What's the best photo scanner?

Question

I'm looking for a high quality scanner to scan photographs. Money is not a particular issue as much as quality is. Is there an industry standard photographers use or does anybody know of an outstanding photo scanner?

Answer 1

When you say money is not a issue are you being serious or are you on the low range of scanners. You need to ask your self what you want to scan. Film slides or actual pics. Here is a link for B&h photo they have some nice high range consumer scanners,

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=film+scanners&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

But if money is no issue i would look for a drum scanner my self. but you can be talking about a 30k investment for a drum scanner....

http://www.cameras-scanners-flaar.org/high-end_flatbed_scanner_review/directory_drum_scanners.html

Answer 2

I'm using an all-in-one printer with outstanding results. The problem is, they are so darn cheap now that money truly is NOT an issue. I have an "old" Epson Stylus Photo RX620 that will scan from 50 dpi all the way up to 12,800 dpi. If I want just a "quick scan" of a photo, I use 300 dpi. If I want to do some work on the photo, like fixing scratches and cleaning dust, I use 600 dpi, do my work and resize when I am done.

Here are some examples of scans from this very scanner:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/sets/72157601316534420/

Read the captions under each to see whether they are supposed to be high resolution or not. Some came from very "rough" source material and some are pretty decent.

I guess I still have a very low-resolution version of the sunset on Flickr, but I have a 10x15 print of the sunset hanging in my office and I must say that it is stunning.

[NOTE: I don't know if you read my answer or not, but I replaced the low-rez version with a slightly better image, just to do the original some justice. It is still only about 1/3 the size of the original 600 dpi scan, but click "All sizes" and then "Original" to get an idea about the quality of the scan.]

I have absolutely no complaints about this scanner at all. My (adult) daughter bought the newer model direct from Epson for $130. http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63059193 This is a great printer if you are sticking to 8½x11 paper, too.

They have many all-in-one scanner/printers for less and for more money, but this is the one I personally would buy because of the "Ultra High Definition" printer and Claria inks.

They also offer dedicated flatbed scanners that range in prince from about $100 to $800, if you are looking for a true professional scanner.

Answer 3

One from a Yard Sale.
I have a Hewlett Packard and it works good for me.