[LargeFormat] Scanning 4x5 Negatives

[Joe Tait]

I am curious if anyone here scans their negatives to retouch & manipulate in
photoshop?

Dedicated film scanners are out of my range (Microtex Artixscan for example)
but I've seen the EPSON scanners w/ 2400x2400dpi optical resolution, 3.4
dmax, 42bit color/16bit b/w for $500....pretty reasonable. They're flatbed
scanners, not film, so I'm not sure how well they scan transparencies.

Is that enough resolution/dmax to get LightJet prints in the 24x30 and
larger range? I've seen these prints, and they aren't as good, but I think
they look pretty damn good, and you can get them printed on film for contact
printing w/ alternative processes.

What's everyone else's feeling on this route?

-Joe