Scanner recommendations

I need to replace my Canoscan LiDE 80 scanner. I want to do A4 and 35mm film scanning, preferably at 9600dpi. Semi-automatic handling of film strips would be an advantage. Any recommendations?

9600 Dpi is a bit of a red herring really so don't be conned by scanners claiming they have such high resolution. http://www.scantips.com/basics07.html

I scan 35mm negs no higher than 3200 personally and find it a waste of time going any higher than that, frankly 2400 is more than fine for most printing/archiving purposes IMHO.

If you just wanted to do 35mm I would recommend something like the Pluskek 7600i but as you need to use it for A4 an offering from Epson is probably your best bet. I've had a V700 Photo Pro for a few years and it's very good especially with 120 film scans but it is pricey @ £400 + - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epson-Perfection-V700-Photo-...

All depends how much you wish to pay out really, the V500 & V600 are not bad and are 1/2 the price and less than the V700 but with scanning 35mm you will see the quality drop the lower down the range you go. Guess it all depends on whether you will be scanning lots of negs or just occasionally as to whether or not you buy a higher end model.