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Hi All,
I am looking for input on what might be the best flatbed scanner to buy. Canon and Epson have models that may be good options, but don't know which models might be best. I want to be able to get high rez quality from all media, including old b&w prints, slides and negatives. I would be willing to pay a reasonable price for quality. 
The models that seem to come up most are the Canon-O-Scan 9000F Markll and the Epson Perfection V600. 
Thank you,
Paul

Paul, I have the Canon-O-Scan 9000F Mark II. I import the device into PhotoShop, and it works like a charm. I have primarily used it for documents and prints. The maximum resolution in the specifications is interpolated, so I do not know how well it will handle slides and negatives. When my Nikon Film Scanner broke down, I replaced it with the Plustek OpticFilm 8200i. It is not as good as the Nikon, but it is not bad. However, it will definitely not give you the same quality as a drum scan. If you want high resolution scans for larger prints a drum scan through a photo service may be the way to go.

Thank you, Ron. I want to just get something that will handle general purpose scans like old prints and have a decent capability for slides and negatives. I still have an old Nikon Coolscan that not operable any more. At work I have an older Epson 1640 flatbed that does slides and negatives as well as prints, but that is too big for what I am hoping to find.

Paul

Another excellent option is if you have a high resolution full frame camera, to use on a copystand. 

Stephen Feingold wrote:Another excellent option is if you have a high resolution full frame camera, to use on a copystand. 

Or get a slide copy attachment for a macro lens (assuming you have one) and your camera. This will produce far better results than a flatbed scanner when copying slides. One big plus for this is that you can shoot RAW and use your typical RAW post processing workflow which gives you far greater control when correcting a slide's color and tint, which are a pain to correct with the limited controls available in scanner software. I've copied 1,000's of slides and you'd be amazed at how much color correction is needed when scanning the typical slide. 

signgrap wrote:

Stephen Feingold wrote:Another excellent option is if you have a high resolution full frame camera, to use on a copystand. 

Or get a slide copy attachment for a macro lens (assuming you have one) and your camera. This will produce far better results than a flatbed scanner when copying slides. One big plus for this is that you can shoot RAW and use your typical RAW post processing workflow which gives you far greater control when correcting a slide's color and tint, which are a pain to correct with the limited controls available in scanner software. I've copied 1,000's of slides and you'd be amazed at how much color correction is needed when scanning the typical slide. 

I gave up on using a scanner to copy 35mm slides.  Maybe I needed a better copier, but photographing the slide with a DSLR worked better and faster for me.  Color correction and exposure adjustments were more accurate done in Photoshop.  But, setting the camera to adjust exposure and AWB was faster and convenient.  The camera focused on the slides automatically, once the Nikon ES-1 was set to the appropriate distance between slide and sensor (see black tape in image below).

Here is a pic of the rig I used.  As it happened, I found all of the components in my camera "stuff" drawer.  So, the out-of-pocket cost of the rig was $0.  Starting from left to right:

Lens cap
20mm extension tube
Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens
Step up and down rings to connect front of the lens to the back of
    Nikon ES-1 Slide Copying adapter
Some Gaffer's tape to keep the slide copying adapter properly adjusted

I'm sure there are many other slide copying adapters available, I just happened to have one from years ago.  Ebay has one for sale at $35.

Epson Perfection V550 Photo Color Scanner, 6400 x 6400 dpi

Been around a while but seemed to be one of the better ones.

If you have a lot of slides to scan, you might want to consider sending some out. memoriesrenewed.com, and dijifi.com are both top picks on the wirecutter.

I had my Coolscan 4000 repaired in 2014, it has worked well since.

Not sure if Alex is still repairing these, but you could send him an email and ask: abstudios@centurytel.net

His service was excellent.

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments.
I’m looking at the Epson Perfection V800 now
Does anyone have experience with this model?
Paul

Here’s a comparison of the V800 and V850. Both sound great, but V850 is probably worth the difference.

V800 vs. V850

Joe

Hi,

I use the Epson Perfection V800 Flatbed Photo Scanner, and it does a good job.

Have Fun,
Jeff