Scanner News

A new CanoScan flat-bed photo scanner, the 9000F, has an exceptionally high 9600x9600 optical resolution. It’s priced right, with a list of $249, but how well does it work and what quality of scans does it reproduce from 35mm film?

Designed for professionals, enthusiasts, schools, and clubs, the OpticFilm 120 scanner from Plustek ($1999) can handle negative and positive film, including 35mm filmstrips, individual 35mm slides, and medium format film up to 6x12cm format. The scanner contains an eight-element glass lens and can deliver up to 10,600dpi optical resolution, with a claimed 4.01 dynamic range using the supplied SilverFast software’s Multi-Exposure function. The tabletop scanner is about the size of a six-slice restaurant toaster (about 8x14.5x7.5”) and is supplied with a complete set of very well-constructed film holders, an IT8 calibration target, and a full version (not a trial) of SilverFast Ai Studio 8 software.

This is a portrait of my Great-Uncle Syl, taken in the late 1940’s, a print that sat in a storage box until last year. Now Syl’s on the web here, shared with family via an e-mail attachment, and will soon be part of a photo book of the family history. If you’ve got boxes of old photos it’s easy to share them too. For those thinking about such a project, and who haven’t scanned before, here are some basic FAQ’s that might get you started.

Microtek is well-known for making both consumer- and professional-level scanners. For a good part of their long history in the business their pro flat-bed scanners have offered a unique capability that combines a dedicated film scanner with legal-size, 8.5x14" flat-bed reflective scanning. The new ArtixScan M1 Pro includes a very modern 4800dpi optical Sony CCD sensor array...