I'm considering the purchase of a scanner for use in restoring old photographs. This is going to be a hobby / small sideline initially so I can only justify a relatively small amount of money. Ideally I'd be looking to spend under £150.

I've seen the Epson Perfection v350 and HP ScanJet G4010 Photo both in this price range and have read so okay reviews but I'm not sure how they would fair for scanning old photos.

Does anyone have any advice on these two or any other scanners that would fit my price range?

Cheers,
Steve

Steve, I don't think you can go wrong with an Epson scanner. They are pretty sturdy and reliable. I have an Epson Perfection 3200 and it serves me well. One thing to look out for is true scan resolutions. There may come a time when you need TRUE 2400 DPI (a very small photo that you want to enlarge on the scanner, or very fine line art). Some scanners claim 2400, but may achieve this by "enterpolation" not optics. (Simplefied, think about point and shoot cameras that say they have 10x zoom, but not by way of the lense - am I making sense?).

Thanks for the info Swampy. It made perfect sense! :-)

I think I will go for an Epson and after further investigation I have seen the Epson Perfection 4490 Photo which has had some decent reviews and comes in around £125-£130.

It states it has Main 4800dpi x Sub 9400dpi Resolution. I can't tell if the 4800dpi is true or interpolated though? Does anyone know?

Does anyone have any experience with this scanner?

Cheers,
Steve

It states it has Main 4800dpi x Sub 9400dpi Resolution. I can't tell if the 4800dpi is true or interpolated though? Does anyone know?

Does anyone have any experience with this scanner?


I have the Epson 4490 and am so far pleased with the features, results, and ease of use. The actual optical resolution is 4800 x 9600 dpi. With software interpolation it has 12,800 x 12,800 dpi.

Good luck with it.

Jack

Jack is right about interpolation starting after 4800 ppi. With that said, the 4800 figure stated by Epson is a bit misleading. The scanner will output 4800 pixels per inch but the true optical resolution is somewhere around 1/2 that, about 2400 ppi.

Doug

Thanks for the info Jack and Doug.

I'm going to wait a few weeks before purchasing but I think that the 4490 will be my scanner of choice. It's a reasonable price and should suit my needs for now.

Cheers,
Steve

Thanks for the info Jack and Doug.

I'm going to wait a few weeks before purchasing but I think that the 4490 will be my scanner of choice. It's a reasonable price and should suit my needs for now.

Cheers,
Steve

Steve - I too have a new Epson 4490 and I love it. Back in Jan I bought an HP 4890, and after 3 months finally took it back to the store and was given a full refund. Numerous problems and no meaningful support from HP.

Robt

Thanks Rob. This purchase should be happening soon and it's reassuring to hear good things about the 4490.

Cheers,
Steve

Is anyone using the Epson 4490 with Windows Vista (32bit)? Does it come packaged with Vista compatible software?

I'm finding that some companies aren't putting out Vista compatible drivers for some hardware or they put out updated drivers that work poor at best with Vista.

I sure wish this computer had come with good 'ol XP. :(

Thanks, Dena...