Guest stardust Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Okay, so I'm wanting to buy a scanner, but I don't want to spend more than $150 on one. So I've done some research and some pricing, and these are what I've come up with that fit the price range and seem like they're still worth spending the money on. scanner number 1 scanner number 2 scanner number 3 scanner number 4 scanner number 5 Okay, I'm leaning more towards the last one, simply because I know HP is reliable (although the Microtek for $119 looks pretty good...I'm just not sure about reliability), and because it's right there in my price range and still has good features (2400X2400 DPI isn't bad) plus the ability to scan in negatives (which will make reprints so much cheaper for me, plus give me the ability to possibly do some pretty cool stuff with photos), not to mention my computer's an HP anyway. So those of you who know anything about scanners, feel free to give me your opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Umm.... Honestly if you are looking at scanning pics and such (assuming they are old ones), save up and get a digital camera. I believe a 3ish megapixel is in the $200-250 range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 4, 2003 I already have a digital camera, it just takes really crappy indoor pictures. I prefer to use film, and I have a ton of stuff I need to scan in for a project I plan on working on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 I'd go with the HP. You really can't go wrong with HP peripherals...they're affordable, reliable and compatible with everything. My printer and scanner are both HP products. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tom 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 I'd avoid the Canon scanners like the plague. No one I know who bought one ended up happy with them, and when I used to work electronics retail, we got more Canons returned than anything. The HP looks good, but it's $50 under your price ceiling, so they might make a model that gives you some more bang for the money you're planning on spending. We have several HP scanners at work, and even the old 3C SCSI ones still work like they were right out of the box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Actually, the other HP scanner I've seen that's just awesome is $200. That's a little above my price range. As for the Canon's...I have a friend who has one of the cheap Canon scanner's from Wal-Mart, and so far it's been working pretty well. It doesn't pick up all of the colors very well, but it works sufficiently for what she uses it for (that Canon isn't on the list, either). Like I said, I've been leaning toward the HP since I first started thinking about it, I just wanted some opinions from some people who might know more about scanners than I do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Wait...what are you planning on doing. I mean, when will you ever need 2400 X 2400 DPI? I spent 49 bucks on my Canon. And I do alot of graphic work and use it for professional quality stuff. It is just fine. You should be able to find one for under 100 bucks that will perform great for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 4, 2003 <<<< photographer Plus, I do a lot of graphic design stuff, too. For one thing, I'm wanting to work on a portfolio of sorts (I'm not about to try to explain what I'm doing with my photos, but I would prefer high quality scanning for doing this stuff). That's one of the main things. There are a few other things, too, plus I'm thinking that if I buy something good now, I won't have to buy something else in just a year or two when I'm done with school and possibly able to really do what I want to do. *shrug* I have lots of plans. And I just want the scan quality to be as true to the original photo as possible. Plus, it has negative scanning abilities, which I am finding to be uber cool right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 <<<< photographer Plus, I do a lot of graphic design stuff, too. For one thing, I'm wanting to work on a portfolio of sorts (I'm not about to try to explain what I'm doing with my photos, but I would prefer high quality scanning for doing this stuff). That's one of the main things. There are a few other things, too, plus I'm thinking that if I buy something good now, I won't have to buy something else in just a year or two when I'm done with school and possibly able to really do what I want to do. *shrug* I have lots of plans. And I just want the scan quality to be as true to the original photo as possible. Plus, it has negative scanning abilities, which I am finding to be uber cool right now. Oh, well then yeah go big. I just hate when I see people buy shit they don't need. My mom has a computer strong enough to do animation work and all she does is use word and play solitare. She paid WAY to much. And in 2 years, you are still going to need to upgrade. I have been out of the animation field for less than a year and I am so far behind it is sad really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tom 0 Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Actually, the other HP scanner I've seen that's just awesome is $200. That's a little above my price range. But it's probably worth it. If it has more features and higher resolution, save up another month or so and buy it. Since you're doing photography work, you're going to want the best scanner you can get. Besides, dropping an extra $50 on it now means you can stave off upgrading it by at least a year or two. The 3C scanners I mentioned that we still use are every minute of seven years old, and our graphics team still has a couple of those in heavy rotation. So yeah, I'd say it's worth going with the HPs and it's worth getting the better machine. As for the Canon's...I have a friend who has one of the cheap Canon scanner's from Wal-Mart, and so far it's been working pretty well. It doesn't pick up all of the colors very well, but it works sufficiently for what she uses it for (that Canon isn't on the list, either). If it doesn't pick up the colors well, then it's worthless for what you want to do with it. This is a complaint I heard about Canon scanners when I still sold them, BTW, and that's been about three years. Basically, we got almost no complaints about HPs and Visioneers, and of the two, HPs were more user-friendly and probably priced a little better. Microtek was still fairly new in the store when I left, but the feedback I'd heard about them had been positive. The most recent scanners we're using here are HP 7400s, but they're probably a year old already, and I'd have no idea how much they cost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 4, 2003 Well, comparing the two is a little different since one is from Circuit City and the other is from Best Buy, and they have their product descriptions set up differently, but from what I can tell, there isn't that much of a difference between the 99.99 one and the 199.99 one. Same dpi (2400), same color bit depth (48), both scan negatives. The only real difference I see is size, and that's minimal, and in the software included, which is also minimal. One includes greeting card creator software, the other ArcSoft FunHouse (anyone know what that is?). There's also one other HP model that's $249.99 and its main really cool feature that's different is the photo feeder for 4X6 or 3.5X5 photos (which is cool, but not necessary, y'know). It has the same dpi and everything else, and actually doesn't have some of the cool extra software. So....*shrug* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tom 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 The $99 one sounds like the best deal, then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, too. Thanks for all the advice, though, it *has* really helped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Go to the stores and ask to scan some pics. Some places will let you. CC may be more open to it since they work on commision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 5, 2003 Hmmm. Thanks for the suggestion. I might have to take a couple of photos with me when I go this afternoon, then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
