Which Slide Scanner???

I'm looking to buy a slide scanner to get my nature slides (velvia) on a picture website. I've decided to buy a Canon over Nikon for price reason's. The two I'm looking at are:

CanoScan FS4000 ($874 from bhphoto)
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs4000/index.html

CanoScan FS2720u ($449 from bhphoto) this is a fantastic price IMHO
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs2720/index.html

I doubt I would print any larger than 8 x 10. Would the FS4000 be overkill? Would the software that comes with the FS4000 be better?

I could get the FS2720 now or wait several months and save up for the FS4000.

Your thoughts?

Jack,

I have the Canon 2710 scanner, which is basically a SCSI version of the 2720. I would certainly prefer the Nikon 4000 to the Canon scanners, but like you, I could afford a Canon and not a Nikon at the time I made my decision. Overall, I'm very happy with the 2710, and I think for web scanning or printing to 8x10 it is adequate resolution. If you are going to crop into your images and then print to 8x10, you may be better off with the 4000. Also, the 4000 will provide better dynamic range, hence better shadow detail. The other thing is that I believe the 4000 is a faster scanner, and the 2710 is no speed demon. The 2720 is probably even slower than the 2710 because of USB versus SCSI connection.

Dan
http://www.pbase.com/digital_edge
the 35mm section was all scanned with the 2710

Jack Frazier said:

I'm looking to buy a slide scanner to get my nature slides (velvia)
on a picture website. I've decided to buy a Canon over Nikon for
price reason's. The two I'm looking at are:

CanoScan FS4000 ($874 from bhphoto)
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs4000/index.html

CanoScan FS2720u ($449 from bhphoto) this is a fantastic price IMHO
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs2720/index.html

I doubt I would print any larger than 8 x 10. Would the FS4000 be
overkill? Would the software that comes with the FS4000 be better?

I could get the FS2720 now or wait several months and save up for
the FS4000.

Your thoughts?

Click to expand...

--I must be a photographer - I keep running around in circles of confusion.

I have the FS2710. Resolution is fine for 8x10 picture. But the 24-bit color dynamic range is no good. The scanner can handle 36-bit, but, this is a big but, you have to buy the software that support 36-bit scanning. That's several hundred dollars. And that sucks. The same advertise scam is also applied to the FS2720U. If you go with the FS4000, be sure to call and ask them a bout this first. I think the color dynamic range is more important than the resolution.

In the mean while, Nikon CoolScan III has 30-bit color dynamic range and the software included with the scanner can handle that. It also has the ICE feature (you DO need this). If I had a second chance I would definitely get the Nikon.

Jack Frazier said:

I'm looking to buy a slide scanner to get my nature slides (velvia)
on a picture website. I've decided to buy a Canon over Nikon for
price reason's. The two I'm looking at are:

CanoScan FS4000 ($874 from bhphoto)
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs4000/index.html

CanoScan FS2720u ($449 from bhphoto) this is a fantastic price IMHO
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/fs2720/index.html

I doubt I would print any larger than 8 x 10. Would the FS4000 be
overkill? Would the software that comes with the FS4000 be better?

I could get the FS2720 now or wait several months and save up for
the FS4000.

Your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Have you heard of VueScan? I've been using it for my CanoScan 2700, getting much better results than using the software that came with it. It supports the 2710 and is only 40 US$. I think you can try before you buy (I could but that was 2 years ago). It's at http://www.hamrick.com

Victor Phan said:

I have the FS2710. Resolution is fine for 8x10 picture. But the
24-bit color dynamic range is no good. The scanner can handle
36-bit, but, this is a big but, you have to buy the software that
support 36-bit scanning. That's several hundred dollars. And that
sucks. The same advertise scam is also applied to the FS2720U. If
you go with the FS4000, be sure to call and ask them a bout this
first. I think the color dynamic range is more important than the
resolution.

Click to expand...

Thank you George. I'll sure give it a try.

George A. said:

Victor Phan said:

I have the FS2710. Resolution is fine for 8x10 picture. But the
24-bit color dynamic range is no good. The scanner can handle
36-bit, but, this is a big but, you have to buy the software that
support 36-bit scanning. That's several hundred dollars. And that
sucks. The same advertise scam is also applied to the FS2720U. If
you go with the FS4000, be sure to call and ask them a bout this
first. I think the color dynamic range is more important than the
resolution.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Jack Frazier said:

Your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Jack,

There are 2 good user reviews of the 2720U scanner at http://www.photographyreview.com under 'reviews', then 'film scanners'.

You might want to check out the scanner forum at http://www.imaging-resource.com and post your question there, as well.

IMO, 4000 dpi scanners can be a bit TOO much-magnifying grain as well as other artifacts. I own a Coolscan IV, and 2900 dpi is plenty.

If the 2720U has FARE dust removal built in, then your decision may be a lock. Can't emphasize enough what a minor miracle FARE (or ICE) is .
Good luck!