From: Joe (jtait@texas.net)
Date: 11/07/02-09:37:58 PM Z
Judy Seigel wrote:
>Greetings scanners...
>
>I've got to replace my old, expensive, and unlamented Polaroid Sprintscan
>35 plus. (My new G4 apparently killed it, as it has so much else.)
>
>My ultimate intention is to enlarge 35 mm b&w film to make negatives for
>gum as large as 16 by 20, even larger perhaps -- film and/or digital.
>
>Polaroid offers a good price on their 4000 or 4000 plus as an "upgrade",
>but I've heard raves about the Nikon Coolscan 4000, which is a lot more
>expensive. Is it that much better? Much better? Any better? Or? Is
>there any way I can tell?
>
>I know there are lots of savvy scanners on this list -- would very much
>appreciate any/all advice.
>
>thanks in advance...
>
>Judy
>
>
>
>
If you choose the Polaroid, go for the Plus version. It has a better A/D
converter, which gives higher image quality and includes Silverfast
(software). Worthwhile in my view. I think it might be the only 35mm
film scanner Polaroid still makes, not sure....
I am pro-Polaroid, having used their 45Ultra and Polaroid 120 products
with excellent results. Good detail in shadows/highlights
(slides/negatives), sharp, low grain, good color fidelty & competitively
priced.
They _are_ in uncertain financial condition, but I expect that isn't
going to matter in the longer term.
Now the Nikons....
Incredibly mixed reviews about their whole product line. From
focus-problems to film flatness problems to banding to bad software, I
would urge you to steer clear. Plus they are more expensive......it's a
no-brainer in my eyes. Some people are getting great results and I have
seen really good scans (albeit no better than Polaroid, and oftentimes
scanned with workarounds to Nikon's banding problems).
Either way, I would buy from a dealer that is going to allow you to
evaluate the scanner and send it back if necessary. Any brand can have
units that suffer from problems, no way around it. You want to look for
excessive noise in the shadows (slides) or highlights (negatives). You
want to have your monitor/software properly calibrated and check for
color fidelity. And you want to check for banding, which is usually
evident most in the blue channel of an RGB scan.
This last common problem is hard to see, is sometimes random and
sometimes consistent. You need to scan different types of
slides/negatives (densities/subjects) and examine the separate channels
of the scan in Photoshop, at _actual pixel size_. This is the only way
to rule out this problem.
BTW, Judy, do you not shoot in larger formats? Being a famous and
undoubtedly rich artist : ) I would lay down the $1800 and buy the
Polaroid 120 so you can scan 120 film. The difference is quite
prominent, if only to suppress grain, which I've found can be a real
problem with 35mm.
-Joe
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