 |
|
 |
It all started out innocently
enough - I was off to the computer shop with a friend to
buy a CD burner and somehow came home with a scanner! For
some years now, I'd sought an affordable and convenient
way to scan my 120 and 4x5 inch transparencies and negatives,
but there was no easy option. My latest ambition was to
purchase one of the new Polaroid SprintScan 120 scanners
(anticipated to be US$5000 when released in February 2000),
but that still didn't solve my 4x5 scanning dilemma.
So, there it was, up high on the shelf, waiting for me -
what was I to do?
To preface this review, in the past most (if not all) flatbed
scanners with transparency adapters produced, at best, ordinary
results - low resolution, poor shadow detail (or highlight
detail on negatives), banding (uneven density, especially
in low density areas) and inaccurate colour. The Agfa Duoscan
was the first decent option for scanning large format transparencies
- utilising a drawer in the base of the unit for film and
a rotating head that could also scan reflective art. Even
at a release price of several thousand US dollars, the Duoscan
was a hit, but still not affordable for the home user.
Cropped detail of scan
done from underexposed transparency at 1600 dpi on a Polaroid
SprintScan 35LE
As above, but scanned with 1640SU. Note shadow detail
in rock face in comparison to Polaroid scan.
The Epson 1640SU is quite affordable at around US$400 including
the transparency adapter (about US$300 without). It comes
bundled with Photoshop 5.0 LE, Adobe PhotoDeluxe and a USB
lead (though configurations may vary from country to country).
Unfortunately for me, there was no SCSI lead inside the
box and don't expect to use the lead off your Zip drive
as Epson have employed a 50 pin HD SCSI plug I haven't come
across before.
As you might have guessed, the scanner will run on either
USB (for iMac or Windows 98/2000) or SCSI (older style Macintosh
or any PC with a SCSI card). While USB suits the plug-and-play
market, SCSI is still the faster, professional standard
for most design and photography businesses. No doubt the
inclusion has added to the cost of the scanner, but it has
also widened its potential market somewhat.
Initial setup is simple. Plug in the power, SCSI/USB lead
and rest the transparency adapter on the scanning glass
finally connecting it to the scanner via the short lead.
Software is loaded via CD and consists of a Twain driver
for scanning with Photoshop and an intriguing stand-alone
program titled Epson Smart Panel. The later is a 'laymans'
option which permits scanning for email, printing and text
recognition (OCR software is also included). For photographers,
the Twain driver is probably the only software interface
you'll ever use as it allows control over the scanner in
much greater detail than Smart Panel.
As mentioned previously, the transparency adapter sits on
the glass (once the scanner 'lid' is removed). Though this
seems a little flimsy at first, in practice, the weight
of the hinged light source holds the unit in place quite
adequately. A minor downside is the heat generated by the
light source which, if left on temporarily buckles 120 and
4x5 transparencies causing unsharpness in the corners of
the image (the 35mm masks are made of thicker plastic and
don't seem to flex as much). Epson have minimised this problem
by automatically lighting the unit when needed and extinguishing
it when done. A manual override switch on the back of the
unit is also available (haven't they thought of everything!).
600dpi greyscale scan
from 120 B&W negative
To scan a transparency or negative, you need to insert it
into one of the masks provided and place that into the recessed
area within the transparency adapter. Included are masks
for 4x5 inch, 120 (up to 6x9cm) and 35mm film (2 strips
of 2 standard frames). To scan 35mm slides, simply place
them on the glass. Why not put the film directly on the
glass? The main reason is the possibility of 'Newton Rings'
appearing on your scans - interference patterns that are
neither desired nor easily retouched. The downside of these
masks is that they hold the film loosely and once it heats
up there is the possibility that it'll sag and touch the
glass. I suppose taping the film at the edges or making
a custom 'neg carrier' is a possibility, but for now, the
masks provided seem quite usable.
So, how good are the scans?
The old adage of 'you get what you pay for' is about to
be redefined. In terms of sharpness, colour and tonal range
- this scanner is sensational! This is not to say that the
results will be brilliant with all images. To really test
its potential, I scanned a severely underexposed slide on
the Epson as well as my Polaroid SprintScan (both at 1600
dpi, 8 bit, no exposure or colour correction). Apart from
differences in colour (the Polaroid was a little green,
while the Epson biased toward magenta), the Epson maintained
a usable degree of detail in the shadow area while the Polaroid
scanner's result was grainy and uneven. This was not what
I expected as every rule in the book states that dedicated
film scanners are far superior in terms of dynamic (tonal)
range. Whether it is the more advanced software or some
other technological advance, Epson have really scored in
this regard.
The funny thing is that once you pop on the transparency
adapter, you almost forget that you've got a perfectly usable
print scanner as well! Using all the same controls as film
scanning, the big difference is the image size - A4 rather
than 4x5 inch! Naturally the quality is excellent, but I
can't see a lot of consumers purchasing this scanner for
reflected art alone - there are much cheaper options.
Screen grab from Twain
interface as used with Photoshop
Same image once scanned. (from 4x5 inch transparency)
And for those that like numbers, the maximum optical resolution
is 1600x3200 dpi. At settings above that, the software interpolates
the scan to simulate a larger image - with varying results.
To give you an idea of the usefulness of 1600 dpi, it'll
give you a maximum file size of around 128 meg from 4x5,
35 meg from 6x6cm and 10 meg from 35mm. The scanner also
boasts 42 bit colour (14 bit B&W) scanning which for
the novice translates to a greatly extended range of tones
in comparison to conventional 24 bit (8x3 for RGB) colour
- actually 16384 levels of each colour rather than 256!
In conclusion, I'd have to say that this is a well thought
out and designed product, priced for the home market and
capable of handling semi-professional work. It is no substitute
for a US$10,000 Flextight scanner (rapidly becoming an industry
standard in low-end bureaus) or indeed a true drum scanner,
but it fills a niche which has been empty for far too long.
It won't replace your dedicated 35mm film scanner, but it'll
make you dig out those old 120 and 4x5 shots you filed away
all those years back...
At a glance...
Good Points:-
Price
SCSI & USB interface
High optical resolution (1600 dpi)
Wide bit depth (14 bit per channel)
Excellent scan quality
Ease of use etc...
Bad points:-
Flimsy neg masks
Transparency head runs hot not much else really!
Product Specifications
SCANNER TYPE Flatbed colour image scanner
SUB-SCANNING METHOD Movement of scanning head
PHOTOELECTRIC DEVICE Colour CCD (6 line alternated)
DOCUMENT SIZE 216 x 297mm (A4 + Letter)
LIGHT SOURCE White cold cathode fluorescent lamp
OPTICAL RESOLUTION 1,600 x 3,200 dpi with Micro Step Drive
PIXELS/LINE 40,800 pixels (13,600 x 3 colours)
OUTPUT RESOLUTION Max. 12,800 dpi (by 6400dpi x 200% zoom)
50 to 6,400 dpi (in single steps)
ZOOM 50% to 200% (in 1% steps)
GRAYSCALE 14-bit (16,384 grayscale levels) external 14-bit
(16,384 grayscale levels) internal
COLOUR 42-bit (4,398 billion colours) external 42-bit (4,398
billion colours) internal
SUPPORTED PLATFORMS SCSI I/F Microsoft® Windows®
95/98/2000 Windows® NT 4.0® Mac OS® 8.0 or later
USB I/F Microsoft® Windows® 98 (Pre-installed model)
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 (Pre-installed model or
upgrade of Windows® 98 pre-installed model) Mac OS®
8.1 or later (Macintosh® with standard USB connection)
INTERFACES SCSI (50 pin high-density connectors) x 1 USB*
(Type-B receptacle connector) x 1 DIMENSIONS WIDTH x DEPTH
x HEIGHT 289 x 442 x 96mm (Without Film Adapter)
Potential File Sizes (RGB mode)
35mm
1600 dpi - 10 meg
120
1600 dpi - 35 meg
600 dpi - 5 meg
300 dpi - 1.2 meg
4x5 inch
1600 dpi - 128 meg!
600 dpi - 18 meg
300 dpi - 4.5 meg
Double all file sizes when scanning using the 42 bit setting.
|
|
|
|
