bi3@georgetown.edu
Date: 10/28/02-05:13:41 PM Z
Jack Fulton answered my question about scanners by recommending the
Epson 2450. (Thanks for responding, Jack.) I was in fact considering
the Epson 2450 before I saw the listing for the Microtek 5900 for less
than half the price. The specs are basically the same except that the
Epson mentions the gray scale bit depth of 16 bits and the Dmax of 3.3.
The transparency unit is also larger for the Epson although I can't
really see the advantage of 4 x 9 over 4 x 5. Also it comes with
FireWire which I don't need (I don't even know whether I could use it).
The Epson comes with both the LaserSoft SilverFast SE (SE in specs I
have, Jack wrote LE) and Adobe Photoshop Elements. I have no idea how
either of these compares with the Adobe PhotoDeluxe 4 that comes with
the Microtek.
The long and the short of all this is that for my purposes the cheaper
machine seems to have the features I want unless in fact omitting
mention of gray scale and Dmax means it is not appropriate for black and
white prints and negatives. I'm don't know where to turn for the answer
to this question which is why I approached the List.
Since I wrote the above, I have received a message from Ken Watson.
Among other details, he writes, "If you have a scanner with a spec of 48
bits of color this is supposed to mean 16 bits of Red, Green and Blue."
Does this mean that on such a machine if you are scanning black and
white you have 16 bits of gray? The other scanners with 4800 x 2400
optical resolution state that their bit depth is 48 color, 16 gray, 1
black and white. Have they just abbreviated the specs for the 5900?
What about the dynamic range? It doesn't seem to correlate with the
optical resolution. How important is it for black and white scanning?
Ken also writes that the 4800/2400 resolution is overkill for my
application. However, there are few models with a built-in 4 x 5
transparency adapter which I need. Some have 2400/1200 resolution, but
these are more expensive than the 5900. Am I correct in assuming that
one can scan at a lower resolution than the maximum for the scanner for
a quicker scan and smaller file size?
Sorry for the barrage of questions. Suzanne Izzo
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