Overall, the Canon ranked the highest: it excelled in color matching and was among the best in capturing detail. We used a 35mm slide of the same test photo we used in the reflective tests to find out how well the scanners reproduced detail and matched colors in transparencies. The results indicate that these scanners tend to specialize in reflective images, even though they are capable of somewhat imperfect transparency reproduction. This is asking a lot, as these image types are vastly different. Unlike dedicated slide scanners, the units we tested use the same hardware to reproduce reflective and transparent images. We tested the Microtek using the pro-level SilverFast Ai software, because it produced better image quality and color. We rated all the scanners as Good or Very Good for reflective image quality, but none received an Excellent rating. Our panel of experts judged how well these scanners reproduced images and transparencies. But all of these scanners can theoretically deliver billions of colors - many more than the human eye can decipher. Of these five scanners, all but the Umax have 48-bit color the Umax has 42-bit color. The hardware (optical) resolutions of these scanners varied: the Epson and the HP have 4,800 ppi the Canon and the Microtek have 3,200 ppi and the Umax trails at 2,400 ppi.īit depth refers to the number of colors (and shades of gray) that scanner hardware can produce. Hardware resolution, measured in pixels per inch (ppi), correlates with the level of sharpness and detail (data) that the scanner hardware can deliver without using software interpolation - a software boost that can give scanned images too soft a focus. High resolution and bit-depth specifications are important considerations for people who want to enlarge a small image while maintaining the original’s clarity and preserving enough data to edit in an image editor such as Adobe Photoshop. Every scanner in this roundup lets you scan multiple slides and transparencies simultaneously, and all except the Umax have an adapter built into the scanner lid. The rest have letter-size (8.5-by-11-inch) scanning beds. The Umax, HP, and Microtek scanners have legal-size (8.5-by-14-inch) scanning surfaces, which can be quite convenient. We found that switching lids - and keeping track of them - was a pain. The Umax is the only scanner that comes with a second lid, for scanning negatives and slides. Each scanner in this roundup sports a variation of the new, stylish silver-and-black casing. All of these scanners connect to your computer via USB or FireWire, except for the HP, which has only a USB 2.0 connection.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |