Digitizing Films Made Easy
Superior overall quality control to get the results you want.
High resolution for bigger, better images.
The price i
Digitizing Films Made Easy
Superior overall quality control to get the results you want.
High resolution for bigger, better images.
The price is right.
I bought this to tranfer client's slides to DVD, assuming the description on the B7H Photo site was at least 90 percent truthful. To say this unit sucks is an insult to the air that would be providing the suction.
1) It took nearly three minutes to can one slide.
2) After scanning each slide, it crashedsmy computer and I have to restart it (a new Pentium 4- 2.4 gig with 1.25 gig ram) .
3) The saved slide file is nearly colorless, it is full of chalky colored, very grainy streaks. The image is barely recognizable as the slide that is put into the machine. I got better results holding a slide in front of my camcorder lens against a white wall.
In essence, this thing is a useless pile of trash. Since I waited three months to use it for the first time, I am likely not going to have any luck returning it to B&H when they open on Sunday. (They are closed now, Saturday, as I write this).
Strengths:
It powers up. Other than that, no strengths.
Weaknesses:
Takes forever to scan.
Crashes my up-to-date PC.
Image quality worthless, even for beginner.
I'll try to keep this short. I've used this scanner for almost 2 years now and it's the most miserable piece of junk I've ever owned. Why do I still have it? I can't talk the wife into buying another one. In short, don't buy it! Even if you only have a few boxes to scan and you're not the picky type...take them to a photo center for digital transfer. If you still shoot slides (negatives too), do yourself a favor and put as much distance between you and this thing as possible.
Strengths:
*It usually powers up when I flip the switch.
*You'll become a Photoshop expert after using this.
Weaknesses:
*No dynamic range: Your shadows, while under control on the light table, will come out blotchy and almost unusable on slide film (Provia 100F). Highlights will be blown to pieces. Slides that look brilliant scanned by a Nikon LS-1000 come out looking horrible with this thing.
*Out of focus: I thought it was my lens at first, but I've come to realize the fixed focus on this thing needs glasses.
*Noise: Scan some Velvia. You'll think there's some MAX 800 in the tray.
Although I only listed 3 weaknesses, these pretty much spell disaster for anything you try to scan.
I wanted to place my +/-1500 color slides on my PC without spending too much money (I bought it as Mictrotek Filmscan 35).
After 9 months, the scan didn't produce true colors anymore, returned in gaurantee, 6 weeks later: I got my money back.
Due to the weeknesses mentioned below en on this WEB page, I'm doubting to buy the same or something diffrent.
Strengths:
Easy to be used indeed. Fast enough (about 30 secs for a slide). No SW hangs, abends or whatever.
Weaknesses:
- no dust removal
- preview window too small
- the noise it makes is in 20% of the scans abnormal, sometimes the result is a half image.
- broken after 9 months, 500 scanned slides
Customer Service:
It tooks 6 weeks before they said I got my money back.
Rating Reviewed by: Marc (Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date November 8, 2002
Overall Rating 1 of 5
Value Rating 1 of 5
Used product for 3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review 3.00 of 5,
2 votes
Review 4 of 48
Price Paid:
$200.00
from Costco
Summary:
Well... I bought this scanner '1800u' thinking that any film scanner should produce a scan of higher detail then could be obtained scanning a picture on a cheap flatbed Scanner. I have learned the error of my ways.
Strengths:
Cheap, easy to hook up and install. Light enough to use for skeet shooting. That's all I can think of.
Weaknesses:
Extremly poor latitude. (my biggest complaint) If you have a contrasty picture with textured whites and shadows. You can scan for the whites or the shadows but not both. One ot the other will be washed out. My $80 Canon N640 flatbed does a much better job just scanning the 4x6 proof.
Requires a lot of trials to get half way decent color reproduction.
Offers no scratch and noise reduction software, but I guess what do you expect for the price.
Similar Products Used:
Nikon Coolscan 4000 ED Film scanner. Excellent scanner, but quite expensive.
Canon Flatbed N640. Cheap, good quality for the price.
UMAX Flatbed, Junk, had to fix it with a 12 gauge double barrel.
Rating Reviewed by: Charles Moon(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date November 4, 2002
Overall Rating 1 of 5
Value Rating 1 of 5
Used product for 3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
4 votes
Review 5 of 48
Price Paid:
$125.00
from Procom, LONDON
Summary:
I wanted it to digitise all my old slides, many dating from the 60s. Going under the name Filmscan35, it was inexpensive and easy to use, but regreatably failed after about nine months.
Strengths:
One touch scanning of negatives, interesting software.
Weaknesses:
Slide holding frame had to be forced down on rather thick Agfa slide mounts. When scanning a negative strip, it was difficult to ascertain that the desired frame was accurately in position.
Similar Products Used:
First film scanner I ever owned.
Customer Service:
After nine months it failed. The scanner gave out a click but would not function. reloading the software would not help. It was returned under gaurantee, but the replacement (3 weeks later)did the same thing. I then gave up on it.
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