what scanner to use for scanning pics to montage
 

i'm looking for a good scanner that i can use for both my montage work and for graphics work i have a budgest of about $150-250 and i beleive i should be able to get something really nice for this price. speed is really important as i dont have an assistat yet and i'm starting out so i have to do everything myself.
what is your suggestions?

I hate taking pics from people's homes, risk of damage or loss just worries me. Sp I use my 4MP digital cam to copy them, and quality is more than adequate, considering resolution of DV is more like 1/3 MP.

I have an epson stylus all-in one, and like the features and results. What I don't like, is the fact it has continuous errors after 4-6 months. It cost around $150, so it was decently priced, but I'll not risk this again with another epson product. HP next time ;)

You don't need anything fancy, just use an $80 HP ScanJet. Be sure to scan all photos at 600 dpi or greater and you're golden.

I'm with you on not removing their keepsakes from their possession (or even sight). I just wish there was a scanner that didn't require being actively hooked to a computer. You know, scan three dozen objects into memory and then download them when reconnected to USB.

Even though a digital still cam has higher resolution, I get better results on most photos and documents with a flatbed scanner. Always compromises.

Why bother with a flatbed scanner? Ever do a hundred or more photo's on one? Your just wasting valuable time. Do it the old fashioned way before PC based scanners. Get a flat board with the digital camera mounted on a short bar, facing downwards and shoot as fast as you can place'em.

I have a Powershot G5 with manual focus and a flip-out LCD, which makes loading and shooting a snap.

A trip to the local hardware store will make for a fun, easy project. A piece of glass on hinges does wonders to keep photo's flat.

when u offer the scanning and digitisation as a part of the package a scanner coms in quite handy.. ours has paid itself off tenfold.. on top of that the ability to offer high res scans on cd along with screen grabs from tape is another product one can offer ot the client....

I purchased an HP5530 scanjet a little over a year ago. I do a lot of photo montage work that requires scanning hundreds of photos. The 5530 has a feeder that will automagically feed up to 4X6". It will comfortably scan up to about 8.5 X 12 if you hand-place.

I have never had a mis-feed or damaged photo using the feeder. I always hand place old or fragile photos. Generally I sort the pictures so that they all have the same orientation, put 20-25 in the feeder, press the "go" button and walk away for five minutes. I've probably scanned over 2,000 pictures with it. I don't remember the exact cost, but I think it was around $200+.

Oh yeah - it also will scan negatives and 35mm slides.

It's a great little workhorse.

Update - I just looked on the HP website - looks like the 5530 is retired. But the 4570 Scanner ($130 list price) and the C9926A Automatic Photo Feeder ($150 list) looks like it gets you to the same place.

jc

I'm using a Canon 9950F and am very pleased with it. Since its Firewire, it scans very quickly compared to the days of old, has a great dust/scratch remvoal system, and the software is fairly good too. For example, you can lay down a number of pictures on the flat bed at the same time, press scan and it will automatically identify and scan each individual picture. I think it was pretty pricey if I remember (about $400) but for the money its worth it.

Patrick