Ellis Vener on photo.net:

[...] you need to fluid mount (http://www.scanscience.com to get the best dynamic range (especially shadow detail) --and very important for large prints-- in focus scans of film that is also held flat. The standard Epson holders do a lousy job of this. By "sharpness" I think you mean "acuttance" which is the resolution of detail. Sharpness is a different issue.

One thing to consider to is the cost of time. Making good scans takes time. Making high quality scans takes only a little more. I'm not recommending a D200 (frankly you'll need to go to a 22mp or greater medium foramt back to rival 4x5 capture quality). You need a large color space (see http://www.josephholmes.com) and 16 bit per channel files. You also need good software tools; SilverFast Ai6.5, Noiseware to deal with the elctronic noise, and a multi- stage sharpener like Photokit Sharpener from http://www.pixelgenius.com.

I'm only recommending these tools as I have found through much work, trial and error, that they yield the best results.

Given all that you might want to have http://www.nancyscans.com or http://www.westcoastimaging make your scans for you.
2007-03-09