Scanner advice please

[JKent]

I'm new to Mac but have been using PCs for years.
I'm looking for a scanner to use with El Capitan 10.11.3
I have googled scanners for Mac but not much success. Some of the reviews are 4 or more years old and many of the scanners don't work with Macs.
Here's the wish list:
1. Economical. I don't want to spend more than maybe $300
2. Large format/tabloid would be nice but may not be available at this price
3. film/transparency scanning would be nice
4. Digital ICE seems useful but maybe not needed if I use PhotoShop
5. Flatbed. Don't want a document feeder or an A-I-O

Ideas? The Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB 2400 looked promising but Mustek support says they have no plan to make drivers compatible with El Capitan. As a Mac noob I was surprised there are scanners that only work with Windows. I thought Macs were the first choice of graphics pros.
The Epson Perfection V600 may be "OK" but it only has an 8.5 x 11 scan area--not even legal size.

Any good ideas?
Thanks!

 

[Cory Cooper]

I never liked the Mustek products...they seem geared more for low-end PCs. I have been through numerous scanners through the years - Agfa, Canon, Epson, HP, etc.

I currently have an Epson V600 as you mentioned. It had the best price vs performance of all the models I looked at a couple years ago. I have had a couple of Epson Perfection scanners and they have always performed well. The V600's film/transparency scanning is quite amazing at this price point. It really does everything very well. The only downside in your wish list is the letter size maximum scan area.

I think you will probably have to up your budget limit to get that included with the other options.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[JKent]

Thanks Cory. That's helpful info.
I suppose I can stitch together 2 scans if needed and although I had "hoped" for a tabloid size I can't justify the expense. I just bought my 1st Mac--an iMac Retina 5K 27". I think that expense was justified but I can't justify spending as much as the computer on a scanner. Will probably go with the Epson V600 (but welcome all input).
Thanks again.
-Kent