Epson F-3200 Film Scanner Cary NC

Rating: 5/10

Filling the attics and draws of the households of this country are a billion forgotten memories slowly decaying in their own celluloid. If you own either negatives or slides, it can be difficult to know what to do with them, and each year you leave it undecided they are undergoing a chemical change which will ultimately render them unusable. The Epson F-3200 is designed to provide a effective method of handling virtually any type of film stock, and scanning it into digital form. For handling different types of film there are a selection of 'holders' which transport the media inside the scanner. These include ones for 35mm strip, 35mm mounted slide, 120mm, 5x4 and a photos up to 6x4 inches. These seem well made, and provide reasonable protection for any stock placed in them. You may have noticed I didn't mention scanning into the PC. This is entirely possible, because the F-3200 is both a 1394 Firewire and USB device. But it's not actually a required aspect, due to some out of the box thinking from Epson.

Powered up away from a PC the scanner can write images directly to a range of flash media directly through its own card reader/writer, which takes all the standard types including the new XD ones. A small colour LCD allows a preview scan to identify the images from a filmstrip, so you can then choose which ones you wish to actually scan. The only downside to this method is that you don't have any control over the scanning process, and it only scans at 2400dpi - not the 3200dpi the scanning head is capable of. In addition to scanning away from the PC, the F-3200 will also print, if you own either an Epson R800 or SP2100. Not a great choice here, but it's possible if you need printed proof that things have been scanned. Great, but I have a big issue with the F-3200, and that's the cost - which is frankly outrageous. Epson might defend it by pointing out that they include version 2.0 of Adobe Elements. But that still doesn't address the huge price difference between this and a 4800dpi flatbed scanner. I'm not sure what was on Epson's mind here, as I can't fathom who would buy it. Professionals will be looking for 4800dpi, and enthusiasts will not pay this sort of money. It might be bought by businesses though, who aren't strong identifiers of value at the best of times.

For more information, visit Micromart.co.uk