Film Scanning
We have had a CanoScan FS2710 for some time and just got at
second. Our experience suggests that at $500 it is a good value for
the money. There are two limitations. First the dynamic range is not
up to the standard of the latest scanners. Second the the SCSI
adapter that comes with the machine is an Adaptec 2904 which is an OEM
version of the 2906. It does not work out of the box in Windows 2000
Professional, but this can be fixed with the latest version of
[ftp://ftp.adaptec.digisle.net/software_pc/aspi/aspi32.exe Adaptec's
ASPI 32] software.
People complain about anti-aliasing problems with black and white
negatives, but we find that the CanoScan twain driver works pretty
well. For some examples that were shot with Delta 400 and have been
printed at 13 x 19 in. sizes, see
the Bentley Le Mans shots
on this site.
However, it is trouble free and has produces good scans. For some
examples, see the gallery section of this site.
What is the optimum choice?
For $900 the Nikon Coolscan IV ED has a good reputation.
Here is the factory link to this product.
Update: Some reviewers on Photo.Net just
trashed this scanner, largely for focusing problems. (11/12/01).
What is the choice for budget shopper?
We now have two
CanoScan
FS2710 units which at $500 are in the 'good value for the money'
category.
There is now a FS2710U model that uses the USB interface. If I were
buying today, I would pick this interface over SCSI because of the
ease of configuration compared to SCSI. I have no experience with
this model. One thing to check might be the transfer speed with both.
The contrast of this scanner (Dmax) is only 3.2.
Included on the Canon site are new drivers for Windows 2000 which we
have now gotten to work using the latest version of
[ftp://ftp.adaptec.digisle.net/software_pc/aspi/aspi32.exe Adaptec's
ASPI 32] software.
Does the new driver eliminate the need for a new SCSI adapter?
New drivers from both Adaptec and Canon have enabled the FS2710 to
work on Windows 2000.
Current Conclusions
If you are using Windows 2000 and the Adaptec 290x SCSI adapter you
will need the newest ASPI driver from Adaptec. This is not needed for
Win NT 4.0. On Windows 2000 it now works correctly for Photshop 6.01.
Last modified: Sun, 09-Dec-01 08:51:37 PST
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