Mike said:
The April copy of PCWorld, page 138, says the $200 Epson Perfection
3170 flatbed does a better job than two $600 plus dedicated film
scanners. This goes against conventional wisdom. Has anyone had
similar experiences? I'd dearly love to get a flatbed that handles
slides well too.
Mike
This runs counter to reports from users. I have an Epson 3200, which
uses similar technology to the 3170. It is fine for medium and large
format, but I don't find it truly acceptable for 35 mm. I don't know
which dedicated film scanners they compared it to, but user reports
suggest that the Minolta lower prices series I,II,III, and now IV do
better than the Epson 3200/3170. They cost about $300. Part of the
problem is that a quick test for a magazine article is testing both the
hardware and the provided software, without separating out the two.
Often, until you've learned to use the software properly, you can't get
optimal results from your scanner. It is quite possible the reviewers
just didn't know how to use the software in the dedicated film scanners.
Most people feel that for 35 mm, you are better off getting one of the
Minoltas and an inexpensive flatbed which doesn't do film.