Digital BW, The Print

>Randy  -

If you go that route, remember that all scans are not equal.  The
skill of the scanner operator is a key element in a high quality
scan.  It's not just the scanner.  So, try a few labs before you
make up your mind.  As a comparison, if you know someone who gets
consistently good scans from your chosen film/format, have them
scan a couple that you also have scanned at the labs.

Just as an example of the operator issue, a local lab told a
friend that the lab could get better scans from MF on an Epson
3200 then on a Nikon 8000.  Either they had a bad Nikon 8000 or a
faulty operator.

Tom Baker<

I have both scanners and with some care the 3200 scan can be
brought close to the Nikon 8000 scan. Both can be improved with
custom filmholders + scan methods. The Nikon 8000 will still be
ahead. Vuescan as the driver for both.

With the arrival of the Epson 4870 (including ICE in the
software)
I doubt it is wise to get a Nikon 9000 or 8000 for the analogue
period that remains (if the archives are not full with unscanned
120 film strips). That Epson seems to be even better than the
3200. It is recommended however to find the sweet spot of focus
on all the Epson 2450/3200/3170/4870 scanners.
MF and up, the Epson are not really 35 mm scanners but it must
be nice to scan 4 strips of 35 mm in one pass on the 4870.

http://robertdfeinman.com/tips/epson_4870_tip1.html

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/

Ernst

http://members.chello.nl/e.dinkla/Verhaal.pdf

http://members.chello.nl/e.dinkla/MF_FM_carrier.htm

http://members.chello.nl/e.dinkla/EpsonCarrierSolutions.pdf

for the last there's a better solution available now with fluid
mounting on a separate sheet of float glass.