[Leica] Re: Anyone used a CanoScan 9550 yet?

[bruent at shaw.ca (B Entus)]

>
> I'm looking for a flatbed scanner for my home office and I've heard  
> that the
> new Canon CanoScan 9550 has had good reviews for negative and slide  
> scanning
> (for a flatbed). Don't have a film scanner yet...not in the budget.  
> Anyone used
> one of these yet? If so what are your impressions, pro and con?
>
> Jim
>
Do you mean the 9950F?
There is a review at:  
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Canon_9950F/ 
page_1.htm

I got a 9950 in mid December. I wanted to replace the photofinisher  
scans I was using for proofing / previewing, and to be able to scan  
medium format. I had been considering dedicated 35mm film scanners with  
batch capabilities, but was hearing mixed reviews of the less expensive  
units (good reports on the Nikon, but its roll adapter costs more the  
the 9950).

It allows batch scanning of up to 30 frames (5 strips of 6) in one load  
and at lower resolutions it is fairly quick. The quality and  
consistency of colour scans has been better than what I was getting at  
the "1 hour photo" places I had used, and results from faster (800 and  
up) films show less noise. This has been more than "good enough" for  
previews, cataloging, and other sorts of electronic viewing. The  
automatic scans from B&W (TMX and TMY) look better than typical 1st or  
2nd try darkroom prints.  I do not know if it can replace a good  
dedicated film scanner for "fine" work- I have been catching up on a  
backlog and have not yet used it as a source for printing. The review  
complains about the level of control provided by the Canon software,  
and this could be a concern for such use. Even if I can only used it as  
described above, I would be satisfied. Compared to photofinisher costs  
it has already paid for itself, and it is also serves as a text scanner  
for FAXes.