kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

First, I did search for this topic and did not see anything helpful so I'm asking now.

I used to have a Canon Canoscan 4400F which I used for scanning prints and slides, but after it "died" and Canon said they no longer supported this model, I have been looking for a replacement.

The two scanners that come up most often with the highest recommendations are the Epson Perfection V550 and V600. However, some of the user comments I have seen of these is that they are not necessarily incompatible with Mac computers -- they do work -- but that they do not come with Mac software and you have to find and download it yourself.

So, my question to the group is would any of you concur that either of these two scanners would be the way to go for me or should I look at other scanners? My requirements are that it must be at least 2400 DPI (4800 DPI is preferable), and it must have the ability to scan slides and negatives in other sizes than 35mm (such as 120 and 2-1/4, if possible). Actually, those are just "it'd be nice", not a necessity.

And I'd like to keep it under $200, if possible, but we can go a 'little' over, if need be.

Open to suggestions. Thank you all in advance.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I'm on a Mac. I got tired of my Nikon 4000 scanner and started using my Nikon D4s to copy slides. It's faster, it's easier because I already setup my copy stand, and just as good, maybe better. Now the D4s is only 16MP so my highest resolution is 1600 PPI. But most other Nikons have higher Megapixels so your resolution could be close to 5000 PPI depending on your camera.

P.S. Cost was zero to do that.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

I'm using a D7100. Your suggestion is great for slide copying, but that wouldn't help with negatives, prints and other documents I would want to scan.

adamsg Loc: Chubbuck, ID

What you have heard about the Epson Perfection V600Photo scanner is incorrect, in my experience. I have an I-Mac with extra hard drive capacity and an external hard drive back-up. I have done all manner of scanning, film, slides and digitizing photographs. It works flawlessly and I can heartily recommend it, without reservation.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Actually it does work for everything including negs. But, I thought you meant for scanning slides. It's a great answer for that but not for your real intent. My mistake.

Boris77

I would get the V600, just be sure that you get all the accessories with it. I have had mine for quite a few years, bought it new, run it from an iMac, and have NOT upgraded to the latest Apple OS.
I have not scanned slides or negatives with it, but probably will in the near future since I used to photograph mass public events (no more), and have hundreds of excellent slides from Greece.
Many electronic things that I have bought lately contain instructions to check on line for the latest software, but they tell you where/how to do it.
Boris

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

I have an iMac as well and a 5TB external drive.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

My prime need IS to scan slides but I have other negative formats as well.

domcomm Loc: Denver, CO

I have the Epson Perfection V550, and it works great with my Mac. Absolutely NO problems with any size negs. I have my father's negs from WWI, which includes 4x5 glass negs, and some odd size plastic negs from a camera he bought in France during the war – no problem at all! The quality it turns out is excellent, whether I'm scanning slides or prints, and it exceeds your requested DPI figures.

billmck Loc: Central KY

I have a Canon Canoscan 9000f attached to my iMac and it works fine. I don't use it enough to be proficient, but it will scan four slides at a time with the included fixture, my main use. It will scan prints directly on the flat bed and negatives in an included fixture.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Epson Scanners are good. I have a Photo V500. Though I really need a pricey V700 because I also have shot
4x5" films. This older model still works with Windows 10. I'm sure you can get a V550 or V600 running with a Mac. At worst you'd need a Mac disk or download from Epson. Do you mean dpi or ppi. They are not the same.

rdarlington43 Loc: Charlotte, NC

I totally agree. I use the V600 scanner with my Macbook Pro laptop and use external hard drives. I have had this scanner for a few years and did have some problems which were solved with a software download. I am not sure but believe it was to convert it from 32-bit to 64-bit. Has worked perfectly ever since.

bw79st Loc: New York City

I have a Mac and an Epson V700 that have been working together flawlessly. I still prefer my Canoscan FS4000 for 35mm film and slides but for everything else the V700 is perfect. I think the key to removing all problems is to buy software that will run any scanner. I have been using Vuescan for years and no matter what scanner I use, Vuescan handles it and all the commands stay the same from scanner to scanner. It also gives you more control over the quality of your scans. An additional feature is it will allow you to store various setups for different jobs and recall the most used using the first eight function keys. I scan every bill and document that comes in the house so that is one setup. Setups for scanning photo prints to whatever file format I want, including DNG, are easily stored. I even scan the NY Times Xword every day so my wife and I can do it separately - that's another stored setup along with one for the Sunday puzzle. The versatility is almost limitless.

jsktb Loc: Westerly, Rhode Island

After some research I settled on the Epson Perfection V600. My needs are to digitize 35mm and 2-1/4 slides covering 60 years along with B&W and color photos. I received the scanner on April 27th from B&H Photo. I am using the Epson Scan 2 software that I downloaded from the Epson website to use on my Mac Mini that is running Mojave. There are no problems and I am extremely happy with my decision and the results that I am getting.

The holder allows four 35mm slides at one time. The only annoyance is that I have to remove the film from the cardboard frame of 2-1/4 slides to fit that holder. It is time consuming. Does anyone have any suggestions for a better way?

The price was $219.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

WWI???

I know the 550 and 600 do 4800 dpi. My current Canon all-in-one tops out at 600. And won’t do slides and negs.