bi3@georgetown.edu
Date: 10/28/02-09:35:05 AM Z
With so many messages recently about films for scanning, I'd like to
reverse the subject line to ask a somewhat off-topic question.
I was about to buy a Microtek ScanMaker 5900. I want to use it to scan
in black and white prints and black and white negatives up to 4 x 5" (as
well as scanning in text). My chief use for the scanned prints and
negatives will be to put images in a genealogical database. I want to
be able to print out the pictures as well as send them by e-mail. (I
have been assuming that I will get the best results from scanning in the
negative and using the bundled Adobe PhotoDeluxe 4, which I presume can
convert the negative to a positive. This will certainly be faster than
first making a silver print, but perhaps I am wrong about the quality
obtained. Any thoughts on this matter?)
The specs for the 5900 sounded good: optical resolution 4800 x 2400 dpi
and 48 bit color. However, it has no mention of the bit depth for grey
nor dynamic range. Just now in a list of features on another site I see
"input type - color". The price is $180, about half the next lowest
priced scanner which will take 4 x 5. It has only USB interface {which
is fine for me), and the more expensive ones have FireWire or LAN
connections (which I don't need) and which presumably increase the
price.
Does anyone know anything about this scanner? Does the fact that only
color is mentioned mean that it will not be satisfactory for black and
white? As you can probably tell, I have never used a scanner nor
Photoshop, so any information will be helpful.
Suzanne Izzo (bi3@georgetown.edu)
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