Looking for the best scanner/techniques for pictures

[PharmBoy]

I am looking to scan alot of pictures into my computer to later turn them into DVDs.
Basically family photos that have been stored for years and years and shoeboxes and such. Anyone have any suggestions of a good scanner that keeps a true color and is fairly fast. I guess more emphasis on the quality than speed. While I could touch them up with photoshop, I am looking for something that gives me a high quality picture that doesn't really need touching up. Thanks

PS I don't have the negatives so that feature wouldn't help much.

[Bjs]

Aim to look at epson scanner ... while similar to canon , I find better image control using epsons when it comes down to photo's .

You dont need to spend a bundle either , but for starters , I'd look into this model

http://www.epson.com.au/products/scanner/perfectionv100photo.asp

Mine is the v350 .

First thing would be to look around locally and see whats available , and theri features , so as to make a comparison between the units , then the final price your will to go for .

Local means easy servicing under warrantee to .

[thecoalman]

Do some research on Digital Ice. I've been looking at anything that has caught my eye recently because I will be making a similar purchase shortly. Digital Ice is going to be a must have for my next purchase, Digital ice cleans and enhances scanned images. Do a Google search or better yet do a Google image search and you'll come up with a lot of examples. You're probably looking at a $300+ scanner with digital ice.

I am looking to scan alot of pictures into my computer to later turn them into DVDs.

Do yourself a favor and get a large internal/external HDD especially if you have hundreds of images, I'd actually suggest getting 2 HDD's. The other one for mirroring as a backup. This is a lot of work and to do it right you need to scan at high resolutions 300DPI+ . these produce very large files even if you save as .jpg . Add to that I wouldn't trust that amount work to DVD, as an additional backup instead of mirroring on a 2nd HDD that's fine but not as the only backup.

[Bjs]

If you need some sort of image touchup program , there's the gimp which has come a long way ... or coreldraw graphics suite , Jasc paintshop pro (damn corel , they keep buying my other companies products) ... adobe photoshop (come on corel , buy this sucker ... I dare you)

There are quite a few around from freeware , to "clean the wallet out" types .

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thecoalman

Digital ice cleans and enhances scanned images

Forget that , its based on "automated" assumptions , and provides no guarantee on improved image quality .

Image quality and enhancement is only guaranteed by the operator and applicable usage of filters / tools , to reach the final required result , which professional's do .

I doubt if any "automated" process will completely remove or rectify damage caused by inappropriate storage , or crease lines .

Its like asking for a big mac , and getting nuggets instead ... not what was ordered .

[thecoalman]

BJS your assumption on how this works is incorrect, Digital Ice is a hardware based solution that has to be included in the scanner. You can't purchase it standalone. The "automated assumptions" are not assuptions at all because they are based on physical defects on the image surface such as dust or scratches unlike software that is basing it on charateristics of the image. If it's a physical defect, it's a defect, no if's and's or but's about it. If you have ever scanned images at very high resolution you would know that dust is your biggest enemy.

From my brief research on it, it appears that a digital ice equipped scanner does two passes on an image. the first being the normal pass any scanner would make and the second being one to detect defects. Apparently the second pass uses IR technology to detect the physical defects such as dust, scrathes or even fingerprints which is the key because you are isolating exactly where the defect is leaving the surrounding data untouched

Software on the other hand can't do this, it's just guessing or applying a blanket filter to the entire image. e.g Is it a defect or is it just the stitching pattern on a shirt? Specks of dust or snowflakes? See where I'm going?

I'm sure it has it limitations especially when you get into large portions of missing data but for what it does software is no match.

[ranchhand]

adobe photoshop (come on corel , buy this sucker ... I dare you)

[celtic_druid]

Well Canon scanners have FARE to remove dust, scratches, etc. using infrared light. Don't know how it differs from Kodak's implementation.

[PharmBoy]

Does anyone know what kind of scanners stores that do photo duplication such as Walgreens, CVS etc use?

[lordsmurf]

It used to be Kodak RFS professional-line scanners. Or Fuji.

[Skith]

Does anyone know what kind of scanners stores that do photo duplication such as Walgreens, CVS etc use?

I have never seen one, but I suspect that it is a machine that would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. I can certainly tell you it is not a standard flatbed scanner they picked up at the local staples or computer store.

As for flatbeds:

I believe all of the Dust/Scratch removal features on scanners (DigitalIce, FARE, and what ever others there might be) all utilize infrared light. They are quite effective, but significantly lengthen the scan time. Some scanners (flatbeds) may only offer dust and scratch removal on a particular medium (e.g. reflective media, but not negatives, or visa versa).

Color Correction is another matter entirely. There are many programs than can be used with photoshop, and possibly other editing software that can help automate the process. There is quite a variance in how well they perform and the price. Be sure to carefully read the features of the product and version.

One last thing, do not overlook the software that is used to do the actual scanning. What manufacturers provide with scanners is ok for most, but for such a large job you might want to spend a bit of money for better software to save time. You might try the demo of VueScan.

[thecoalman]

Does anyone know what kind of scanners stores that do photo duplication such as Walgreens, CVS etc use?

Probably not much different than the high end consumer/prosumer models. The big difference is going to be they are designed for continual and automated use at a much faster rate.