Can you recommend a good scanner?

By email:

Would you be able to recommend the best make of scanner for scanning old black and white photos, some of them curly? I've been recommended a Canon 9500 for reproducing the colour pictures that I normally use for my Powerpoint presentations, but I've noticed a review saying that it isn't good for enhancing old, maybe scratched black and white photos and especially not negatives. Grateful if you have a recommendation.

I use an Epson Perfection 3200 Photo scanner. It has an optical resolution of 3200dpi. When I scan old photos I scan at 2400dpi, so that's plenty.

The only time I use the maximum resolution is when scanning slides or negatives.

My scanner was bought in 2004, so it's an antique model now. I had to replace the lamp in the lid (used when scanning slides / negatives) in 2008.  Its scans are slowly getting darker, so I'll likely need to replace it some time in the next 12 months.

The current Epson models with similar specifications are the Epson Perfection V500 / 600 / 700 range.

Here's a detailed review of the V600, which also gives a lot of good general advice about choosing a scanner.

I'll be interested to hear which scanner you decide to buy, and how it turns out in general use.

Regards, David