is 42 bit scanner Always better than a 32 bit scanner?

[andylawcc]

In Staples,
I found this 32 bit
for 80 bucks, while for the same price i can get this

 

[borealiss]

i would go for the visioneer. anything above 32 bit color recognition is pointless imo because there aren't any video cards that can display above that anyways. but visioneer's website says that it has an optical scanning resolution of 600x1200 dpi, which is higher than the 600 optical from hp. visioneer's website is a bit suspicious though, because this might be the interpolated scanning resolution from software, and not the true resolution of the scanner. hp's site is more straightforward. i would call up both visioneer and hp and find out what the optical dpi of the scanner is without "enhancement" from software. whichever has the highest will most likely give you the best image quality.

 

[DesignDawg]

Actually, there is no difference between 24 bit color and 32 bit color. 42? Ludicrous.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[dcdomain]

Not sure if the human eye can tell the difference, I'd go with the resolution over the color bit...

 

[borealiss]

doesn't 32 bit just have an alpha channel over 24 bit?

 

[Dug]

Why not just get the Epson from compusa for $50. Rated higher than both of those.

 

[madthumbs]

The advantage that 32bit plays in video cards as opposed to 24 bit relates mostly to transparencies, and other visual effects (i think). With scanners, I would say 32 bit should be sufficient and there are other things to be concerned about with quality. Things like if it scans too dark and the picture has to be lightened. In this case when you lighten the picture bright areas like white lace on white may wash out. You also want to consider the scanners optical resolution, and speed. pcworld often rates scanners and can fill you in on problems with color accuracy, brightness, and speed.

 

[Ulysses]

Madthumbs beat me to it, but I was going to say that you shouldn't buy a scanner on just the specs you're looking at. The subjective quality of the output, speed and features are very important too. Both PC World and PG Magazine like the Epsons, and have over the course of several models.

You may be able to get the Epson 640U for $130, and there was a model 636, I believe, that may be found for $50 after rebate (as mentioned above), and which was #1 rated by PC World about a year ago.

 

[Soccerman]

I am by no means a Scanner expert (hell I need to ask people what to REALLY look for other then bit depth.. what about their advertised resolution, how realistic is it?).

I'd have to say that increases in bit depth ARE good, however you would be VERY hard pressed to find problems in ANY 32 bit photo that isn't compressed using a lossy compression scheme (ala jpeg, try zipping a BMP instead! no loss whatsoever!). the question is, what is the difference between 42 and 32? you would have to compare REAL scans to find out