[filmscanners] Leaf 35 and 4000dpi scanners
Hmm, seems to be working now. OK, I'll try again: Any opinions on the Leaf 35 as a 4000 dpi scanner? I need to start thinking about upgrading from my FS2710. Other options are obviously Canon 4000, Nikon, Sprintscan and ?? I see a Leaf 35 selling for about $600 which seems pretty good for a 4000 dpi scanner, but would welcome comments. Ken Durling Visit my new easier-to-browse PhotoSIG portfolio: http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=203 Unsubscribe by mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with 'unsubscribe filmscanners' or 'unsubscribe filmscanners_digest' (as appropriate) in the message title or body
filmscanners: Leaf?
Leaf scanners occasionally turn up on Ebay for a reasonable price. What's with them? Are they a good deal or a maintenence nightmare? Rich
RE: filmscanners: Leaf?
There have been very little maintenance issues people have reported on the Leafscan email group (leafscan at egroups.yahoo.com). Only one person had banding that I recall, that was easily cured by routine maintenance of lubricating the lead screws. I think for around $2k, if you get one complete with Leafset holders, latest firmware (4.1) and in great working condition, nothing can touch it. If you need 4x5, then it's really the only under $7k option I would say. If your max is 120, then you really might want to look at the new Nikon and/or Polaroid. They have their upsides...4x5, 5080DPI for 35mm and have their downsides...slower than more modern scanners for color (three pass color) ...but certainly comparable for BW, probably require some level of servicing soon enough. It is an older unit, though designed and built quite well. The Leaf software is quite good, and for me, has virtually every feature I need to get excellent scans...but lacks preview rotation and on Windows, only supports 8.3 filenames. Neither has been a real problem. It does have some level of color management via gamma settings you can change in the .ini file (Windows), and that works quite well actually, at least for BW. One advantage I see the Leaf has specifically for BW is it scans BW with a neutral density filter, and most all other scanners scan BW using RGB and do a conversion. I believe the single ND filter gives better BW scans, but I have yet to actually run any test to verify my speculation. If you're somewhat technically oriented, it's a great scanner. If you're not...I'd recommend not considering one. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Richard Starr Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 10:47 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: filmscanners: Leaf? Leaf scanners occasionally turn up on Ebay for a reasonable price. What's with them? Are they a good deal or a maintenance nightmare? Rich
Re: filmscanners: Leaf?
On 26 Jun 2001, Richard Starr wrote: Leaf scanners occasionally turn up on Ebay for a reasonable price. What's with them? Are they a good deal or a maintenence nightmare? Consider that it's a 12-year old design, and it originally cost well in excess of $10K. That suggests (to me, anyway) that repair could be costly. But I'm certainly not speaking from experience. rafe b.
RE: filmscanners: Leaf?
Leaf scanners occasionally turn up on Ebay for a reasonable price. What's with them? Are they a good deal or a maintenence nightmare? Consider that it's a 12-year old design, and it originally cost well in excess of $10K. That suggests (to me, anyway) that repair could be costly. But I'm certainly not speaking from experience. Do you think it would cost more to repair than, say, one of the new 4kSPI MF scanners (like the Nikon of Polaroid) after warranty is up, that is? How long is the warranty on the new scanners anyway? Can you get an extended warranty? A camera board for the Leaf, with a CCD, is $800...but you can buy a Leafscan 35 for under $500, which has the same electronics and power supply as the Leafscan 45. But, you really should be handy with electronics to own a Leafscan, since you don't want to pay for a house call, and shipping it to someone for repair is really not easy. Fortunately, for the Nikon and Polaroid (and any other mid end scanner that comes out these days) there should be a much larger number of them out, and therefore parts, though they will probably be expensive, will probably be easier to get, one would hope! But I have to admit, I am impressed that CreoScitex does still offer all the replacement parts (I don't know how much though) for these units! They ceased production in 1993 BTW, and there were over 2000 of the Leafscan 45 produced.
Re: filmscanners: Leaf?
Austin Franklin wrote (among other things): I think for around $2k, if you get one complete with Leafset holders, latest firmware (4.1) and in great working condition, nothing can touch it. If you need 4x5, then it's really the only under $7k option I would say. If your max is 120, then you really might want to look at the new Nikon and/or Polaroid. Although I doubt it's as quite as good as a Leaf (never used one), the Agfa T-2500 is also excellent, about $5K, and in overall terms it may be the best 35 to 4x5 film scanner under the Flextight Precision on the current market. A lot of folks like the UMAX 3000, but I don't like the fact film cannot be air mounted with this unit. But if you need 35-4x5, and are on a budget, these are the three to consider IMO. If you're somewhat technically oriented, it's a great scanner. If you're not...I'd recommend not considering one. That sums it up nicley. Dave
Re: filmscanners: Leaf?
Leaf scanners occasionally turn up on Ebay for a reasonable price. What's with them? Are they a good deal or a maintenence nightmare? Rich If you get one that gives no trouble, they are a phenomenal buy. If you get one that needs repair, you can figure on at least $300 round trip shipping, possibly for an estimate alone. I recommend buying one, but make sure you get some sample scans done first to make sure all is in order. Todd
RE: filmscanners: Leaf?
Austin wrote: Do you think it would cost more to repair than, say, one of the new 4kSPI MF scanners (like the Nikon of Polaroid) after warranty is up, that is? How long is the warranty on the new scanners anyway? Can you get an extended warranty? Jeez, I haven't checked the warranty -- just blithely assumed it was 1 year. I avoid extended warranties as a matter of principle, be it washing machines or audio gear. I find that repair costs for any given item are often scaled to the original purchase cost. Eg., it will cost more to get a BMW or Mercedes fixed than to get a Ford fixed. rafe b.
Re: filmscanners: Leaf?
on 6/26/01 2:53 PM, Raphael Bustin at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I avoid extended warranties as a matter of principle, be it washing machines or audio gear. I do too, but other people have pointed out that for low-grade consumer items which have a very short projected lifespan...things like cheap CD players etc... they can be a good idea because you basically get a new one when the old one fails (as it inevitably does). -- John Brownlow http://www.pinkheadedbug.com
