Newbie Questions

[carney2]

I still shoot film and don't see that changing in the near future. I have considered film scanners in the past, but have just never pulled the trigger. A few questions:

1. I am considering the Dimage 5400. Is anyone using it and have some useful tips?

2. The Dimage 5400 advertises optical resolution of 5,400 dpi. What does that mean? Is it truly "better" than a scanner with 4,000 dpi?

3. The Dimage 5400 advertises a dynamic range of 4.8. Same question as 2, above: Is this truly better than, let's say, 4.2 and what does it mean?

4. Beyond the scanner purchase, whgat else will I need? I am assuming, for instance, that I will need some software such as Photoshop Elements. Anything else?

Hope these questions aren't too basic.

[SeattleJo]

I still shoot film and don't see that changing in the near future. I have considered film scanners in the past, but have just never pulled the trigger. A few questions:

1. I am considering the Dimage 5400. Is anyone using it and have some useful tips?

2. The Dimage 5400 advertises optical resolution of 5,400 dpi. What does that mean? Is it truly "better" than a scanner with 4,000 dpi?

3. The Dimage 5400 advertises a dynamic range of 4.8. Same question as 2, above: Is this truly better than, let's say, 4.2 and what does it mean?

4. Beyond the scanner purchase, whgat else will I need? I am assuming, for instance, that I will need some software such as Photoshop Elements. Anything else?

Hope these questions aren't too basic.

Carney,

I can't answer all your questions, but can share my experience, and hopefully answer a few of them.

I own the Minolta Dimage scan III. It actually came with Photoshop elements, so I assume a higher level scanner would too. I've never used the 5400 but have heard good things about it. I love my Scan III for what I paid for it. I usually only print 8 x 10's and they rival anything I've ever had printed at a pro shop thru the wet process or scanned process. I've never paid for a really expensive print(most was $15-20 for a 8x10), but I do have a pretty discerning eye when it comes to quality and am very happy with the output.

I think the Scan III could use a little more dynamic range, so the 4.8 may be very useful and the extra resolution of the 5400 allows you to go bigger. The numbers do mean something, but you have to ask yourself how much is enough. Sure a drum scan is going to better, but it's just not practical. If you want to print bigger than 8 x 10 then the added resolution may be helpful. No matter what size you print, the dynamic range will be useful.

All scans lose a little sharpness, so you must learn how to use post processing tools (photoshop, etc..) to bring the image back to its original state.

My full resolution scans take up a lot of memory though. Around 62mb per image. So make sure you have plenty of harddrive space.


SJ