Can anyone tell me the D-max for the new Canon 2400UF scanner? Canon's literature does not show what it is and I have not had any luck finding it by searching the Internet.

Any user comments about the scanner would be appreciated as well, especially for scanning 6x9/4x5.

Thanks for your help.

Peter Brown

-- Peter L Brown (photo_illustration@bigpond.com), July 31, 2001

Answers

According to Canon specs the 2400UF has a 3.3 dynamic range. I would also welcome any input about this scanner which was voted best of show at the latest MacWorld Expo in NY. Epson has also announced a comparable scanner planned to be released in October for $399.

-- Georges Pelpel (gpelpel@home.com), July 31, 2001.

These awards mean nothing, they're just mutual back-slapping exercises by the industry.
All the posted scans I've seen from the Canon 2400 look decidedly fuzzy. A recent magazine review of 'high resolution' flatbed scanners seemed to show that an HP scanner had the best optical definition.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), August 01, 2001.

Pete,

Which magazine had the scanner tests?

Thanks.

-- Marc Bergman (mbergma2@ix.netcom.com), August 01, 2001.

I have the Canon scanner. I have been using it to scan a variety of color and B&W negatives, 4x5 and medium format. I am very happy with the results so far. The only other kind of scans I have had done in the past were Kodak Ultra-high-res Pro Photo CD scans. Comparing scans from the same neg done on the Canon and from the Pro CD scanner, the Canon has better resolution, better shadow detail, and better color fidelity. Scan times depend on resolution- a 2400dpi 4x5 scan creates a 300MB file in about 15 minutes. 1200dpi 4x5 scans are fine for most uses and take about 6 minutes. Based on my experience with 35mm slide scanners, these times are reasonable.

I recently scanned a 4x5 B&W neg that has an extremely wide range of values. It scanned easily and after range adjustment printed well on my Epson Photo ink jet. I am now working on the darkroom print, which is taking a lot of manipulation using the Zone 6 VC cold light head and VC paper to attempt to make a print that captures the dynamic range as well. I should also mention that this scanner is a noticable step up from my Umax for reflective scans of positives.

-- David Rose (DERose1@msn.com), August 01, 2001.

August issue of Shutterbug has a review of the 2400UF. Not an in- depth review, just a first use 2 page review, but the author was reasonably impressed with the scanner.

-- Martin VanMeter (vanmeter@ace-plc.com), August 01, 2001.

David,

Does the Canon allow manual focus? I saw a web page that had scans at both 1200dpi and 2400dpi. The 1200dpi was sharper. It looked like a focus problem.

-- Marc Bergman (mbergma2@ix.netcom.com), August 01, 2001.

The Canon does not allow for manual focus. I have experimented with scanning with film holders and without, negative face up and face down, etc. These different methods give about the same result sharpness wise, which suggests that the scanner has some depth of field, making focus unnecessary?

-- David Rose (DERose1@msn.com), August 01, 2001.

I can't remember which mag it was Marc. It was some Ziff-Davis computer mag, I think, that I borrowed from a colleague. The test was one of these vague syndicated jobs that tries not to offend any of their major advertisers, but they did illustrate it quite well. Even in halftone reproduction, it was clear that the HP scanner had the edge over all the others. Mind you, these magazines have been known to mislabel their illustrations.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), August 02, 2001.

The September Shutterbug has just come out with a review of the Canon 2400UF.

-- David Rose (DERose1@msn.com), August 04, 2001.

I have compiled a number of test results including the Dmax and true resolution of the Canoscan D2400UF. See the following thread for details:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=006U1p

-- Pierre Kervella (pkervell@yahoo.com), September 28, 2001.