[filmscanners] Re: Filmscanners - is this about as good as itgets?

["Simon Lamb" <simon@sclamb.com>]

On 26/01/03 21:44, "Tim Atherton" <tim@KairosPhoto.com> wrote:

> For a few years, Nikon, Canon, Polaroid, Minolta were all outdoing each
> other producing better general level filmscanners culminating in, for
> example, the LS2000 or 4000 for Nikon.
>
> My feeling is, that with the huge boom in pro level digital, the need for
> these kind of scanners has reduced (or at least levelled off), and the
> scanners themselves seem to have reached a level of performance that is
> acceptable for most requirements.
>
> So, as far as desktop film scanners go, do people think that this is about
> as good as it gets for now?
>
> I can see some moderate improvements being made here and there, and maybe a
> new model or two. But I think that for the foreseeable future, the sort of
> rapid development and arrival of new models has probably levelled out.
>
> What do people think?
>

Tim

I has this debate a couple of weeks ago and I agree with your views.  I
think that the equipment is out there now to make superb scans and, with the
right scan resolution, you can also make very large prints.  A medium format
negative scanned on an LS8000 will produce huge prints is needed.

I don't think scanner manufacturers will be making any significant
investment in designing a new generation of scanners as I think that digital
capture in the camera will negate the need for film and scanners (for those
that desire or need to negate it), and I believe that all the quality that
one needs is already out there.   Everything from my LS30 to an Imacon 848
can be bought, used and provide and increasing level of quality.

Digital cameras may not kill off film in the next 5-10 years, but I bet it
will kill of scanner development.  What we may see is the rise of the
flatbed, since this technology is catching up in terms of ppi, dynamic range
etc., and there are other drivers for producing the technology, not just
film scanning.  Look at the Epson 3200 or Artixscan 1800f to see some
seriously good specifications, rivaling some of the current dedicated film
scanners.

Simon

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