burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Epson Scan 2 has been out for many months, now. It runs on Catalina just fine, but loses the Digital ICE features that cannot be supported, since the creators of it are no longer in business. That’s why SilverFast is important. Their drivers support most of the same features that were in Digital ICE, and run them faster.

mmcgavin

Glad you have the V600 working OK with Windows 1o.

I hope you can advise me.

The buttons on the actual scanner do not work. They are not illuminated.

The thing I miss most is being able to make a quick copy of an original- in other words press COPY button on the scanner and a copy comes out of the printer.

Will yours do that?

Is there a comparable one step button in the program visible on the computer screen?

I would appreciate any advice you can give.

Was your scanner completely functional, including the COPY button on the scanner from the initial setup.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Please use Quote Reply, rather than Quick Reply, so we know who should answer your question.

All-in-one printer/copier/scanner/fax units do what you want. You can scan, copy, or fax from the console on such devices. The V600 is a dedicated photo scanner. It has no integral printer.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It really depends upon what you scan and how you intend to use the scans.

A flatbed scanner is great for some things. Models like the Epson V600 or V850 can be used to scan both film and prints. They also can batch scan smaller film formats like 35mm... either strips of negs or groups of mounted slides (it's also possible to mount negs, though that's not normally done). They also can accommodate a variety of sizes of film... 35mm, medium format, large format.

Between the two currently available Epson flatbeds, the V600 is the more affordable model at $230. The V850 costs 5X as much: $1150. Both are capable of up to 6400 dpi, so there's no difference in resolution. But the V850 comes with premium software (Silverfast), can handle more mounted 35mm slides at one time (12 vs 6) and has a larger dynamic range (4.0 vs 3.4).

Personally I'm not a fan of flatbeds for 35mm film, unless the intended use of the images is only smaller prints (5x7 and maybe 8x10) or lower resolution online display and sharing. They are fine for medium and large format, but somewhat limited when working to digitally enlarge 24x36mm images. A better quality flatbed like the V850 approaches what a dedicated film scanner can do, but the V850 is a lot more expensive.

In my opinion (and for my purposes, which are 11x14" and larger museum quality prints) a dedicated film scanner is a better choice for 35mm (or smaller) film. There are cheap "junk" film scanners that work fast and produce small files only capable of producing small prints or low resolution images for online display. Those commonly cost $200 or less and aren't what I'm recommending. I'm also not recommending the ultra high end scanners which can run in the five figures (like the Imacon/Hasselblad). That leaves three primary manufacturers of dedicated film scanners with a lot of products selling in a roughly $400 to $500 price range.

Pacific Image offers several different types that cost $379 to $500. All are 10,000 dpi with 3.9 or 4.2 D-max. One is for 35mm film strips only. Two others handle small batches of mounted 35mm slides (4) or film strips. They also offer a bulk slide scanner, which can handle up to 50 mounted 35mm slides automatically, AFAIK cannot be used with film strips, and costs a bit more at $899 (which is a bargain, as you'll see soon).

More info about Pacific Image scanners: https://www.scanace.com/scan_pd.php

Plustek is another manufacturer offering several different choices. Their scanners are all 7200 dpi resolution and they come with different versions of Silverfast software (easily the best in the business!). Their top of the line, $499 8200i "AI" comes with Silverfast Studio 8 (which sells separately for between $250 and $400, depending upon application). The 8200i AI is also the only model that has built in calibration and displays a preview histogram. The Plustek 8200i "SE" costs $100 less, though it's essentially the same scanner. It just comes with a "lighter" version of Silverfast software), lacks the auto calibration and histogram. Plustek's third and most affordable choice is their 8100i that lacks automated dust and scratch removal that's found in the other two models. I think all these Plustek have slightly lower D-max at about 3.6, not as good as the Pacific Image, but still better than most flatbeds. There also is a Plustek model for medium format film (which can scan 35mm too, of course)... costs more and I don't know the specs or software it uses.

Info about the three Plustek scanners: https://plustek.com/us/products/film-photo-scanners/opticfilm-8200i-ai/

Braun is another scanner manufacturer... Though they don't offer anything that goes head-to-head with Pacific Image or Plustek. They offer a low cost, low resolution slide and film strip scanner (small prints and Internet resolutions only). At the other extreme, they also offer a bulk slide scanner with 10,000 dpi resolution and top specs, but a very hefty $3000 price tag (compare to the Pacific Image bulk slide scanner above, at 1/3 the price). Their medium format scanner is also rather pricey, even though it drops to a more moderate 3200 dpi resolution and 3.6 D-max would make it less useful for smaller size films (if it can even accommodate them, I really don't know).

Personally I use an old Nikon 4000ED film scanner. To put the above in perspective... My old Nikon (they no longer make them), for 35mm film strips and mounted slides, cost over $1500 twenty years ago. Used ones in owrking condition still sell for more than most of the Plustek or Pacific Image above, even though the Nikon is only 4000 dpi (but has D-max 4.2). At the time it also was one of the few, maybe the only scanner that could be fitted with an automatic bulk slide loader (40 mounted slide capacity), although that accessory was sold separately for over $400. The Nikon scanning software was pretty good too, but is incompatible with the last two or three generations of Windows (I imagine the same is true of Mac operating systems). I have been using Vuescan (~$70) for some relatively minor scanning jobs. It works, but if I seriously get into scanning again with the 4000ED I would spring for Silverfast AI Studio 8 (~$400) software, which is much better.

To sum it up...

If I needed to scan prints, medium format or large format film, I'd be happy with the Epson V850 flatbed. I'd only use it or the cheaper V600 if my intended use of the scans was prints 8x10" or less.

If I needed to scan a lot of mounted slides, I'd be tempted with the Pacific Image Powerslide X that can handle 50 at a time... and it's $899 price is a bargain compared to the old Nikon 4000ED + it's bulk loader.

The fact that the Plustek scanners and Epson V850 come with Silverfast software is another major consideration to me. It's the best and is available for use with some other scanners, though one should confirm because in a lot of cases it's scanner-specific. When necessary to buy separately, it also will add quite a bit of cost. More info about Silverfast versions and supported scanners: https://www.silverfast.com/show/home-9/en.html

If I didn't have a lot of scanning to do, I might outsource it instead of doing it myself. Getting good quality scans done ain't cheap, though. So I'd limit this to only the best images. (I am NOT talking about <$1 scans, which will usually only give you large enough file to make a 4x6" or, maybe, a 5x7" print).

On the other hand, if I had a lot of film/slides to scan and no plans to shoot more film in the future... or very little of it... and not need scanning... I'd buy a top quality scanner, use it to digitize my existing film, then resell the scanner. Often you can recoup much of your cost doing that. Top quality scanners hold their value (as you can see with my Nikon 4000ED... sure, they've depreciated... but good working ones still command higher prices than brand new scanners... go figure!)