I have an older HP scanner. Are all scanners basically the same quality or would a newer scanner be better? And what DPI should I scan at?

Since scanners keep coming down in price I would reccomend getting a new one. I work at the Office Depot and we have had all in ones for $150 that do a great job of scans. The one that comes to mind is the Epson CX5800F. It allows 10,000x14,000 scan resolution which is pretty good for an all in one for under $200. I usually use 300 DPI for anything under 8x10 and about 250 for anything over that.

Z

You need to be more specific in regard to what your planning to scan before anyone can make a decent recommendation. Reflective scanning has not advanced much but film scanners have in certain instances.

Doug

Doug is right. We need to know more. Do you want to scan prints or film? And what is your intended use for the scans? If you only want to share scanned prints on the Web, a good flatbed will probably do the job. But if you want to scan film and make high-quality prints, you should be looking at dedicated film scanners. I bought a Nikon LS 2000 film scanner in 1998 and it opened up a whole new world to me.

Depends on your budget. The Epson V700 and V750 are the pinnacle of flatbeds, they outperform some film scanners. They aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for!

I got the 750 mostly because you get the wet-scanning kit and Silverfast Ai, the scanning software makes a lot of difference once you get into high-end scanners. You also get Monace EZ color, which if you don't have it makes it worth the differrence. I already use that software.

I bought this for a studio, if you are just doing casual scans, Epson has some fine scanners that don't cost as much as the big guns.

Greg read this thread for supplemental info:

http://forums.photographyreview.com/showthread.php?t=22990

It's scanner related.

I have posted some of my negative scans. It is hit or miss. Most times I am as good as a lab, sometimes not. The last one was of a praying mantis in N&W forum. My scan and the labs was dead on. I have found no one that can scan my slides to make them look the way they do when you just hold them up to the light. My scanner can get almost as good as the lab. The biggest problem I have is dust and the film holder didn't come with the scanner and I had to make one. I think that it is possible to get one good enough. I only payed $30.00 for mine but had a time getting all of the bugs worked out. I had to find a driver and make a power supply...