Scanner recommendation?

[Droopy]

I'm looking at getting a reasonably decent scanner; we presently have a combined Epson printer/scanner/copier but would like to do better quality scans of photos and negatives. The advice on the various photo forums and the tech specs on the manufacturers websites are causing me to lose the will to live, anyone got advice on a stand alone scanner for a couple of hundred quid?

Thanks.

[The Flying Pram]

I bought a Cannon LIDE 600F flatbed scanner - about £135 as I recall.

It gives good results and comes with a 35mm film negative scanning accessory which is very useful if, like me, you have lots of old films and negatives cluttering up the roof space. It is powered directly over the USB cable, which can be handy if you want to work with a laptop "off the beaten track".

It came with a CD including a useful photo editing and processing program, and also "OmniPage SE" OCR software for scanning documents and converting directly to exportable text format.

[rmm]

I've got a Cannon LIDE 500F. I'll second what The Flying Pram said. It's run faultlessly for the last 2 years. The only thing that this model is missing is an adaptor for slides. However I can break the slides apart and place the film in the 35 mm film scan adapter. It's does have the ability to scan +ve & -ve. Probably not the best option if you have a heap of slides. It also came bundled with good software.

[green granite]

Plenty of good scanners about, and buy a separate neg scanner from E-Bay. Several Nikon and Cannon ones appear in the lists from time to time, when you've finished scanning in the negatives/slides put it back on E-Bay.

[Bushfiva]

Check out Hamrick's Vuescan software and see if your existing scanner gets automagically better. If the scanner's supported, Hamrick can sometimes do miraculous things with it.

[Saab Dastard]

I bought my Canon Canoscan 8400F from the Canon UK ebay outlet almost 3 years ago and I have been very happy with it (and the price I paid! :ok:).

SD

[Background Noise]

I have a PLUSTEK OpticFilm 7200 Scanner (dedicated film scanner) which is good for slides - not tried yet on neg film. Available for around £115 online.

[Compass Call]

Canon Canoscan 8600F works for me. Good results from slides/negatives/photos, easy to use :ok:

Regards,
CC

[Spitoon]

I've always been very happy with Epson Perfection PHOTO scanners - both my own and those at work etc.

All come with some form of illumination in the lid which is very even and neutral. The latest version does 4800x9600 dpi I think - which should be sufficient for most needs.