EPSB11B178061 - Perfection V750-M PRO Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had this scanner for less than a year and have already scanned 7000 35mm slides. I have also scanned 2000 35mm negatives. I have also scanned 2000 6x6
Hasselblad slides and negatives. And finally I have scanned 2000 Minox and 16mm negatives.......And I almost forgot the hundreds of 4"x5" transparencies and negatives. I don't use the ICE setting much since most of my film did not need it and it takes about 3-8 times longer. Any improvements to the scans can be made with the extra included very good software. It's nice to set up a group of slides and walk away for 10-20 minutes. No need to stand over the machine and put them in one at a time. The included slide holder lasted for 6000 slides before one of the plastic holders broke. You can skip that hole or use it and be careful about it falling out when blowing off any dust or buy a new holder for $30.00 or less. I have never used this scanner to scan paper so I cannot comment as to how well it does.........but I do have a cheaper Epson scanner that I use for paper and it works fine. I definitely recommend this scanner.

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Exclusive Dual Lens System optimizes each scan, automatically selecting from two lenses for the desired scan resolution. 6400 dpi optical resolution delivers unparalleled performance. 4.0 Dmax tonal range provides smooth gradations and fine shadow detail. Anti-reflective optical coatings and a high-reflection mirror offers the highest level of image quality. Includes Digital ICE Technologies so you can automatically remove dust and scratches, minimizing costly retouching. Convenient film holders lets you batch scan multiple slides, negatives, and medium-format film for greater productivity. Scan Size (W x H): 8 1/2 x 11 7/10; Bit Depth of Color: 48-bit Color, 16-bit Grayscale; Buttons: 1; Connector/Port/Interface: USB 2.0.

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Epson Perfection 4870 PRO Scanner Review

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(More customer reviews)I shoot black & white 35 mm. Previously relied upon either a Polaroid SprintScan 4000 or drum scans. The 4870 produces gorgeous scans and is easy to use. I'm very happy with my purchase. SilverFast has proved to be a dissapointment for use with B&W negs. I would probably have purchased the regular 4870 vs. Pro version if I had it to do over again.

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Perfection 4870 Pro Color Scanner

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Plustek Opticfilm 7300 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using this scanner for a couple of days now, and have scanned approx. 50 negs.
Pros: Works as promised. Installation is quick and easy. You can get the software installed and ready to work in minutes. I tried both Quick Scan and Intelliscan. If you are trying to preserve your treasured memory recorded on your negs, don't bother with Quick Scan as its result is quite poor. Intellican, together with SliveFast software, on the other hand can produce very good results. I'm now using Intelliscan exclusively to scan all my negs into digital photos. SilverFast software is powerful and feature rich. There are many switches and knobs you can turn to adjust your scan result. The build quality of this machine is also very impressive.
Cons: I consider these things minor, but they do affect user experience.
1) There are 3 Quick Start guides when you open the box, how will you know which one to go first? Well, let me document it here so everyone else can save some time. Follow the Quick Start guide for hardware and driver installation first. If you don't want to bother with Quick Scan that generates poor result, skip the guide on that. Follow the guide on SilverFast software installation guide. Once finished, you can start scanning your negs and slides using Intelliscan.
2) The learning curve for SilverFast is steep because its documentation is not very well organized. The CD does contain QuickTime movies that explain various features in the software, but there is nothing to connect them together to give you a bigger picture on the work flow that you will go through. But I still find that to be more useful than the doc.
3) The film holder is not the easiest thing to use. I wish it had "teeth" that can quickly and easily hold your neg strips in place.
4) If you plan to scan all your negs accumulated over the years in one weekend, it won't happen.
Conclusion: Overall, it's a very good machine that gets the job done. Result is good, and price is reasonable. For all the memory recorded on your early pictures, spending a bit time to preserve it is well worthwhile.


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High resolution film scanner now offers you with enhanced Multi-Sampling and Multi-Exposure for more quality images...The Plustek OpticFilm 7300, a dedicated 7200 dpi film scanner, now brings you a more powerful scanning device with its added Multi-Exposure for negative film and also the Multi-Sampling functions brings out the best quality on photos and images at the most affordable price.Plustek OpticFilm 7300 bundles the latest LaserSoft Imaging’s SilverFast 6.5 SEPlus (MultiExposure) software. The SilverFast 6.5 SEPlus (MultiExposure) software enhanced with powerful Multi-Exposure, Automatic Frame Detection, , SilverFast-Basic,NegaFix, Selective Color Correction, Auto Adjust, USM, plus many many more(For more information, please visit www.SilverFast.com)Plustek OpticFilm 7300 combined with SilverFast SEPlus ME makes it a perfect combination which outstand all other film scanner in the market. The most ideal film scanner for most users including home users, photographers and small office / workshop users!PLUSTEK MULTI SAMPLINGTo minimize noise, the Plustek multiple sampling function makes 4 scans during scan time, since the noise patterns changes each scans, the image is averaged together and noise cancel out if inconsistencies are present. See the photo below of a normal scan and Plustek MULTI SAMPLING scans.

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Nikon CoolScan V ED Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Coolscan V is an excellent cheaper alternative to the Coolscan 5000 which I have also owned. My immediate project included about 1500 slides from my own collection, my fathers collection, and my grandfather's collection.
Most of my father's slides are Kodachrome. Much has been written about the inability of this scanner to scan Kodachrome slides and said about ICE4 not working with Kodachrome. Well, I have some good news The ICE4 does work extremely well for the most part. However, with Kodachrome slides it does produce minor artifacts in about 5 percent of the slides. I scanned with ICE (not ICE4) always on and then rescanned if I encountered unacceptable artifacts. I did notice that the scanner ICE feature was more likely to be stumped by old Kodachrome slides where subjects were wearing shirts with stripes.
The GEM ROC and DEE (the other stalwarts of the ICE4 other than ICE itself) work on Kodachrome slides as well, but I found that the results were unpredictable and that I could achieve better results myself in Photoshop far more quickly. The GEM ROC and DEE features simply took too long and slowed down the scanning unacceptably. The results, for me, were not worth the additional scanning time. So I never used these features. But the "enhance" feature on the scanner I used nearly 100% of the time with great results - much better than the GEM ROC and DEE features.
The scanner is fast and does produce wonderful wonderful detailed scans, easily demonstrating the grain in the transparancies at 3000 and 4000 dpi. The Kodachrome slides were a challenge to the Dynamic Range of the scanner, but I believe that most of the detail in the shadows that is there was extracted. With dark slides I used the VERY useful gain feature turning it all the way up to 2 in the really dark slides. Unfortunately, Kodachrome, with all of its many attributes, does have substantial downsides including a very narrow exposure latitude and shadow detail is simply lacking. I think the scanner accurately reproduced the information including the colors on the Kodachrome slides, with perhaps a slight bluish cast noticed in some cases.
It wasn't until I was finished scanning all of the culled slides that I undertook to scan my select color negatives. And this scanner really came into its own scanning color negatives. Don't even TRY to scan color negatives without ICE because the results are unbelievably bad. Even pristine negatives have scratches and dust that magically are erased by the ICE feature. What a godsend. The scanned color negatives were just beautiful with very accurate color rendition. But immediately I noticed much more grain in the color negatives (Royal Gold and Fuji Superia Gold) than in the scanned slides.
One note unrelated to the scanner itself. Until you've used a digital scanner to scan your color negatives you can't begin to realize how far superior Kodachrome, Provia, and Ektachrome slides are to color negatives insofar as capturing detail. Even the best color negatives have much more grain that Kodachrome. And the difference in color negatives is substantial too.
The V was slower than the 5000, but honestly the difference for the non-professional scanner, to me, was not worth the additional investment. The V represents a superb value giving you nearly all of the advantages of the 5000 other than speed for a substantially cheaper price.
The included Nikon software worked fantastic for me. I downloaded a copy of VueScan which according to many reviews is superior to the Nikon software and found that for me the Nikon software was easier to work with and produced superior results.
Setup Summary: I scanned at a 16 bit color depth and 4000 pixels per inch with the scan enhancer turned on and the Digital ICE turned on. I did not use GEM ROC and DEE because of inconsistent results. I turned up the gain as necessary for dark slides and turned it down for light slides. Gain adjustments were only necessary on about 15 - 20% of the slides.
Setting up the Nikon Scan window was a little tricky too. I placed the tool palette in the far upper right corner of the window with the scan window placed under it to the right. The image window occupied the largest portion space to the left.
I can recommend this scanner without reservation. It is a phenomenal piece of equipment. If speed is not a paramount consideration and you are not a professional scanner needing the options (the auto feeder) offered by the 5000 then, in my opinion, the V represents an absolutely tremendous value.

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A high-performance dedicated film scanner from Nikon, the CoolScan V ED offers high-quality scanning of 35mm slides, 35mm film strips, APS film (with optional IX240 film adapter), and prepared slides (with optional medical slide holder). The Scanner-Nikkor ED glass lens offers a 4,000 dpi optical resolution, while the 3,964-pixel linear CCD image sensor and 14-bit A/D input (8-/16-bit output) provide true-to-life, brilliant results.
Nikon's own LED illumination technology ensures accurate color with no warm-up time or risk of heat damage. Scan times are as fast as 38 seconds including image transfer to display, and as fast as 14 seconds in preview mode. Automatic color/contrast compensation helps you achieve accurate results, while the ICE4 advanced digital image correction suite of technologies helps to restore old slides to their original glory. Additionally, the included Nikon Scan 4 software provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface for managing your scans.
The CoolScan V ED has a convenient plug-and-play USB interface, while one-touch scan and preview buttons will have you scanning film in no time. PC and Mac compatible, the CoolScan V ED also comes backed with a one year limited warranty.
What's in the Box Scanner, CD-ROM, strip film adapter SA-21, slide feeder MA-21, instructions

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Plustek OpticFilm 7200 7200DPI Film Scanner Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a winner! Intalled it and within 5 minutes, I had scanned my first slide. It was a snap. You insert the slide in the holder provided, insert the holder into the slot and push until you feel the detent. At that point, the slide is centered. Click the scan button and it's done. The lighted window on the top of the machine is just a light for you to view a slide you have in your hand. It has nothing to do with centering the slide. The slides easily insert into the holder. ALL of the slides scanned in focus. Results are fantastic.
Operation was so simple that there really isn't much to say about that here.
Here's my story: I had 900 baby pictures on slides. No prints. I thought making slides was a great idea 30 years ago. Now, mold is growing on them. Also, they take up too much room to rent a safe deposit box. I bought three different flat bed scanners and two different setups using an S.L.R. camera to take pictures of the slides. Poor quality. I had spent $1,000+ without a decent result. Finally read about the Plustek 7200. Bought it and now, in three days, I'm done digitizing ALL the slides. Go ahead mold... eat the slide because I have them all on CD's. Still have the original packing so I'm going to auction the scanner to recover most of the cost of the scanner. This is a small sturdy machine. I'm sure it'll scan thousands more slides. I am VERY HAPPY!! :-)
I sent each of my sons a copy of the CD, two in a safe deposit box and two in my home office. We'll never lose those memories. Thank you Plustek I am soooo happy!!!

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The Plustek OpticFilm 7200 7200DPI Film Scanner is an outstanding solution for photographers who have a collection of 35mm film and wish to scan it for archiving or to digitally manipulate the images on a computer. The OpticFilm 7200 has the ability to scan at a high optical resolution of 7200 dpi and a 48-bit color depth for outstanding accuracy, preserving details such as the highlights and shadows of an image. The scanner is very easy to use: To scan, simply mount slides or a strip of film into the carrier and position it in the scanner. To use the quickscan button on the scanner's front, use the included QuickScan utility, which automatically scans according to the default settings you define. Scanning takes about 48 seconds for 3600 dpi scan, and it uses a single pass.
A small slide-sized square at the top of the scanner lights up when the scanner is on and can be used to view slides and negatives. The scanner uses a USB 2.0 connection for universal compatibility and quick data transfer. The OpticFilm 7200 comes with LaserSoft SilverFast SE 6, which offers controls for tweaking scanned images. A Photoshop plug-in and a TWAIN driver are part of the SilverFast software, enabling its use with other image manipulation programs. Also included is NewSoft Presto! ImageFolio 4.5 and PageManager 7.10. A carrying case is provided to hold the scanner and its accessories. The Plustek OpticFilm 7200 is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Vista.
What's in the Box OpticFilm 7200 scanner, padded carrying bag, mounted slide holder and filmstrip holder, USB cable, power adapter, quick guide, LaserSoft SilverFast CD-ROM, and setup/application CD-ROM.

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Plustek OpticFilm 7200 Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this scanner after returning a higher end flatbed scanner that was not sending enough light through the 35 mm slides I was scanning. This scanner does a good job and allows me to brighten up most all of the darker or poorly taken slides.
The software is fairly easy to use although I would like to see an automatic program to clean up imperfections as the manual program takes quite a bit of time and work. The scanner does tend to slow down after completing about 100 slides at one sitting, but has continued to work fine

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Alestron OpticFilm 7200 Film Scanner The OpticFilm 7200 is a 7200 dpi film scanner capable of scanning 35 mm slide and negatives. High optical resolution, USB 2.0 connection and fast scan speed allow Plustek's OpticFilm 7200 to easily outperform other professional film scanners. The OpticFilm 7200 is the perfect scanner for photographers and small office/workshop users, offering a variety of possibilities including high quality images for magazines and other printed material, photo enlargements, brochures, digitizing slides/negatives, web pages, as well as images to share with friends on the Internet, and more! The OpticFilm 7200 provides 48-bit scanning capability that supports recognition of literally trillions of different colours. The result is extremely accurate colour rendition compared to the original film, retaining subtle details in the highlight and shadow areas of the scanned image.

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Acer AcerScan ScanWit 2720S Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Contrary to the first reviewer, a passive terminator is not needed if this is the only SCSI device in the computer and you are using the bundled SCSI card. All I needed to do was plug in the SCSI card, hook up and scanner, install the driver, and boom, it's working! You do, however, need a terminator if you're hooking up the scanner to a third party SCSI card (ex. Adaptec). The scanner produces excellent scans for negatives, and very good results with slide films. Bundled software, Mirafoto, has ver nice features and is easy to use. However, for certain negative films it does not produce the most accurate colors, but that can easily be corrected in any imaging software (Photoshop 5 LE is included). For this price, this scanner is an excellent buy!

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Share your digitally optimized photographs over the Internet using the Acer AcerScan ScanWit 2720S. This impressive film scanner offers professional and amateur photographers excellent digital editing and reproduction capability. The ScanWit 2720S comes with Adobe Photoshop LE and Ulead Photo Express software, providing an expansive range of artistic and creative image editing options. This economical one-pass scanner has high optical resolution of 2,700 x 2,700 dpi and 36-bit color scans that differentiate more than 68.7 billion colors for superb image quality. Maximize the shadow detail of your slides and negatives, from the darkest to the brightest tones, with this scanner's dynamic range of 3.2. You can scan mounted 35mm slides in a maximum four-unit batch, or scan a 35mm negative filmstrip with up to four-unit batches. Automated positioning and focusing features ensure a sharp image, and a push of the scan button allows you to preview loaded frames. The 40-second scan speed makes the process efficient and easy. System requirements include Windows 95/98/NT, 35 MB RAM, a CD-ROM drive, and a PCI slot. Acer provides a one-year limited warranty with its 48-hour Hot Swap policy. --Carol Pierce

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Nikon Super CoolScan 9000 ED Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased the Nikon 9000ED scanner mostly because I could not find anything else that would scann my 2.75 x 2.75 slides. There may be other products out there but the recommendations I got was to go with the Nikon. Basically I inherited a case of these slides which feature my family from roughly 1960 to 1979. Most of the slides are badly faded, underexposed or otherwise not usable. So I figured in order to save the memories I need to spend the money to do it right.
I am not disappointed. Initially I kept getting a mysterious error in the post-processing cycle. After many emails back in forth with 3rd level support staff at Nikon (nice to be able to get support) we figured out that I was setting something called digital GEM on when that wasn't necessary. The process works on badly grained film which I didn't have. Once I changed the default scan settings by not asking for GEM corrections, all has gone beautiful for me.
The red-brown slides magically come back to me with their original colors via the digital ROC process. I'm not too technical on all the things that happen within the hardware-software process but the results an amateur like me can get are simply awsome. I scan the slides at a full 4000 bpi and store the results as huge TIFF files. I figure that disk space is cheap but at least I have the original in a best possible digitized format. The slides will continue to deteriorate but not the digiatl data.
Fred Rump


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A high-performance dedicated film scanner designed for imaging professionals, the Super Coolscan 9000 ED offers high-quality scanning of 35mm slides, 35mm film strips, medium-format film, medium-format slides (with optional 120/220 mounted film holder FH-869M), glass slides for microscopes (with optional Medical Slide Holder FH-8G1), and 16mm film (with optional 16mm film holder FH-816). The Scanner-Nikkor ED glass lens offers a 4,000 dpi optical resolution, while the 10,000-pixel, three-line monochrome linear CCD image sensor and 16-bit per color A/D input (8-/16-bit output) provide true-to-life, brilliant results.
Nikon's own LED illumination technology ensures accurate color separation with no warm-up time or risk of heat damage. Scan times are as fast as 40 seconds including image transfer to display, and as fast as 13 seconds in preview mode. Automatic color/contrast compensation helps you achieve accurate results, while the ICE4 advanced digital image correction suite of technologies, including digital ICE, digital ROC, digital GEM, and digital DEE, helps to restore old slides to their original glory. Additionally, the included Nikon Scan 4 software provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface for managing your scans.
The Super Coolscan 9000 ED has an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface, while one-touch scan and preview buttons will have you scanning film in no time. PC and Mac compatible, the Super Coolscan 9000 ED also comes backed with a one-year limited warranty.
What's in the BoxScanner, CD-ROM, interface card for Mac OS and Windows, strip film holder FH-835S, slide holder FH-835M, 129/220 strip film holder FH-869S

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Epson Perfection 4870 Photo Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Epson 4870 scanner to scan my old pictures and negatives. I read many reviews on different scanners. I chose Epson 4870 mainly for the high resolution. I also, liked the firewire option and the speed seemed to be reasonable.
I managed to scan hundreds of films and pictures in the last few months with no problem. The product works excellent, but that itself could be the problem. It is just too good for my needs. The very high resolution would produce files about 100 MB; way too big to adjust the lighting or the color on it. My Intel P4 machine with 256 MB RAM had hard time managing those files. The resolution was much higher than anything my $1000 digital camera could ever produce. Unless you are a professional photographer or you need to make large posters of your pictures, you will never need such a high resolution capability. I ended up using the lower resolution settings and still have very good quality scans. Save your money and buy the Epson 3170.
Here are some technical notes:
The setup on my XP machine was very easy and took only few minutes. I used both firewire and USB with no problem. I noticed absolutely no "stability & reliability problems" as other reviewer has reported. I wonder if that reviewer's machine did not have the muscle to handle the large files. You need at least 128MB of memory. Also, if you use Windows, make sure you have set enough space for your virtual memory (on XP: Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> System ->Advanced -> performance ->Virtual Memory).
The black & white setting of the software does not work, but you can use the color setting for scanning the black and white pictures with no problem (you will get a good quality B&W scan).
The Adobe Photoshop LITE included with the package is definitely needed to adjust the lighting and the color. For more repair work on damaged films or for applying special filters, I would recommend the full version of the Adobe Photoshop.


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EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo Scanner brings professional quality scanning within reach of everyone who's serious about graphics or photography. An optical resolution of 4800 x 9600 dpi allows a 35mm piece of film to be enlarged to 60cm x 80cm (A1). By coupling this outstanding resolution with a moving transparency unit lamp, this flatbed scanner challenges conventional film scanners on quality and price.OS Compatibility -Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP; Mac OS 8.6 to 9.x, OS X 10.2+

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Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After using a Nikon LS-1000 for two years and constantly being frustrated with the scanner's poor performance on slides, I was blown away by the first scan I did with my Coolscan 4000. The colors were right on, the density nearly perfect and best of all, no more processing artifacts thanks to the Digital ICE. I used to have to spend 15 minutes carefully cloning out those little dust spots and other defects on every high-res scan. Now I can concentrate on scanning rather than retouching.
The sharpness of the images are noticeably improved, which I attribute to the ED lens. The color saturation is wonderful and shadow detail is excellent, even on a constrasty slide.
I use a Coolscan 2000 at work and the 4000 is definitely a huge improvement over that scanner. For the [price] difference, the 4000 is the one to own.
The Digital GEM and ROC are worth that price alone if you have slides or negatives in which the color has shifted. It is absolutely amazing this software restores these old images. I had some very red chromes from the 70s that it restored to full color.
While some reviewers have complained about the sharpness of negative scans, I have not found this to be a problem. And Nikon includes the option of using a film holder rather than the negative adapter for scanning.
In short, this scanner is the one to beat. I can't imagine 35mm film scanning getting any better. This one is a keeper, a real workhorse for the photographer who wants to bridge film and digital with a high-quality scanner.

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Versatile enough to use with film in 35mm, strip, slide, or Advanced Photo System (APS) formats, Nikon's Super Coolscan 4000 offers fast and reliable FireWire connectivity and bright, accurate color scans that are ideal for high-end professional and business uses. Multisample scanning technology automatically removes surface blemishes, while Digital ICE image correction removes fingerprints and dust, equalizes grain, and restores faded images to full color.
Scanning is accomplished with 14-bit A-D conversion (16-bit output) through an advanced Nikon ED glass lens. The Super Coolscan 4000's 48-bit color and 4,000 dpi optical resolution result in exceptional clarity and color depth. An LED light source helps to provide consistent, crisper color. The scanning area is 25mm x 38mm with your choice of automatic or manual focus. The unit is also fast, with maximum resolution scans clocking in at around 38 seconds.
The software bundle includes Canto Cumulus 5.0 Demo, and Nikon Scan 3.0 Driver to help you fine-tune images before printing. Weighing only 6.6 pounds, the Super Coolscan 4000 has a reasonably small footprint of only 12.4 by 3.7 inches. It connects to most Mac and PC systems via an IEEE 1394 (OHCI compliant) interface card and comes with a variety of adapters for popular film formats.

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Microtek ScanMaker 8700 USB Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have to add this to my previous review, in all fairness to reviewing. I had to return my 8700 to Microtek. After a phone call to tech support, he determined that my unit may have had a hardware problem due to the inconsistent manner my scanner would or would not work. It would or would not scan the image-it might do a partial scan then black out the rest-or it might scan correctly-I just never knew what it would do.
When you would click the arrow in the toolbar to shut it down, it would not respond.
I did not get an owner's manual with my first scanner. So I sent it off; the replacement was a different story. It worked! It has not given me any "partial" scans; it has shut down properly everytime, and it had the owner's manual.
After e-mailing tech support to find out about the dynamic range, (indicates how a scanner might produce shadow detail) I found out it was a 3.2. This is not so great; I had noticed on more than a few slides that the shadow detail was lacking.
For me, this scanner prints better from negatives, as the film I use has very good latitude. 2400x1200 dpi optical for 35mm is okay but if you are serious about your work, wanting enlargements, your negatives or slides better be super sharp, with good contrast-otherwise I would look for a higher dpi output, or try a larger negative format.
To wrap this up, I wish this scanner had a better dpi output and a higher dynamic range-I would say the two most important characteristics, besides very sharp scans. Otherwise, the scanner is easy to use; the other features make it enjoyable to use. I would give it 3 stars, but the ability to print from larger negatives-4x5, 6x6-6x9 film negatives or unmounted slides, or 8x10 transparency holder w/glass hopefully will help out the quality of my enlargements-will have to wait and see.

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The Microtek ScanMaker 8700 features an exclusive, patented dual-media design that allows you to scan both reflective surfaces and transparencies. It accepts legal-size documents, 35mm film slides, acetate sheets, and full-size books.
Microtek's innovative EDIT (Emulsion Direct Imaging Technology) eliminates Newton rings (blemishes caused in some scanners by interfering panes of glass) to ensure perfect, unadulterated image quality every time. True single-pass 2,400 x 1,200 optical resolution captures an unprecedented 1.44 million pixels per square inch, combining razor-sharp detail with the vivid clarity of 42-bit color depth.
Standard Macintosh and PC USB connectivity is augmented with the renowned FireWire linking kit. FireWire's lightning-fast transfer rates and superior data integrity maximize the 8700's efficiency while retaining the versatility of previous ScanMaker models with the regular USB port connection.
Enhanced interface software and an expanded utilities package provide powerful tools for user-friendly graphics and document manipulation.Included are Adobe Photoshop 5.0 LE, Trellix Web designer, Microtek ScanWizard, Kodak Digital Science color management, and more.

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Plustek Mobile Office D28 Duplex Color with 2.2 Seconds/page Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I own an I.T. company and have installed many of these in Medical Offices. The Plustek D28 has been a great scanner for us. They are easy to use yet very functional. I have experienced no reliability issues at all. for us; they make a low cost option for small offices going paperless. They will do documents as well as insurance or drivers license cards. I have purchased many of these and expect I'll be buying many more.

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Plusteks D28 is an ultra-compact, fast duplex color scanner. Unlike other compact scanners, the solidly built D28 scans letter-sized documents in only 2.2 seconds. Designed to scan both documents up to legal size and embossed ID cards, the D28 can be used to capture all the information you need right at the point of transaction.Nine programmable push-button scanning presets can be programmed for scan to image file, digital format,E-mail or for multiple users. Bundled software includes ABBYY FineReader 6.0 Sprint. By adding placement flexibility is provided by a choice of paper output options, straight through or vertical.

Get 44% OFF

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Plustek Opticfilm 7600I Ai Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm still at the bottom of a very steep learning curve. The good news is the Plustek scanner and the comes-with software started up and ran with minimal fuss on my old G4 Macintosh. I've been able to get a few decent, useable scans after a modicum of fussing around.
But I'm overwhelmed and intimidated by the incredible number of adjustments that can be made in SilverFast AI Studio -- the software package that takes the input from the scanner and turns it into digital files, with corrections. There are video introductions to the features of SilverFast, but that is all they are -- introductions. If you aren't familiar with the intricacies of digital image processing and color correction you are going to feel very lost.
You can find a link to a very large -- 480 page -- PDF file on the SilverFast website that purports to be a complete manual to the software. But then there is also a 48-page addendum. You can download these for free. But you can't buy a printed manual. It isn't offered in hard copy.
SilverFast isn't the only company that feels providing a PDF file is providing documentation. Far from it. But it appears they used to provide a printed manual, of course at extra cost. Not any more.
I'd pay the money to get a printed manual. Even if it is the size of a dictionary. No one yet has solved the problem of providing clear, comprehensive directions on the same screen where you are trying to work. A printed manual is still an extremely useful tool. The only downside is they are hard to keep current.
Eventually I hope to scan and archive my thousands of 35mm color negatives. It's a big job, but I can peck away at it, for years if necessary. What I'd really hate is doing all that work and finding out, towards the end, that I didn't set up my scans properly. With all the knobs, buttons and sliders the chance of lucking into the right settings is almost zero.
I'll update this review if I find a good, useable, comprehensive guide that gets me comfortable with my scanning software. Or if I don't.
I'll probably end up printing out the PDF manual, hole-punching it, and putting it in a (huge!) 3-ring binder. It would be nice if it were well-written, clearly illustrated and comprehensive, but I'm not confident it will be.
It would be even nicer if David Pogue put out a "Missing Manual" on SilverFast AI. The "Missing Manual" series is the very, very best. But I'm not holding my breath.
***************
Update April 2, 2010
I have, in fact, printed out the 480-page PDF manual. It is now in a 3-ring binder. I've been studying it, but I can't say it has helped me that much.
Mostly what I have learned is that there are a ton of features in SilverFast Ai that I don't need and will never use. I am starting to get an inkling of what I do need and can use, but what looked like a learning curve before looks more now like a learning cliff. I'm at the bottom, looking up, with no idea how to get from where I am to where I'd like to go. The manual assumes that the user has so much knowledge going in that the text is all but unintelligible. It makes it extremely difficult to figure out what is important to me and what isn't, which settings are appropriate and which aren't.
What I really need is a task-oriented guide. Something that says, if you want to archive negatives, you do this, this and this. If you want to do additional processing to your archived negatives, once you have scanned and saved them, then you have these tools available, this is what they do, and this is how to use them.
I suppose there are places I can find this information -- possibly online user forums -- but I'm going to have to hunt for them, and then see if I can figure out how to ask the right questions of the right people. And really hope someone is willing to be helpful.
It annoys me that Plustek and SilverFast don't understand that there are people like me who, as amateur photographers with lots of photographs they want to preserve -- willing to pay the money and put in the time to do so -- need just a little guidance in how to get started.
I've encountered this kind of "we're all professionals here" attitude before, primarily in the CAD world. I don't understand it. There are a hundred potential sub-professional users for every professional, and we're not stupid, or poor. We just have more basic needs. We don't have the luxury of living and breathing this stuff every hour of our working lives. A little consideration would be appreciated.
It is really very insulting that these vendors don't consider sub-professional users to be a market. How can they be so blind to such a huge potential? I don't know, but if they're like the CAD folks, they're really, really good at being blind.
I am going to try to send this review to Plustek and SilverFast. Maybe they'll take pity on me. Here's hoping.
****************
Update May 1, 2010
I really have to split this review into two parts: the hardware and the software.
I have no complaints about the hardware. The Plustek Opticfilm 7600i works and works well. I am very happy with the unit.
I have given up on the software. The SilverFast software may be a terrific toolset for the professional who is immersed in this stuff every day, all day, but for anybody else I think they'll find it is pointlessly difficult to understand and use. On top of that I received no support from SilverFast. None worth mentioning. A very form-letterish response to my email is all, not telling me anything new or useful.
Fortunately the folks at Plustek are much, much more supportive. One of their tech support people spent, frankly, far too much time talking to me, trying to get me up to speed with SilverFast. Ultimately the best advice he gave me was to try another brand of software, 'VueScan' (available at [...]). VueScan was designed to be fully-featured but 'discoverable'. That is, an intelligent person who knows what he wants to do can figure out how to do it, without learning a whole new language and a whole new way of thinking. You can start at a pretty basic level and get very good results. As you get more experienced you can dive deeper, a bit at a time, and be rewarded with more and more capability, with a good chance of success on your first try.
VueScan comes with an 'Archive' setting. That feature in itself shows someone gave thought to the needs of the poor befuddled user. The rest of the features in VueScan are in line with that level of consideration for the user. And it doesn't seem to me like there are any features missing from VueScan that are found in SilverFast. If there are, they are pretty arcane.
You can try out VueScan for free, and you can buy a limited license for US$40. But that license only lasts you a year. You are much better off buying the Professional license -- a one-time charge of US$80 with unlimited free upgrades.
VueScan comes with personal email support. I've tried it, and got a helpful response. Apparently the guy who wrote and maintains the software also answers user questions. I like that kind of customer support!
So, I've upgraded my review to 4 stars out of 5. The comes-with software is a disappointment. I'd really like to get my money back. I'll try to see if I can. But lousy comes-with software seems to be a tradition in optical products. At least there is a good alternative. The bad news -- you have to pay extra for it. The good news -- it is worth the money.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Plustek Opticfilm 7600I Ai

Here comes the latest environmental-friendly Plustek OpticFilm 7600i Ai with more improved quality plus more energy saving feature. OpticFilm 7600i Ai, is a dedicated 7200 dpi film scanner with greater productivity and more efficiency. The peculiar light source makes your image more vivid and dimensional.With real-time controls, the result of image is displayed immediately. The automatic functions are designed to produce high-end quality image at the shortest time, and users also find pleasure in adjusting images manually. Moreover, the exclusive iSRD for dust and scratch removal can restore images from dust and scratches and ideally optimize images.

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Epson Perfection V750-M Pro Color Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Epson V750 is a great scanner. We bought it for film and slide scanning and have not been disappointed in its performance. It's fast, has fantastic resolution (rivaling much more expensive film scanners) and will do multiple slides or negative strips. The "but" refers to the included software. The Epson scanning software is quite good, but I had hoped to be able to use the SilverFast package, which was supposed to be a full software package. Unfortunately, it's a "crippled" application, lacking the ability to convert multiple slides in a single scan into individual pictures (which the full application CAN do). This was a major disappointment. So, hardware great, software not so much.

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Enjoy unparalleled performance when scanning negatives, slides or prints, with the Epson Perfection V750-M Pro, the first flatbed scanner with groundbreaking 6400 DPI resolution and unique fluid mount capabilities for photo studio applications.

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Nikon Super CoolScan 5000 ED Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First of all, let me say I am a neophyte when it comes to scanning. My mother passed away recently and I wanted to go through my father's 20,000 slides and scan the best ones before they, as many before them, disappeared into the hands of one of my 7 other siblings never to be found again.
After culling my father's slides I ended up with about 1000 I wanted to scan. After culling my own slides I ended up with another 250 slides. Additionally, I had about 250 slides from my grandfather slides And after that I decided to go through my color negative collection and scan the best of those as well. A daunting project! But honestly well worth the effort.
Most of my father's slides are Kodachrome. Much has been written about the inability of this scanner to scan Kodachrome slides and said about ICE4 not working with Kodachrome. Well, I have some good news The ICE4 does work extremely well for the most part. However, with Kodachrome slides it does produce minor artifacts in about 5 percent of the slides.I scanned with ICE (not ICE4) always on and then rescanned if I encountered unacceptable artifacts. I did notice that the scanner ICE feature was more likely to be stumped by old Kodachrome slides where subjects were wearing shirts with stripes.
The GEM ROC and DEE (the other stalwarts of the ICE4 other than ICE itself) work on Kodachrome slides as well, but I found that the results were unpredictable and that I could achieve better results myself in Photoshop far more quickly. The GEM ROC and DEE features simply took too long and slowed down the scanning unacceptably. The results, for me, were not worth the additional scanning time. So I never used these features. But the "enhance" feature on the scanner I used nearly 100% of the time with great results - much better than the GEM ROC and DEE features.
The scanner is fast and does produce wonderful wonderful detailed scans, easily demonstrating the grain in the transparancies at 3000 and 4000 dpi. The Kodachrome slides were a challenge to the Dynamic Range of the scanner, but I believe that most of the detail in the shadows that is there was extracted. With dark slides I used the VERY useful gain feature turning it all the way up to 2 in the really dark slides. Unfortunately, Kodachrome, with all of its many attributes, does have substantial downsides including a very narrow exposure latitude and shadow detail is simply lacking. I think the scanner accurately reproduced the information including the colors on the Kodachrome slides, with perhaps a slight bluish cast noticed in some cases.
It wasn't until I was finished scanning all of the culled slides that I undertook to scan my select color negatives.And this scanner really came into its own scanning color negatives. Don't even TRY to scan color negatives without ICE because the results are unbelievably bad. Even pristine negatives have scratches and dust that magically are erased by the ICE feature. What a godsend. The scanned color negatives were just beautiful with very accurate color rendition. But immediately I noticed much more grain in the color negatives (Royal Gold and Fuji Superia Gold) than in the scanned slides.
One note unrelated to the scanner itself. Until you've used a digital scanner to scan your color negatives you can't begin to realize how far superior Kodachrome, Provia, and Ektachrome slides are to color negatives insofar as capturing detail. Even the best color negatives have much more grain that Kodachrome. And the difference in color negatives is substantial too.
The included Nikon software worked fantastic for me. I downloaded a copy of VueScan which according to many reviews is superior to the Nikon software and found that for me the Nikon software was easier to work with and produced superior results.
The software did cause my computer to crash occasionally which was an aggravation, but a minor one when considered against its many attributes.
Setup Summary: I scanned at a 8 bit color depth (to reduce file size to 55MB and because I could not see a difference between 8 and 16 bit depth in the old slides) and 4000 pixels per inch with the scan enhancer turned on and the Digital ICE turned on. I did not use GEM ROC and DEE because of inconsistent results. I turned up the gain as necessary for dark slides and turned it down for light slides. Gain adjustments were only necessary on about 15 - 20% of the slides. The only two variables that I used once I was set up and running were gain adjustment and type of film or slide. All other adjustments were made in PS IF necessary. The scan at these settings took 90 seconds. Setting up the Nikon Scan window was a little tricky too. I placed the tool palette in the far upper right corner of the window with the scan window placed under it to the right. The image window occupied the largest portion space to the left.
I can recommend this scanner without reservation. It is a phenomenal piece of equipment.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Nikon Super CoolScan 5000 ED Film Scanner

A high-performance dedicated film scanner designed for imaging professionals, the Super Coolscan 5000 ED offers high-quality scanning of 35mm slides, 35mm film strips, APS film (with optional IX240 film adapter), and prepared slides (with optional medical slide holder). The Scanner-Nikkor ED glass lens offers a 4,000 dpi optical resolution, while the 3,964-pixel, two-line linear CCD image sensor and 16-bit per color A/D input (8-/16-bit output) provide true-to-life, brilliant results.
Nikon's own LED illumination technology ensures accurate color separation with no warm-up time or risk of heat damage. Scan times are as fast as 20 seconds including image transfer to display, and as fast as 11 seconds in preview mode. Automatic color/contrast compensation helps you achieve accurate results, while the ICE4 advanced digital image correction suite of technologies--including digital ICE, digital ROC, digital GEM, and digital DEE--helps to restore old slides to their original glory. Additionally, the included Nikon Scan 4 software provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface for managing your scans.
The Super Coolscan 5000 ED has a convenient, plug-and-play USB interface, while one-touch scan and preview buttons will have you scanning film in no time. PC and Mac compatible, the Super Coolscan 5000 ED also comes backed with a one-year limited warranty.
More Features:

What's in the Box Scanner, power cord, USB cable, MA-21 slide mount adapter, SA-21 strip film adapter, software CD-ROM (Nikonview, Nikon Scan 4), Nikon User's Guide, one-year Nikon U.S.A. limited warranty information

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Plustek OpticFilm 7600I SE Film Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was scanning my family's old slides and needed something that would fix the faded ones.
I also wanted enough resolution to capture the sharpness and contrast of Kodachrome. The inexpensive scanner I had was making images taken with a Leica look like snapshots from a Brownie.
The scan results from the Plustek are at times unbelievable. The resolution is very high. But it is the software that really makes this scanner special. Over-exposed, under-exposed and images that have faded with time, such as Ektachrome, Anscochrome or non-Kodak processing, can be reasonably restored. The program is intuitive and the learning curve was short and easy for me. I do have some experience with photo editing software.
As with all photo editing, it does take 3 to 10 minutes to properly restore a bad slide. I was impressed with its ability to remove spots and scratches. This scanner was worth every penny I paid for it. The major down side is having to take the slides out of Carousel trays and insert them into the holder 4 at a time, and wait for each to scan. It needs a "Stack Loader" and automated slide scanning.

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The Plustek OpticFilm 7600i SE is an environmental-friendly high resolution scanner coming with more improved quality and greater power saving. OpticFilm 7600i SE is a dedicated 7200 dpi film scanner, which makes scanning easier, more efficient, and the unique light source gives images more vivid effect and precise color rendering.Users can benefit from SilverFast's intelligent automatic functions which help to make the process of various adjustments much easier. The unique SilverFast's Multi-Sampling eliminates noises efficiently with auto alignment, plus exclusive iSRD feature for dust and scratch removal.Opticfilm 7600i SE is ideal for photographers, photo amateurs, image freelancers, and those who would like to access to the world of digital image processing.

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Epson Perfection V500 Office Color Scanner (B11B189071) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Where the scientist ended up with his head spliced onto a fly's body and was flying around saying "Help Me, Help Me"? That's the V500 Office scanner. The base of the scanner is the V500 Photo scanner. The top comes from something else. They work together, but aesthetically they don't exactly match...they aren't even made out of the same color of plastic.
When you first open the box, you find a complete V500 Photo scanner and a separate Automatic Document Feeder. All of the setup instructions refer to the base unit. The sheet is labeled V500 Office, but the ADF unit isn't illustrated or mentioned. (Step One: Unpack; Step two: Install Software; Step Three: Connect and turn on; Step Four: Scan a photo...etc...) When you've finished, you end up with a very nice photo scanner and the feeder still in its plastic bag. (The instructions are up on the Epson website...to install the feeder, you turn off and open the top of the scanner, unplug the wire connecting the top to the base, lift the top vertically and it will separate from the bottom. Two pegs on the feeder fit into matching holes in the base. Fold it down, plug the power/control wire into connector on the base and fit the horseshoe shaped wire into the tilted input tray. Turn it back on and you should be in business. The software is intelligent enough to detect the presence of the ADF unit and adjust accordingly.) Installation, though, is something that's only done once...what's really important is how well the scanner works. So, let's go through the various parts...
Scanner Body - As I mentioned, the main body of the scanner is from the V500 Photo Scanner. Because it's designed to scan negatives as well as pictures, it has a fairly high optical resolution and a decent, although not spectacular dynamic range (D=3.4, if you're into the actual spec. The D value is a measure of how well a scanner can capture shadow and highlight detail...the higher the value the better. The V700 measures at D=4.0. Professional grade scanners can be substantially higher, while I've seen inexpensive units spec'ed as low as 1.8.) When using the glass platen, you can scan up to a standard 8.5"x11" letter-size paper. Legal size pages can be scanned using the document feeder.
Automatic Document Feeder - The ADF holds roughly 30 sheets of paper for scanning. It's strictly a single sided scanner. You'll need to run the paper through twice if you need to scan both sides of a document and then merge the two files together. I've had some serious problems with the feeder. It's common for it to pick up the top sheet off the stack, but then not feed it through the scanner. It also appears that the ADF has some other "unusual" features...this question, for example, is on the Epson website FAQ:
Q: The automatic document feeder pulls two sheets of paper when I click Preview. Can I make it pull only one sheet?
A: No.
It seems like the firmware needs a bit of updating. When it was working right, the ADF worked well. The scanning speed is dependent on the resolution and the speed of the computer that it's connected to. The linearity seems pretty good, with my scans of graph paper showing only a few hiccups.
V500 Photo Scanner Lid - The photo scanner lid comes with holders for both slides and various sizes of negatives. The normal white reflective surface can be removed and replaced with one of the negative holders. This allows the built-in light source to shine through the negatives. You can scan two strips of 35mm film, 120 or 220 film and larger negatives. If somebody has an archive of old 4x5 view camera negatives, this will convert them to digital form, but, frankly, for that kind of work, you should use a scanner with a better dynamic range. You NEVER want to send photos through the ADF, they're too likely to get scratched or mangled.
Software - Epson's software package includes the Epson scanner driver and Abbyy FineReader 6.0 (the current version direct from Abbyy is 10.0). The scanner driver has three levels of complexity - Home, Office, and Professional. The Office level provides enough flexibility for almost every application and I always leave it there. I suspect that the other two levels are the result of some misguided marketing guy's attempt to address different market segments. Files can be created as .JPG, PDF and a couple of other formats. For document scanning, I always use PDF. For photos, I use the lossless TIFF format to preserve as much of the original detail as possible. The Abbyy software works well in converting the scanned images into searchable PDF files, but won't take an external PDF and make it searchable or convert it to a Word document...you have to purchase the new version to add those functions.
Service - Nothing works forever, but, after two weeks, I was not happy when the document feeder stopped properly feeding pages. Today, I called the Epson service center to see if they had any suggestions to get it to work properly. The tech was very polite and after being put on hold twice and asked the usual troubleshooting questions, I was told that this was an "extremely unusual" hardware failure. He put me on hold a third time and after 29minutes and 22 seconds, the call disconnected. I called back and another support technician looked up the notes. He told me that I needed to take the scanner to an authorized service depot for repair. They wouldn't ship me another unit or issue an RMA number. I could ship it there, but at my expense. I was also told that this is the way that Epson handles all scanner repairs. I could understand that if the scanner was a year old or otherwise out of warranty, but for something that's only two weeks old??? Not exactly the most customer-centric way of doing things.
So...my conclusion...
This scanner is a bit of a misfit. There are better scanners more suited for an office environment. Both the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 and the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 are faster, have duplex scanning and are designed for heavy duty use (I've run 50K+ sheets through my Fujitsu S510 (an earlier model) and 20K+ sheets through my GT-S50. I replaced the rollers on the Fujitsu and it runs like new.) Both are also about $100 more expensive. As a practical matter, most offices don't need the photo scanning features that the V500 Office provides. For home use, you need a printer anyway, so I'd go with a multi-function machine with a built-in scanner and document feeder. I really like the Epson Artisan 810. It's small and works very well...my review of that unit is near the top of the second page of reviews. The Canon PIXMA MX860 or Canon MX700 are also a good units that I've used at home and at my office. If you want to add negative/photo scanning, the V500 Photo, without the document feeder, is $100+ less than the V500 Office. The V500 Office's features, taken by themselves, warrant a four star rating...but you can't look at it by itself. A computer, scanner and printer need to be evaluated as a system. And when you add it all together and mix in the service problems, it's dropped down to the two star level.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Epson Perfection V500 Office Color Scanner (B11B189071)

Epson Perfection V500 Office Color Scanner

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