Which scanner is best for the job?

[fluffytiger]

Very glad to have found such a great forum! Hoping you can offer your opinion.

I have found 2500 family photographs that I want to scan and preserve. Some color from the 80s, some rather precious family photos black and white from the 70s and dating back to the 50s. Precious enough to shed tears over.

Need to buy my first scanner. I'm no professional but am willing to learn.

I’m deliberating between two choices 😳 and would appreciate your opinion.

The Epson Flatbed V600 does the job good enough for me compared to later models. I cant notice much of a difference in image quality to later models (apologies to the aficionados - I may be committing blasphemy)

But then realised I can only scan a few photos every few minutes on the Epson Flatbed. For 2000 + photos it will take me weeks if not months. I don't think I can do it.

Perhaps I’m better off getting the Epson FastFoto 680w. You can do a much larger batch of photos in one go saving much time.

As a noob to scanning, Im now wondering if the quality of a scan from the FastFoto will be compromised to a noticeable degree? I obviously don't want to create poor quality scans. But, is the difference in image quality compared to the flatbed V600 that perceptible?

Not sure which scanner to go for.

Also, I discovered at least 50 small photos including passport size and maybe several that are only double the size of a passport photo.

I have to invest in a scanner that is ok with that.

I'd love any opinions to help me make the best choice.

Thank you all!

[DannyTank]

Here's what I think: if you want to save time and get the job done as quickly as possible, I'd go with the FastFoto 680w. While the difference in image quality compared to the Flatbed V600 might be perceptible to some, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The most important thing is that you have all your precious memories preserved, and the FastFoto 680w will definitely help you do that faster.
And regarding the small photos, I'm sure the FastFoto 680w will handle them just fine.
That being said, Smart Engines SDK is not specifically related to scanning photos but is an AI-powered SDK for real-time image recognition and document data capture.