I fully agree with you Mark. That´s why a keep an almost 1gb 4800ppi 48 bits scanned 6x9 file (the most I can get from my Epson V600) in my hard disk. I recently purchased an Epson Blue ray external writer to keep my files in a "safe" place. Epson V600 or others prosumer film scanners aren´t the best choice to print bigger, but if I want to print now or later, better to keep the file with all the color information those scanners are willing to produce. I think prosumers flatbed scanners like Epson´s or Canon´s are going to dissapear, sooner o later. I´m waiting for a new generation of film scanners that can make our life easier. Film ain´t gonna to disappear, I hope...
Don't stand on one foot waiting. This era is coming to an end. Manufacturers have been vacating the field. It will always be around, and there will be a new product or two, but the film era is essentially behind us - except for the smallish minority of photographers who continue to prefer film, a few specialized uses for which film remains necessary, and our archives of prints, slides and negatives - this being the major remaining field for volume scanning.
As for scanners, Epson and Canon flatbed scanners capable of scanning film will be around for a long time to come because there is always a market for reflective scanning, but film is not their primary purposes and they aren't optimized for it. Unfortunately, the choice of new, high quality film scanners has boiled down to very little. The one I woild watch for, but not cheap, is the Plustek 120. It should be hitting the market soon, is a dedicated high resolution film scanner and will accept 35mm and 6*6 (and perhaps 6*9 - not sure) media. Another current choice for 35mm users is the Plustek 8200. Once you want a Nikon 5000 or 9000, you are into the resale market and they have become very expensive. Not to be neglected - the old Minolta 5400 Scan Elite II for 34mm. It was an excellent product, but also now hard to find. It's predecessor, the Scan Elite 5400 (1) was a great product, but very slow.