mmcgavin

A lot of good advice has been exchanged on this forum regarding scanners, but most of that discussion has been about scanners suitable for 2 x 2 transparencies. I would appreciate the group’s advice on a flatbed scanner, chiefly for office work but including the ability to scan photographs, large negatives and additionally, do a reasonably good job with 2 x 2 transparencies. I use a Nikon Coolscan V for 2 x 2 slides when I want the best results.
Until recently I used a Canoscan 8800FF but it has developed the problem of white vertical lines. From reading on Google, I gather can be due to dirt on a variety of places including the lamp, the white strip used for calibration and elsewhere. It is beyond my ability to repair and probably too expensive to have repaired.
What scanner under approximately $250 would you recommend.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

As many people will say, the Epson Perfection is a nice scanner.

https://epson.com/For-Home/Scanners/Photo-Scanners/c/h220

mmcgavin

Thanks.
Which model? They range in price from $70.00 to $230.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

The Epson perfection V850 pro is a very nice unit, but it is over your price range at about a grand!

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Check out Epson's refurbished scanners. I have had this one for about 6 years and am very happy with it.

https://epson.com/Clearance-Center/Scanners/Epson-Perfection-V600-Photo-Scanner---Refurbished/p/B11B198011-N

therwol Loc: USA

The Epson V850 now sells for $1149. The V800 is around $300 cheaper with almost identical performance, and that's the one I bought. I have had no problems with it though around 8000 negatives and slides, and it can scan large format film. You might consider a refurbished V7xx model for a lot less money.

Bill_de Loc: US

I've had the V600 for quite a while with absolutely no complaints.

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steve49 Loc: massachusetts

I have a 600 and it will can 2 1/4 negs no problem.
I have not tried anything larger.

koratcat

Ditto. In fact, mine's even survived a couple of cat-initiated tumbles from the desk to the floor with no apparent ill effects. Rugged machine; excellent quality scans; easy to use.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Epson V600,

Markag

Epson all day. Years ago I bought 16 Epsons for my workplace because they came with, (hard to believe), a free copy of Photoshop. Still use my scanner. Flawless!

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

I've used Epson Perfection 4490 Photo for several years.
Great for office work, as well as for scanning photos, slides or negatives.
Some available on Amazon in $300-400 range.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Define “large negatives”. If 120/220, then Epson V600. If 4x5 or larger, then Epson V800 or V850.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are a couple flatbeds under $250 that will give you fairly good results, but they have limitations and for top quality digital files you would need to spend quite a bit more.

Key things to look for:
- Optical resolution
- Lens tech
- Dynamic range (D-Max)
- Lighting type
- Software
- Color depth
- Dust & scratch reduction
- Film sizes accommodated
- Connectivity

Epson makes the best flat beds, their top of the line are:

Epson V850 Pro, $1124.
- 6400 dpi
- Dual lens, adjustable focus, advanced coatings
- LED light source
- 4.0 D-Max
- Silverfast AI SE Plus 8 software
- 48-bit color
- Digtal ICE dust/scratch/damage removal (film & print)
- Film up to 4x5", 12 mounted 2x2 slides, 12 35mm negs in 2 strips.
(Incl. two sets of film holders for faster workflow)
- USB 2.0

Epson V800, $798.
- 6400 dpi
- Dual lens, adjustable focus
- LED light source
- 4.0 D-Max
- Silverfast AI SE 8 s'ware
- 48-bit color
- Digital ICE (film & print)
- Film up to 4x5", 12 mounted 2x2 slides, 12 35mm negs in two strips.
- USB 2.0

While the two scanners above appear similar, there are some key differences: https://www.scanyourentirelife.com/epson-v800-vs-v850-photo-scanner-differences/

A separately sold, fluid mount can be used with either V800 or V850. This is not usable with V550 or V600 (below). A fluid mount allows odd sized and larger sizes of film such as 5x7" to be scanned. Wet mounting also can help reduce the appearance of grain, dust, scratches and other damage to negs and transparencies.

V750 and V700 were offered previously, but have now been discontinued and superseded by the above models. One of the primary differences is that the V850 and V800 use an LCD light source that doesn't require warm up between scans, like the cathode light source of the older models. The LCD light source will also maintain more consistent color temp and brightness over time, compared to the V750/V700 light source.

More affordable Epson scanners are available, but are slower, produce lower scan quality, have limited film sizes and quantities due to smaller transmissive light sources, and don't include nearly as good software.

Epson V600 (2009), $229.
- 6400 dpi
- Single lens, non-adjustable
- LED light source
- 3.4 D-Max
- Epson software
- 48-bit color
- Digital ICE (film & print)
- Film up to medium format, 4 mounted 2x2 slides, 6 35mm negs in one strip.
- USB 2.0 (can be problems with Mac OS)

Epson V550 (2011), $176.
- 6400 dpi
- Single lens, non-adjustable
- LED light source
- 3.4 D-Max
- Epson s'ware
- 48-bit color
- Digital ICE (film only)
- Film up to medium format, 4 mounted 2x2 slides, 6 35mm negs in one strip.
- USB 2.0 (can be problems with Mac OS)

Compare V550 to V600 to V800 to V850: http://stick-vacuum.com/epson-perfection-v550-vs-v600-vs-v800-vs-v850-review/

therwol Loc: USA

Start with this link and then look at the reviews of all of the Epson scanners. There is little practical difference in results between the V800 and V850, though they are definitely a cut above the cheaper models. No flatbed scanner can equal the results of some of the dedicated film scanners, however as an owner of the Epson V800, I can tell you I have no complaints, and I've done large format negatives with ease.

https://www.filmscanner.info/en/EpsonPerfectionV850Pro.html