging comments! I have a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV. Haven't used it much but plan to get serious about scanning my old films. Am getting a new computer and got concerned about compatibility of Minolta software with 64-bit Win 10 OS. Am glad to hear there is a software solution (Silverfast, along with VueScan, was also mentioned by Alan (Amfoto) in his excellent comments). Would you happen to know how the Minolta scanner compares with the Epsons mentioned by others? Hope my Minolta lasts, but mechanical failure and burned out light source are always possible!

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I have three scanners at home. Epson does poorest job. Nikon LS-2000 does best job. Plustek 8100-ai is in the middle, passable especially for black&white and for newish media with absolutely no flaws.