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The Coolscan V ED is a dedicated film scanner. Made only for 35mm film and color slides. Nikon makes it, the model in the US is the Coolscan V ED. It goes by another name in other countries. The US price is $599.99 - and is worth every penny. Indeed, the Coolscan 5000 (the next level up from the V ED) costs $1099 and whose ONLY difference is the dmax rating. The V ED has a dmax of 4.2. The 5000's dmax is 4.8. The dmax, simply put, determines how well it can capture shadows. (okay, the 5000 may scan negs faster too, but for $500 less, I'm astonished by what I got. Film scanners used to cost THOUSANDS... )
A flatbed scanner is useful for larger documents, but for 35mm it stinks because flatbed scanners can't get the fine detail from a neg (in terms of sharpness, detail, shadows, or color gamut). Even Epson's new 4870 scanner doesn't come close, costs only $100 less, and is being pitched as a 35mm scanner solution. Its dmax value is 3.8. It would be great for medium-size film (6x6) and transparencies, but not 35mm. Of course, the 4870 is superior to Nikon's ORIGINAL Coolscan model, but the original Coolscan is MANY years old. I saw that comparison on a website and laughed; of course a newer 2004-make high end flatbed will do better than a 90s dedicated film scanner. They're ages apart.
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