Opinions: Agfa Duoscan T1200
Hi all, Well I've decided that I should finally get a film scanner of some sort. I can't afford a 4000dpi 35mm scanner yet, but I do want to be able to scan my 6x7 slides for the web, which meant I was going to have to buy the Duoscan anyway. I'm able to afford this one at the moment so I might as well get it now (before the price goes up even more), and use it to get more of my 35mm slides on the web until I can pick up a high-res 35mm scanner. So, I'd appreciate it if anyone who's used this scanner to tell me/us what you think of it. I'll be using it for 6x7 and 35mm to start with, and I want to use the slide trays (I absolutely want to avoid sandwiching my slides between glass plates like the guys in the camera shop do). The specific things I want to know about are: 1- optical performance 2- scanning speed 3- what's it like for printed matter? 4- I can see the 3.0 dmax is pretty low: is this a problem? I'm probably stuck with it though as it's the only affordable medium/large-format slide scanner available (I don't want to use a flatbed with transparency adaptor). 5- I'll be using it on a PC and I'd also like opinions on its driver and whatever software comes bundled with it (I probably won't use it though). 6- Do you think I could easily adapt the 6x7 carrier to hold my panoramic 35mm slides? :) 7- Does it come with a SCSI adaptor or do I have to buy this separately? 8- What's it like for colour negs? Cheers, - Dave David A. Mann, B.E. (Elec) http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/ Why is it that if an adult behaves like a child they lock him up, while children are allowed to run free on the streets? -- Garfield - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Opinions: Agfa Duoscan T1200
David A. Mann wrote: 1- optical performance It performs quite well at 1200 dpi, but the 2400 dpi interpolated mode is...uh...well, kind of stinky. I don't see much of a difference between a 1200dpi scan scaled up in Photoshop and one interpolated in the scanner to 2400dpi. I'm quite happy with its sharpness. Occassionally I'll get noise in extra vivid reds when scanning from negatives. 2- scanning speed It's fast, especially at low resolutions. It's much much faster than my Polaroid Sprintscan at comparable resolutions. 3- what's it like for printed matter? Like scans from magazines or scans from photographic prints? From prints it is quite nice, but you REALLY have to keep that glass clean. I don't care much for the software's built-in descreening or sharpening tools. I'm using the Mac software, so the PC software could be different. Other than those tools, the software is quite workable and intuitive. 4- I can see the 3.0 dmax is pretty low: is this a problem? I'm probably stuck with it though as it's the only affordable medium/large-format slide scanner available (I don't want to use a flatbed with transparency adaptor). The only trouble I've ever run into is with Scala transparencies with really rich, detailed blacks. Everything else has been fine, and in performance it actually seems to be better at darkest detail than the higher-spec'ed Sprintscan. 5- I'll be using it on a PC and I'd also like opinions on its driver and whatever software comes bundled with it (I probably won't use it though). If it's the same as the Mac package, it is very well laid out and intuitive. 6- Do you think I could easily adapt the 6x7 carrier to hold my panoramic 35mm slides? :) I dunno, I sandwich stuff in glass mounts. :) You should be able to do it. 7- Does it come with a SCSI adaptor or do I have to buy this separately? Mine is SCSI. 8- What's it like for colour negs? It's pretty good at getting you to the ballpark of colour-correctness. What I do like is the ability to create your own film profiles quickly and easily in the scanning software. As I said before, the only colour issue I've had with the scanner is with supersaturated reds from colour neg getting a bit noisy at times. If I encounter the problem, I usually just shift the scan over to be a bit green until the noise goes away, make the scan and then shift it back in Photoshop. Did I miss anything? :) -Aaron - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Opinions: Agfa Duoscan T1200
You may want to reconsider the T1200, as I think there is at least one better alternative. The T1200 itself is a pretty good unit. Within the limits of its specifications it performs well. With a bit of experimentation it will produce good results with negatives and slides. The only complaint I have about it is that I find the drawer mechanism for scanning transparencies awkward in that the holders tend to slide around when you close the drawer. For that reason I prefer the Agfa Arcus ll, which in the real world produces similar results to the T1200 without the awkwardness of the drawer. (The last statement is based on scanning a couple of negs on both scanners connected to the same computer and using the same software, for what it's worth.) The 3.0 dmax specification does not seem to be a major problem. I've had no difficulty getting clean scans of transparency shadows with the scanner. However, I think you should take a good look at the Epson 1640SU Photo as an alternative. I've done something over 300 scans over the last couple of months and have been very pleased with the results. (I'm setting up for a project involving scanning about 2500 archival negs over the summer.) It has an optical resolution of 1600 ppi while the T1200 is only 600x1200. The 1640 produces noticeably sharper scans, and I prefer its tonal rendition. I'm not sure what the dmax is, but I've scanned some extremely dense black and white negs with excellent results. I can't comment on the 1640SU Photo software as I work primarily with Hamrick Vuescan, which produces excellent results and has some useful features for high volume scanning. It has been a while since I've checked the price of the T1200. It used to be significantly more expensive than the 1640SU Photo, which lists at $399US. I've also heard that Canon will be announcing a new unit in this price range with 2400 ppi resolution. There is a very good scanning-oriented listserv at www.leben.com. John Poirier - Original Message - From: David A. Mann [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: May 1, 2001 1:40 AM Subject: Opinions: Agfa Duoscan T1200 Hi all, Well I've decided that I should finally get a film scanner of some sort. I can't afford a 4000dpi 35mm scanner yet, but I do want to be able to scan my 6x7 slides for the web, which meant I was going to have to buy the Duoscan anyway. I'm able to afford this one at the moment so I might as well get it now (before the price goes up even more), and use it to get more of my 35mm slides on the web until I can pick up a high-res 35mm scanner. So, I'd appreciate it if anyone who's used this scanner to tell me/us what you think of it. I'll be using it for 6x7 and 35mm to start with, and I want to use the slide trays (I absolutely want to avoid sandwiching my slides between glass plates like the guys in the camera shop do). The specific things I want to know about are: 1- optical performance 2- scanning speed 3- what's it like for printed matter? 4- I can see the 3.0 dmax is pretty low: is this a problem? I'm probably stuck with it though as it's the only affordable medium/large-format slide scanner available (I don't want to use a flatbed with transparency adaptor). 5- I'll be using it on a PC and I'd also like opinions on its driver and whatever software comes bundled with it (I probably won't use it though). 6- Do you think I could easily adapt the 6x7 carrier to hold my panoramic 35mm slides? :) 7- Does it come with a SCSI adaptor or do I have to buy this separately? 8- What's it like for colour negs? Cheers, - Dave David A. Mann, B.E. (Elec) http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/ Why is it that if an adult behaves like a child they lock him up, while children are allowed to run free on the streets? -- Garfield - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
