Recommendations for Slide scanner

[Cajun]

I'm ready to copy my personal (children's pics) slides onto a CD, as well as copy 35mm & 2 1/4² negs and money IS an object, since I won't be using the copier for Commercial use.
From what I've read, the Epson Perfection 4490 (4800x9600dpi), which can be purchased for $200, does an adequate job for 'the home owner'.. Any pros or cons here, or other recommendations??
FYI: My present scanner does not have slide capabilities; nor do I use it a lot except for documents....that reminds me, I'd also want to have OCR feature.

Thanks.

[another view]

From what I've read, the Epson Perfection 4490 (4800x9600dpi), which can be purchased for $200, does an adequate job for 'the home owner'.. Any pros or cons here, or other recommendations??

Depends on your expectations. Like anything photography-related, you can spend as much as you want. If it was only 35mm film then I'd definately recommend a film (as opposed to a flatbed) scanner, but any film scanner that can handle 120 will likely cost several hundred for an older used one, or maybe 2-3 times that new. A scanner like this will be the way to get tons of detail out of the film for the highest quality prints, and big prints at that.

I wonder if maybe the Epson wouldn't be a bad way to start, and possibly add an inexpensive 35mm film scanner later if you need it. I have my doubts that it will do a good-enough job with 35mm, but there's only one way to really find out. I've seen some new ones in the $200 range but can't remember who made them. Even an older Nikon LS2000 wouldn't be a bad thing to look for, but make sure they have a driver for whatever operating system you're using first.

[Photo-John]

Cajun -
I'm a big advocate of dedicated film scanners. However, my experience is from a few years ago when they were a lot more expensive and there was a huge quality difference between flatbed and film scans. My first scanner was the Nikon LS 2000, which I paid about $2000 for, in 1997 or 98. But for the past couple of years I've been hearing really good things about the Epson flatbeds. The scanners in the $400-500 range are supposed to be excellent and a lot of pros who shoot medium and large format are using them for commercial work. I expect that if you stepped back one generation or so, you'd be getting yourself a really good flatbed that will do a very good job scanning film. But if you want to buy a new one the 4490 looks very good. It's certainly better than what was available for more money, just two years ago (Perfection 3200).