"Stand alone" scanners

"Mahlon1960" <u27650@uwe> wrote in message news:6779a52ac5b09@uwe...
> Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
> photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to
> a
> PC. I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos I want
> to
> scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them out of their hands so
> I'd
> like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my visits.
>

My Epson RX620 will do all that but its not very portable.
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Paul Rubin wrote:
>> Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>> photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to a
>> PC. I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos I want to
>> scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them out of their hands so I'd
>> like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my visits.
>
>The obvoius solution is bring a laptop. However, sometimes I copy old
>photos by just shooting them with a digicam, and the results are not
>too bad.

And I don't have a lap top.
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Rudy Benner wrote:
>> Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>> photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to
>[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>> I'd
>> like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my visits.
>
>My Epson RX620 will do all that but its not very portable.

It can scan and SAVE without being connected to a PC?
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"Mahlon1960" <u27650@uwe> writes:
> >The obvoius solution is bring a laptop. However, sometimes I copy old
> >photos by just shooting them with a digicam, and the results are not
> >too bad.
>
> And I don't have a lap top.

They are very useful, maybe more useful than scanners. If you're
looking to buy another piece of hardware to help scan your relatives'
photos, and you already have a non-standalone scanner, instead of a
second scanner you might consider a laptop.

If you look on ebay or craigslist, you can probably get a servicable
older laptop for less than a decent scanner is likely to cost.
 >> Stay informed about: "Stand alone" scanners 

"Mahlon1960" <u27650@uwe> wrote in message news:677a5930acab4@uwe...
> Rudy Benner wrote:
>>> Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>>> photos either internally or to removable media without being connected
>>> to
>>[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>>> I'd
>>> like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my
>>> visits.
>>
>>My Epson RX620 will do all that but its not very portable.
>
> It can scan and SAVE without being connected to a PC?
>

Yes, it has card slots. It can also accept input from a camera, so you can
print from the camera to photo quality paper directly. Scanner, will scan
negatives and slides. Ink is expensive.
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"Mahlon1960 via PhotoKB.com" <u27650@uwe> writes:
> Not being tech savy as far as cameras go, I am really looking for a scanner
> since if I don't get a good image when I visit these people (many of whom are
> elderly), I may never get a second chance.

Simplest thing is use your digicam. If possible, use one with manual
white balance and initialize it from a blank sheet of paper.
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"Paul Rubin" <http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote in message
news:7xbqompkat.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com...
> "Mahlon1960" <u27650@uwe> writes:
>> Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>> photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to
>> a
>> PC. I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos I
>> want to
>> scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them out of their hands so
>> I'd
>> like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my
>> visits.
>
> The obvoius solution is bring a laptop. However, sometimes I copy old
> photos by just shooting them with a digicam, and the results are not
> too bad.

I've also had good results just shooting with a digicam. One could get
fancier with a dSLR and a macro lens or other lens that has low geometrical
distortion in the range you need (this is a cheap shot at dcams, which tend
to have nasty barrel distortion in their macro range; this is a somewhat
unfair cheap shot in that for larger photos you may be able to use the long
end of the zoom at more reasonable distances and avoid the distortion, or
fix it in postprocessing). Maybe a ringlight for illumination (although this
may not be the right idea for copy work; it's just a suggestion to look
into: bringing your own lighting system is probably a good idea, though). A
tripod that lets you shoot down at the floor or a copy stand may or may not
meet the OP's definition of portable.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
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"David J. Littleboy" <davidjl DeleteThis @gol.com> writes:
> I've also had good results just shooting with a digicam. One could get
> fancier with a dSLR and a macro lens or other lens that has low geometrical
> distortion in the range you need (this is a cheap shot at dcams, which tend
> to have nasty barrel distortion in their macro range; ...

Cheap shot at DSLR's other than the 5D: the usual 50mm or 55mm macro
lens has a narrower field of view than you want for this type of
copying. If you're trying to shoot an 8x10" original, with a 1.6x
DSLR and a 55mm lens, you have to put the camera somewhat further than
arms' length from the original, making shooting awkward. And they as
far as I know don't make 30mm macro lenses. I don't know how good the
Canon or Nikon 35/2 or 35/1.4 primes are for this type of thing.

> A tripod that lets you shoot down at the floor or a copy stand may
> or may not meet the OP's definition of portable.

This is portable and nice for the purpose:

http://www.nightsong.com/photo/copi-pod.html
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Paul Rubin wrote:
>> I've also had good results just shooting with a digicam. One could get
>> fancier with a dSLR and a macro lens or other lens that has low geometrical
>> distortion in the range you need (this is a cheap shot at dcams, which tend
>> to have nasty barrel distortion in their macro range; ...
>
>Cheap shot at DSLR's other than the 5D: the usual 50mm or 55mm macro
>lens has a narrower field of view than you want for this type of
>copying. If you're trying to shoot an 8x10" original, with a 1.6x
>DSLR and a 55mm lens, you have to put the camera somewhat further than
>arms' length from the original, making shooting awkward. And they as
>far as I know don't make 30mm macro lenses. I don't know how good the
>Canon or Nikon 35/2 or 35/1.4 primes are for this type of thing.
>
>> A tripod that lets you shoot down at the floor or a copy stand may
>> or may not meet the OP's definition of portable.
>
>This is portable and nice for the purpose:
>
> http://www.nightsong.com/photo/copi-pod.html

Not being tech savy as far as cameras go, I am really looking for a scanner
since if I don't get a good image when I visit these people (many of whom are
elderly), I may never get a second chance.

--
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> I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos
> I want to scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them
> out of their hands

Many stores have photo kiosks with flatbed scanners. Take the photo's AND
your relative to the store and scan them there. The store can make prints
and/or save them to a CD for you. It will involve a small fee, but you
could probably make quite a few scans for the cost of a scanner, and the
quality will probably be better than a budget scanner.

Anthony
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"HerHusband" <unknown.TakeThisOut@unknown.com> wrote in message
news:Xns98574EE9345CDherhusband@216.196.97.136...
>> I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos
>> I want to scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them
>> out of their hands
>
> Many stores have photo kiosks with flatbed scanners. Take the photo's AND
> your relative to the store and scan them there.

I think you'll get arrested. Scanning the elderly is abusive.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
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On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 21:24:21 GMT, "Mahlon1960" <u27650@uwe> wrote:

>Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to a
>PC. I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos I want to
>scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them out of their hands so I'd
>like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my visits.

Yes, there are is a HP scanner that will do.
The HP photosmart 1200. Operating with penlites and a SD-card it's
fully portable. And good quality.
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TheFlyingDutchman wrote:
>>Are there any scanners or multi-function machines that can scan and SAVE
>>photos either internally or to removable media without being connected to a
>>PC. I frequently travel to see older relatives who have old photos I want to
>>scan but they sometimes don't want me to take them out of their hands so I'd
>>like a machine that is portable and stand alone I could take on my visits.
>
>Yes, there are is a HP scanner that will do.
>The HP photosmart 1200. Operating with penlites and a SD-card it's
>fully portable. And good quality.

Sounds exactly like what I am looking for except it seems to be discontinued.
I've e-mailed HP to see if there is a similar product being sold currently.
Thanks for your help.

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