EPSON
EXPRESSION 1680
SPECIFICATIONS:
Price: Three models available, starting
at $900 (street) for the 1680 Artist; $1,100 (street)
for the 1680 Professional with Transparency Unit,
and $1,400 (street) for the Professional Firewire
version with TPU. Resolution on all models: 1,600x3,200
ppi optical. Color bit depth: 48-bit color. D-Max:
3.6. Scan size: For flat art and prints, up to
8.5x11.7 inches. For film on the Pro and ProFW
versions: 35mm, medium format, and 4x5 film holders
included. Scan speed: 20-sec preview, 2 min for
1,600x3,200 ppi scan of 35mm film. Connector:
SCSI II, USB, and IEEE1394 (on ProFW). Dimensions
(LxWxH): 22.1x13.1x 5.2 inches. Compatibility:
WIN 98, 2000, or ME, Mac OS 8.0 or later. Bundled
software: LaserSoft SilverFast Ai5, MonacoEZColor,
Photoshop 5.0 LE, and NewSoft Presto! PageManager.
562-290-4401; www.epson.com.
TEST
RESULTS:
Resolution: extremely high (for flat
art), acceptable (24 lp/mm) for film. Color
Accuracy (for slides): excellent (overall
Delta E: 3.65, best 90%: 2.09, worst 10%: 17.18).
Shadow Detail: normal (color slide),
slightly low (color neg). Highlight Detail:
slightly low. Image Quality Rating: normal.
Speed: extremely fast.
FEATURES
& COMMENTS:
Few flatbed scanners are also capable of scanning
film originals with sharp focus and high res,
but this scanner is an exception, thanks to
a focusing system that targets the film in its
holder. The Twain Pro driver includes an auto
enhance button, color correction, brightness/contrast,
and color management settings, as well as a
scalable preview scan. And with sophisticated
control software such as LaserSoft SilverFast
Ai5 and Monaco EZ Color, you can calibrate your
monitor and generate scanning profiles to help
produce extremely accurate color. Batch scanning
is possible with this unit, which holds up to
24 35mm slides at a time. The scanner is also
one of the quietest we've tested. While it's
not the best choice for scanning 35mm film due
to its lower maximum resolution, and it isn't
optimized for scanning color negative film,
it's an affordable solution for scanning medium
format and 4x5-inch slide film. Plus, it's one
of the best print scanners we've tested.
KODAK
PROFESSIONAL RFS 3600
SPECIFICATIONS:
Price: $1,300 (street). Resolution: 3,600
ppi optical; Color bit-depth: 36-bit color.
D-Range: 3.6. Film size: 35mm only. Scan speed:
13 sec preview, 24 min 25 sec (12-bit color),
6 min 36 sec (8-bit color) for 3,600 ppi scan.
Connector: USB and SCSI II. Dimensions (LxWxH):
11.5x7.75x4.25 inches. Compatibility: WIN 98,
2000, NT, and Mac OS 8.0 or later (not OS X
compatible). Bundled software: Photoshop 5.0
LE, with Twain support for the PC and acquire
modules for the Mac. 800-235-6325; www.kodak.com
TEST
RESULTS: Resolution:
very high (47.5 lp/mm). Color Accuracy:
extremely high (overall Delta E: 8.2, best 90%:
6.9, worst 10%: 19.61 ). Shadow Detail:
normal. Highlight Detail: high. Image
Quality Rating: very high. Speed:
slow.
FEATURES
& COMMENTS: The
Kodak Professional RFS 3600 is one of the prettiest
scanners we've seen in terms of design. It has
a sliding door in the rear so you can easily
choose between USB and SCSI II connections.
Several buttons are located atop the unit to
help you line up the correct image on a color
negative strip. Color slides are fed in through
the front and automatically aligned. Color and
contrast controls within the scan module allow
you to adjust curves and levels quickly. There
are also several presets for Kodak films (and
even a few Fuji slide film settings) but only
a few color negative film presets.
We
had some difficulties with the unit's SCSI II
connection since it cannot be set to five out
of seven SCSI addresses. The USB connection
went very smoothly, but scan times slowed down
a bit—and this is the slowest scanner of the
bunch. The scanner driver also lacks a scalable
window that lets you see previews in high resolution,
and the scanner is almost as noisy as a pencil
sharpener at times. The RFS 3600 gave us some
decent scans, but its resolution is actually
below one scanner featuring 2,900 ppi. It also
lacks a dust reduction feature.
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