Hi all, I'm new to the fourm and to retouching. I need to buy a scanner and saw a good deal for the Epson Perfection 4180. The specs say it has 4800 x9600 dpi. Is that over kill for a novice? Thanks, Carl

I think it depends on exactly what you need to do with the scanner. If you need to be able to scan negatives, film, or slides you may need that kind of capability. For just scanning prints or documents that is overkill, in my opinion. I just bought the Epson 4870 and so far am very impressed. While it may be more scanner than I need this week, I am certain my needs will grow as time goes by.

I would check around for some reviews of that particular scanner...you can search the forums and see if anyone around here has commented on it. In general it seems folks are happy with their Epsons.

There may be someone else who can give you a more definitive answer to your question about now much scanner you need if you can give an idea of what you will be using it for.

Good luck!

Hi,

I have been using the 4780 Photo scanner with very good results. I scanned some slides that compared with the reults that I obtained with a Nikon LS4000 scanner. If the dynamic ranges is about 3.8 or better, you should get good results.

Alan