Scanner Reviews

Welcome to our newest photography video series: the Shutterbug Showcase. In these videos, we’ll be doing hands-on demonstrations of some of the hottest photo gear on the market right now. For our first Shutterbug Showcase clip, we’re looking at the Epson FastFoto FF-640, which is the world’s fastest photo scanner.

Today Epson introduced the FastFoto FF-640, dubbed by the company as the “world’s fastest photo scanner.” An alternative to flatbed scanners, the FastFoto scanner has a throughput rate of one photo per second with integral photo tools to restore and archive treasured images for print or social media sharing. Ideal for hobbyists and archivists alike, the unit can handle prints up to 8x10 as well as speedy document scanning for those who want to make electronic files of important papers. Shutterbug Editor-at-Large George Schaub got his hands on a pre-release unit and filed this report.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Designed for professionals, enthusiasts, schools, and clubs, the OpticFilm 120 scanner from Plustek ($1999) can handle negative and positive film, including 35mm filmstrips, individual 35mm slides, and medium format film up to 6x12cm format. The scanner contains an eight-element glass lens and can deliver up to 10,600dpi optical resolution, with a claimed 4.01 dynamic range using the supplied SilverFast software’s Multi-Exposure function. The tabletop scanner is about the size of a six-slice restaurant toaster (about 8x14.5x7.5”) and is supplied with a complete set of very well-constructed film holders, an IT8 calibration target, and a full version (not a trial) of SilverFast Ai Studio 8 software.

Scanning is most effective when hardware and software work together. It’s a bit like some black-and-white film developers that mix Metol and hydroquinone for a super-additive outcome.

I decided to take a look at two new AiO devices, the Canon PIXMA MP980 and the HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One to see how they did with photo printing and scanning—two functions that any photographer needs.

Some believe film is dead, but I get as many e-mails from photographers as ever asking about film scanning. The reason is that digital cameras have brought more photographers into using a computer for photography so now they want to access the film images they have made over the years in digital format. A new, dedicated 35mm scanner model is a rarity these days; none of the...