Digital BW, The Print

Austin, there are several Leafscan scanners currently on ebay, both 35 and 
4x5 model.  In your opinion, would you reccommend these rather than a new 
Nikon, say 4000 or 8000??
Also, if the Leafs don't come with software, is it easy to down load that 
from Leaf? or should one steer clear of those machines.
Thanks in advance.
David Aschkenas

Hi David,

> Austin, there are several Leafscan scanners currently on ebay,
> both 35 and
> 4x5 model.  In your opinion, would you reccommend these rather than a new
> Nikon, say 4000 or 8000??

Possibly, but that depends on your needs.  If you are only/mostly scanning
B&W, and need multiformat capability that the Leaf offers (up to 4x5), or
the resolution for 35mm...then it may be a good scanner for you.

> Also, if the Leafs don't come with software, is it easy to down load that
> from Leaf?

Yes, it's readily available for both Mac and PC.

Make sure you get a later unit, with firmware 4.1, and it should come with
the "Leaf set" of holders, they are revolving film holders that are
exceptional.  If you are on a PC, you need a GPIB card.  Also, get a
guarantee that the unit is in good operating order, that you are allowed to
run a few scans and check for banding etc...as the unit may need a new CCD
or bulb, and they are expensive!  Ask for a few current scans from the
seller, both color and B&W and check them out.

Regards,

Austin

Thanks a million Austin.
David

I used a Leaf for years. It's a fantastic scanner (dog slow but the quality was 
superb). Sold my about 5 years ago. I think even an old Leaf would blow the 
doors off a Nikon. 

What I'd worry about is software and spare parts. Get some bulbs (they used 
to cost $150). They do last but of course, once you can no longer get them, 
that's it. Nice scanner to use as a door stop. 

The software (Photoshop plug-in) ran in older versions of Photoshop but god 
knows how long that will last too. Adobe seems to update the Plug-In SDK 
from time to time so at some point in the future, you might need an older 
version of Photoshop just to drive the unit. I was running mine on a Mac. No 
chance of an OSX version! 

I switched to an Imacon and man, that's a sweet unit. I can make a full rez 
scan in less time then it takes for the Leaf to do a prescan. But if you are on a 
budget and don't mind the wait, the Leaf still has great quality. 

I remember seeing my first Leaf 45 back in 1991 or so. Damn thing cost $27 
grand!

Hi DD,

> I used a Leaf for years. It's a fantastic scanner (dog slow but
> the quality was
> superb).

For B&W, it isn't that slow.  You can set the exposure to "minimum" with
absolutely no degradation in scan quality, and it does a 6x6 scan in under 4
minutes.

> What I'd worry about is software and spare parts. Get some bulbs
> (they used
> to cost $150).

Parts seem to be readily available, and the bulb is around $130 new from
www.leafstuff.com.

> The software (Photoshop plug-in) ran in older versions of
> Photoshop but god
> knows how long that will last too.

The Mac only uses the plug-in, and it seems to work fine on the latest OS.
On the PC, I use the standalone application with W2kP, and it works fine.

Austin

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Austin Franklin" <darkroom@i...> 
wrote:
> For B&W, it isn't that slow.  You can set the exposure to "minimum" with
> absolutely no degradation in scan quality, and it does a 6x6 scan in under 4
> minutes.

For B&W, that's not bad. Of course I can scan 200mb RGB file in four minutes. 
But I do recall taking something like 25 minutes to scan a full Rez 35mm way 
back when. Still the quality was pretty amazing. I only wish they allowed 
toning of the 16 bit data. Not a big deal and at the time, getting high bit out of a 
scanner was unheard of!

> Parts seem to be readily available, and the bulb is around $130 new from
> www.leafstuff.com.

That's good to know.