I agree £1500 is a lot but I did a lot of tests against lesser scanners and there is a very visible difference in things like the contrast range.
You can get a slide scanner for a few hundred which gets close but if you are into nature /outdoor shots (I mean landscapes rather than nudes
) then contrast is quite important.
Contrast range, rather than plain colour accuracy, is also what you mainly pay for in flatbed scanners nowadays. Resolution is two a penny...