Old scanner...

[alegator]

I'm using an HP ScanJet 6300C scanner with my WinXP Pro SP3 PC. I bought it about 12 years ago. Has there been any adcancement in scanning technology? Is it worth upgrading it to a new one?

[minidv2dvd]

i clean the bottom of the glass on mine every 3 or 4 years and it keeps on making perfect scans. the 6300's buttons on the front come in handy. not much is new in scanners, i'd replace it when it dies or a new operating system doesn't have a driver for it. the top cover on mine is showing a few stains that won't come out though......

[lordsmurf]

I'm using an HP ScanJet 6300C scanner with my WinXP Pro SP3 PC. I bought it about 12 years ago. Has there been any adcancement in scanning technology? Is it worth upgrading it to a new one?

Yes -- a lot.

I recently ditched a decade-old scanner myself, in favor of an Epson V300 (only $90 new, free shipping, from Amazon.com!), and it is higher quality, has an instant-on (no warm-up) LED lamp, much better pre-scan color corrective tools, some anti-dust, and it even does an admirable job on slides. I was not only pleased, I was impressed! Note that I used scanners daily, being both photographer and media editor (video, print, web, etc) -- and this new Epson does a great job for anything used in video or standard print sizes. Only $90 too, amazing!

A full scan is done in 30 seconds or less, even on 600dpi scans.

I shopped for a new scanner for months before making this purchase, carefully examining scan quality, start-ups times, scanning software (including TWAIN for Photoshop), and added features (if any). This was the one I decided on. My budget was $250, but I didn't even spend half of that.

My old scanner was excellent, but it was slower, with long warm-up, and the tools were not as advanced as they are now. It's a backup in a closet now.

[alegator]

i clean the bottom of the glass on mine every 3 or 4 years and it keeps on making perfect scans...

How do you unmount the glass to clean the bottom? I thought that was a risky procedure.

has...much better pre-scan color corrective tools,...

Thanks for your review on the Epson, seems a great buy. Regarding the corrective tools, I guess you can replace that in old scanners with post-scan processing with 3rd party software like Photoshop, etc? I found Vuescan which does some of that too. Of course it's handy to have it built in in the scanner itself.

[minidv2dvd]

the top flip cover just pulls straight up and off. to get to the bottom of the glass there are 4 small plastic screw covers that pop off in the top corners. you will need a star drive screwdriver to remove the 4 screws. then the top half of the plastic housing comes off with the glass mounted to it. clean and replace.

the hp precision scan software has corrective tools. start a scan and then select tools/color correction or exposure control.

[lordsmurf]

Thanks for your review on the Epson, seems a great buy. Regarding the corrective tools, I guess you can replace that in old scanners with post-scan processing with 3rd party software like Photoshop, etc? I found Vuescan which does some of that too. Of course it's handy to have it built in in the scanner itself.

The TWAIN has the embedded corrective tools -- then I further process either in Vuescan or Silverlight -- and finally Adobe Camera Raw and/or Photoshop. Only correct as needed --- output for professional needs. I deal with both excellent/perfect and pitiful/poor sources.

Some things are best done at the scan, not later on -- which is the method used by old scanners like mine in the closet, and yours currently in use.

Time to upgrade. We held out long enough -- it's time.

[classfour]

If the scan speed with USB or SCSI is ok, maybe not. I would take the time to look at other scanners. If nothing else, you may buy some quality.

[alegator]

Time to upgrade. We held out long enough -- it's time.

Yes, I agree, specially after reading the specs of the V300. It's a pity it doesn't come with ICE technology as offered in the V500, but for that price it's good enough. Have you experienced ICE? From reviews I've read it does a great job at removing scrathes from scanned slides.

[lordsmurf]

ICE doesn't really do much unless you're scanning slides and film. If you want to scan lots of slides, a dedicated slide scanner would be better for that task. Get a flatbed for use as a flatbed for prints -- don't get it for slide scanning, although you can get away with the occasional scan, sure.

Then again, the Epson V500 isn't too much more expensive at only $169 from Amazon. Maybe it will be worth it, if you have quite a few slides -- it does do an admirable job, after all. Sadly, it scans slides better than my Nikon does. (The Nikon will entirely squash the Epson at negative scanning, however! -- It won't even be a close race.)

[dLee]

If you're going to be doing a lot of film and slides, then you might want to consider the Plustek OpticFilm 7500i SE Film Scanner.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/550849-REG/Plustek_Technology_Inc__A25_BBM31_C_O....html#features

I highly recommend the SilverLight driver / software for any scanner including the Epson V500.

I would rather let a lab do it for me, but I can't trust them anymore. They don't take care of your film because "the software will fix it."

[lordsmurf]

I would rather let a lab do it for me, but I can't trust them anymore. They don't take care of your film because "the software will fix it."

See, that's so sad. I baby every client project like it was my own -- care in handling, storage and conversion (be it video or photo).

[CSULB71]

lordsmurf -- based on your recommendation, I'm seriously considering getting the Epson V300 for scanning about a hundred old slides.

A couple of questions:
1. You said "The TWAIN has the embedded corrective tools" -- does the Epson software include a histogram to adjust shadows and highlights for proper exposure before scanning?
2. Is the difference between the V300 and the V500 that the V500 has higher resolution (not useful for slides, I understand) and comes with PhotoShop Elements?

[lordsmurf]

Does this answer your question? 8)



On the second question, the V500 has ICE, the V300 does not. ICE is helpful on slides and negatives (especially negatives) -- but it really depends on budget, number of photos, how clean they are (or how much you can clean them), etc. My dedicated slide scanner has an anti-dust filter (not ICE), and my negative scanner has ICE4. I've scanned some quick slides on the V300, especially for tests, and both my scanner and both sides of the slide were clean -- minimal re-touching was necessary. I've had awful customer slides/film, however, the required the hardware anti-dust and/or ICE.

I'd say to opt for the V500, with 100 slides. Less than $1 per slide to have it auto cleaned (price difference between V300 and V500). How much is your time worth?

Epson V300 - $90 at Amazon.com --- or --- Epson V500 - $180 at Amazon.com

[CSULB71]

Excellent answer, lordsmurf!

What is ICE? If my slides are clean, does it make that much difference? If not, and because I don't need PS Elements, the ~ $90 difference isn't worth it to me to get the V500.

"How much is your time worth?" Well, I'm retired, so it's priceless.
I don't mind spending time on this project -- I've already spent tons of hours digitizing nearly 600 slides several years ago using a light box and my then-new digital camera, and tons more time on "fixing" the images because they didn't turn out all that great from the camera. Sounds like the V300 will give better scanned results than my camera-light box setup did, so I'm that much ahead of the game. Dealing with re-scanning only 100 slides now (the worst end-results of the original bunch) should be no problem for me.

[thecoalman]

He's referring to Digital ICE which is hardware based dust/fingerprint/scratch/mold... removal. Software filters are limited because some images may have deatails that may appear to be defects but are actually part of the image. Clothing texture, snow, are we taking a picture of dust blowing around?

Digital Ice does an initial infrared scan of the image. This scan locates physical defects like dust on the surface of the scan/negative/photo. If it's physical defect it's a defect. The second standard scan is done and then it will automatically remove the defects. The benefits of course are you're localizing the removal and you're not removing anything that belongs there.

[CSULB71]

Thanks -- I thought it might be something like that.

[alegator]

lordsmurf,my project involves scanning old family photos,negatives and slides (some slides I own shown below)

How are slides inserted into the V300 scanner? Are slides inserted into a slot in the scanner or is placing each slide in the scanner a time consuming process?
Maybe this is a stupid question, but if I have both the negative and the print photo, what yields better results, scanning the print or the negative? (I would assume the negative)

I just read from an Amazon reviewer that the V500 takes very long time to scan a single negative at high res, quote:

"Installing the V500 is a snap, and the scans it generates are excellent. So why am I returning it after just a day? It's too slow by a longshot, for me at least. You might have better luck or more patience.

Plain scans (no dust removal, no ICE) of 35mm negatives (24-bit color, 3200dpi) took 15 minutes each, not 2-3 minutes, like many people report from similar scanners.

The V500 scans paper or photos faster, but still not as fast, and with no better results, than my 1999-vintage HP6100C, including warm-up time for the HP lamp.

From reports on the web, it looks like other Epson scanners have similar problems - they work well for some users but are horribly slow for others. I'm apparently one of the others. Because I didn't find any happy endings for the unlucky owners, I'm not tempted to spend more time troubleshooting. My scanner is going back.

Here are some more details: a preview alone of film took anywhere from 30 seconds to more than 2 minutes. During that time, like during a full scan, Windows Task Manager shows the Epson Scan program using 99% of the CPU and loads of I/O, but not too much memory (over 2GB of RAM remained available).

There could a fix, but I checked for software and driver updates, and all the Epson support site suggested was that I scan with lower resolution. The computer has good specs: XPSP2 Pro, 3GHz Pentium 4 (HT disabled), 3GB RAM, unfragmented SATA drive with lots of space, 256MB GeForce 6800 video, and nothing else on the USB 2.0 hub with the scanner. Epson technical support is only open during regular business hours M-F."

Is this review fair?

[FulciLives]

I have an el cheapo Epson Stylus CX3810 which is a combo flatbed scanner / color inkjet printer. As a printer it was never as good as my old Epson 740i but as a scanner it kicks ass ... the Epson Scan software really rocks.

Unfortunately it just died on me as a printer but I am still using it to scan and when I replace it (I don't print much these days and money is ultra tight now) I think I will replace it with a dedicated printer and still use it to scan until it breaks for that THEN get a dedicated Epson scanner like the one LordSmurf has now.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Skith]

Here are some more details: a preview alone of film took anywhere from 30 seconds to more than 2 minutes. During that time, like during a full scan, Windows Task Manager shows the Epson Scan program using 99% of the CPU and loads of I/O, but not too much memory (over 2GB of RAM remained available).

There could a fix, but I checked for software and driver updates, and all the Epson support site suggested was that I scan with lower resolution. The computer has good specs: XPSP2 Pro, 3GHz Pentium 4 (HT disabled), 3GB RAM, unfragmented SATA drive with lots of space, 256MB GeForce 6800 video, and nothing else on the USB 2.0 hub with the scanner. Epson technical support is only open during regular business hours M-F."[/i]

Is this review fair?

I would say no. The user doesn't even appear to have tried connecting the scanner directly to the computer. Hubs often cause problems regardless of the number of devices connected to them. An incorrect setting in the system bios can also cause high CPU usage for USB devices. I believe it is something like "Enable legacy USB device support", although the wording might be slightly different depending on the bios maker and version. This info can be found pretty easily using Google. Without troubleshooting there is no guarantee that the same symptoms won't occur with a different scanner/device.

As for their support, I have been using Epson printers and scanners for a little over 10 years, and the few times I needed to contact support have been positive experiences. I think people often expect too much from consumer level support, as unfortunate as that is.