Re: Scanners

[Ernst Dinkla <ernst@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In <URL:news:lokaal.panorama> on Wed 20 Sep, Keith Davison wrote:

> From:           	Joe McCary <mccary@xxxxxxxxx>

> > I had the same need a while back and could not afford (still can't) an
> > expensive scanner for images needed to send to the net.  I took a chance and
> > bought an Epson 1200U Photo Scanner.  It cost me $250 on the net.  It does a
> > great job of this delimited use.  Have a look at my website if you want to
> > see...
> 
> I would warn against the Epson 1200, especially if you are used to 
> the output from a Coolscan. I have a 1200 and have tested this and 
> two other 1200s (non-consecutive serial nos.) against a Nikon 
> LS2000 and an Afga Duoscan T2500. I used the same combination 
> of 35mm Velvia trans and Royal Gold 25 neg on each scanner at 
> the nearest non-interpolated resolution to the native 1200ppi of the 
> Epson, all USM etc. was disabled.
> The scans from all three 1200's were very soft, roughly similar to 
> interpolated output from a sharp 600ppi scanner. I tested the 1200 
> vs. the Agfa on reflective scans, same result. I also tried scanning 
> film on, and at different heights above the glass on the 1200, in 
> case the unsharpness was a focus issue, I could not get any 
> improvement in output.
> For those interested, the Nikon was slightly sharper than the Agfa, 
> and had better shadow detail on trans, plus the Silverfast software 
> is much better than Agfa Fotolook.
> I have not tested the Epson 1600, but I have heard rumours that it 
> is sharper than the 1200, and it certainly has an improved D range.
> If you have gone to the trouble of using MF, it seems a shame to 
> lose the quality in the scanning stage.

The Epson 1200s and the Epson 1600 have two CCDs of resp. 600 and 800
instead of one. The CCDs are placed half a pixel from another. So it
isn't so strange that most tests didn't get much more resolution
quality  than the actual resolution the CCDs are meant for.
The Epson 1200 U is a true 1200 ppi scanner and could be a better
scanner than the Epson 1600 is.


Ernst
-- 
Ernst Dinkla  Serigrafie,Zeefdruk            The point will never be metric