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Thread ID: 49490	2004-09-21 00:11:00	Advice on Scanner purchase	pulling hair out (4493)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
274217	2004-09-21 00:11:00	Hi The Canon CS3000F Scanner is what I'm looking at, as it scans 35mm filmstrips and slides, also if you have Canon bubblejet printers [as I have] the scanner's one-button colour copies direct from scanner,via PC to printer in an instant. Q1. Is $262 a fair price? [Want to stay with Canon products] Re: USB ports - my 2 are presently used by Printer and mouse. This scanner uses a USB port but does not support an add-on USB Board. Q2. If I use my Belkin USB 4 port Micro Hub converter, is this OK, or is it considered an add-on USB Board? I only have 256Mb Ram on my Toshiba Notebook. Is this going to be a problem, eg. slow things down a lot? Regards, Marg	pulling hair out (4493)
274218	2004-09-21 00:28:00	Hi Marg I have the same scanner . The negative film adapter while handy I guees is not a replacement for a proper film scanner . I haven't used mine . Is it a powered hub/add-on? . It should run off a hub or add-on ports because it has its own power pack although some like to run off the main USB cintroller, try your mouse on the add-on USB and if it works you can just swap them around . The price will only be worth it if you use the scanners capabilities . What are you goinig to use it for? There are are cheaper models and ones that are probably more laptop friendly . Cheers Murray P	Murray P (44)
274219	2004-09-21 02:07:00	Thanks for your reply Murray . I hope to create a CD of old family photos that I can give out to rest of my family . There were 9 of us kids . Have done the family tree as far as I can go . Had a scanner long time ago, and saw an article which said you get sharper prints if you scan the negatives, rather than the photo . It has to be a scanner that does this and I want to keep to Canon all the way through . Also have a lot of slides to scan as well . If necessary I am prepared to put more ram in my notebook - it can accept up to 1Gb . Hopefully the scanner will be able to do a good job copying out all the family tree notes . Have you been happy with the scanner . Is there anything you would have wanted extra on it to do a good job? regards Marg .	pulling hair out (4493)
274220	2004-09-21 02:47:00	More ram would definitely be good, 256 is a bit light at the best of times but if you start touching up photo's more is better . I have 512MB on a PC and it struggles sometimes (mainly because I work on large files with lots of undoe steps available, each step takes up ram, 20MB image x 20 steps, for eg) . Have alook at A Few Scan Tips ( . scantips . com/mission . html" target="_blank">www . scantips . com), he discusses scanning photo prints, slids and negatives . He's a tad particular so, you could probably get away with a bit less . Some's a bit out of date re hardware but, a wealth of info anway, have good cruise around . Cheers Murray P	Murray P (44)
274221	2004-09-21 07:17:00	Hi Marg, I've been investigating scanner's for the similar purposes you want. From what I have learned the average flatbed scanner with 35mm neg & slide scanning does not produce good results. Your reading that scanning negs & slides "can" give sharper prints rather than scanning photos is correct, if the negs are scanned in a specialised film scanner. These have a very much greater resolution than flatbeds & cost many more 100's of dollars than what you are considering. It's all to do with resolution & dots per inch. Scanning a 6 x 4" or larger photo at a certain DPI setting will give many more pixels than scanning the little 1" x 1.5" slide or neg. Because when scanning, more inches = more pixels & better resolution. This may not matter if the images are only for use on a monitor, but printing is another thing. The scantips site Murray suggested confirms this about neg scanning with flatbeds. Not being able to justify the expense of a film scanner, I've been content to use a basic HP Scanjet flatbed. As long as the print is clear & sharp, the results from scanning 6 x 4 or larger photo have been excellent. I hope you have success in scanning the family photos.	Bazza (407)
274222	2004-09-21 21:27:00	Hi Murray, Know what you mean about "undo's" slowing things down . I used to have a form which broke down your changes into Colour, Sharpness, Contrast, etc and would note each change . Did a lot of "Save As" at different times and start again from that last save . My main annoyance was the printout which often didn't give a colour the same as what I saw on screen . I d/loaded a sheet of colours with the R,G,B,etc beside it, printed it out, compared with my screen, and it was really handy, but this was back in 1997! Have you ever tried just cutting and copying a section of the main object in photo and doing your sharpness, the "white" thingy [?what it is called], etc, then repeat those changes on the whole picture? Also read that if have a scanner which has lots of options, you can do a lot of the alterations at the scan point . This was to avoid the fact that each time you make a change after the scan degrade the quality of the picture . Thanks for the site you gave, will definitely help refresh the old memory . Marg .	pulling hair out (4493)
274223	2004-09-21 21:44:00	Hi Bazza, Thanks for replying. Would have replied last night, but lay on the couch to watch Coro Street, fell asleep and woke at 2am this morning. Missed the final of Sex and the City which really annoyed me as I always follow it. Have you decided on a scanner yet? Which ones or makes should I avoid? Don't know anyone with a scanner. Had a HP Scanjet last time but now prefer to go with same make printer/scanner which cuts out a lot of choices. The slides I'll be using were taken in 1956. Apparantly an Uncle took the shots. He was a keen photographer. I don't know who to leave the originals with in order to let the others get copies. Family is a little divided. Can't afford to get copies done for them all. All I can do is give it my best shot, put them on CD and those without computers can get a camera shop to print them out. Maybe the shop can do a bit of tampering with it. regards, Marg	pulling hair out (4493)
274224	2004-10-16 06:22:00	Hi Marg, Apologies for bumping this older thread, but I wonder if you have purchased that Canon scanner or another? And sorry for not offering advice about scanners, as my experience with scanners is limited . Like you I'm pleased with Canon products, especially printers . I got the HP scanjet 2300 last year . It was cheap & recommended by consumer . But the HP software uses IE to display scan options . It would not work with IE6, because of script errors . Tried it on an older PC with IE5, & it works, but thats inconvenient, as it's not my main PC . Anyway, the scan results of 6 x 4" or larger prints were very excellent . If only it would work using IE6! So you see I dont have recommendations for you . Did you decide on the purchase of a scanner? I'd be glad to know of your experience . Just a PS . Concerning scanning slides/negs . I believe because the originals are so small, that imperfections like dust/specks are a big problem . Finally I welcome anyone with experience of scanners to offer advice .	Bazza (407)
274225	2004-10-16 06:51:00	It's probably a bit late to be saying this, but if it is going to be an important historical family archive, it would be far better to have negs professionally scanned and recover costs from the rest of the family. If you do it properly now, there will be a quality archive for generations to come. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
274226	2004-10-16 11:36:00	Hi Bazza Didn't get the scanner afterall . Will eventually get them put onto one disk professionally, and leave it to the family to either copy the whole disk or just take the shots that they need . If I was going to get a really good scanner, I would also need to get a really good program to touch the photos up . There seemed to be so much to do . One good thing came out of the whole exercise, I have added on some more Ram bringing it up to 512mb . It sure speeds up programs such as AVG, Spybot etc, and also one of my programs that has to bring up lots of results in one action . The help and info I received from the forum posters was great and hope it helped others in the same situation . Regards, Marg .	pulling hair out (4493)
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