Batch scanning feature. Wide dynamic range.

negative carrier a pain to open.

Great image quality at reasonable price. Unlike others I found the insight software easy to use and allowing reasonable control of image quality. Particularly pleased with the ability to preview at full screen size.
Don't know how I managed without the 4000's batch mode which allows any combination of frames in the film or slide carrier to be scanned automatically. If they'd only made that neg carrier clip easier to open.

Customer Service

not required thus far

Similar Products Used:

Microtek 35plus, Canon film and flatbeds

The principle strengths of this scanner are, of course, it's 4000 dpi scan and it's D of 3.4. . These numbers translate into data rich scans. Add to those features it's batch scanning capability- for both slides and negative strips, and you have a highly capable versatile scanner
The current version of Polarcolor Insight, 4.5, is straightforward, easy to use and good. With the new software, scans now twain directly into your application. It's dust reduction feature is more than able to minimize retouching to an acceptable level. No, it's not Digital Ice, but the manner in which this scanner illuminates the film tends to minimize dust and scratches unlike the Nikon system, which like a condenser enlarger seems to maximize the appearance of dust. For those who like more control of their scans, the scanner is now bundled with one of the most

The relitivily large footprint on your desk,and the lack of a good non- electronic manual.

If you want to get the most from your negitive or slide, and don't to spend $10,000 on an Imacon, there is little else to choose.

Customer Service

Outstanding: real people, short waiting times and a seemingly genuine interest in being helpfull.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 2720 , HP S20 and several flat bed scanners

The 3.6 maximum density produces excellent shadow detail (from transparencies) with very low noise. The maximum resolution of 4000 PPI is so far the highest available from a desktop film scanner. Perhaps most importantly, Polaroid has gotten the message that its own scanning software leaves a lot to be desired and therefore now ships the SS4000 with LaserSoft's SilverFast scanning software and ICC Color Management profiles. These options steepen the learning curve for beginners but provide the more experienced with the power they need for producing truly excellent scans.

The SprintScan 4000 is large and bulky. Worse, the film strip carrier is poorly designed. Loading it can be a hit-or-miss affair, with a lot more misses than hits. Another problem is that all detailed documentation is provided on CD-ROM as Adobe PDF files rather than in print.

The Polaroid Sprintscan 4000 is capable of producing excellent scans, but only if you have the patience and determination to deal with its quirks and to convert the rather extensive online documentation into print form. Also note that although the film carrier feeding problem I've been having is probably not universal, it's common enough that you should be on the lookout for it.

Customer Service

I have found them polite and responsive, but not actually helpful. When I called to discuss the constant problems I was having with the film strip carrier, I was told (each time by a different person) that the holder was not covered under warranty, _was_ covered under warranty, that a replacement would arrive in 10 days, and that a replacement would arrive in two days. So far it's been a month after purchase and I still don't have a working film strip carrier.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Photo CD, Linoscan-Hell Saphir.

Produces beautifully smooth, richly detailed scans. The scanned image is so noise-free that you don't need the multiple image scan capability of the Nikon CoolScan 2000. This scanner is for those who demand the most possible out of their images short of drum scanning and are willing to put up with fragile hardware that may need a lot of servicing and software that will periodically crash their system.

Very fussy mechanics. Trickly getting the film holders into the scanner. Negative holder is very fussy and difficult to work with. Supplied software crashes regularly and gets into weird modes where it doesn't scan the entire selected image. Both the mechanics and the software could use lots more finesse. The scanner is also very slow compared to my original HP PhotoSmart, which just lets me whip them out lickity split. Of course there's a huge difference in the richness of the final image, so it's worth putting up with the Polaroid's fragility for its awesome quality scans.

The first SS4000 I received did not focus well and produced mushy scans so I sent it back. The second is awesome, producing beautifully smooth, sharp scans and gorgeous colors. But this scanner is fussy and slow, and I've read many complaints on the Internet about its mechanical reliability. I can believe it. It produces a disconcerting up and down whining noise while scanning. Fortunately, Polaroid seems very interested in providing responsive support. The "calibration" step is at least as long as the scanning step and takes place with every scan, during which there is lots of fine-grained (what sounds like) gear-twirling and other worrisome noises. Then there's the image processing step, which will depend on the speed of your PC. I run this on a 733 Pentium III with 256 Mbytes of RAM and this last step takes about 30 seconds. The scan itself about 45 seconds, and the calibration about a minute. So this is a slow scanner. I am keeping my original HP PhotoSmart, which is much faster (and far less sophisticated, both in its operation and the quality of its output), and using the Polaroid only for that special masterpiece (of which admittedly I produce many). The software is also flakey and regularly crashes my system or gets into a mode where only part of the selected image is scanned and I have to quit the program and start again. I have the bundled Silverfast software, but have not gotten into it yet so can't report on it. Hopefully it is more solid than the really fragile Polaroid software. My value rating is based solely on the quality of the scans, which is really the bottom line. They cannot be faulted. They are, in fact, awesome.

Customer Service

Reputed to be outstanding compared to the competition. Apparently, Polaroid really wants its customers to have well-working units and has regular updates to its software. So getting this scanner is a good investment, even if you aren't satisfied with its current software offering. There are also excellent third party software solutions.

Similar Products Used:

Original HP PhotoSmart

High resolution
Price
Includes SCSI card (unlike Kodak's 3600)
SilverFast software produces great colors
Batch scanning

Brief hardware documentation (what is the point of the door, hello?)
No printed software documentation (but searching a PDF is helpful)
Flimsy mechanics. I had to exchange the first one because the film holders were jamming.
Negative holder is difficult to open.
Negative holder cuts off edge of frame; I was told to file it down myself with a nailfile.
Polacolor Insight software produces lousy color; I have to assume that's why they started including SilverFast.
Polacolor isn't really TWAIN compliant. It just saves the file as tif or bmp and opens the program for you.
SilverFast software is powerful, but not very user-friendly.

If you're a Mac user using PhotoShop it's a 4.
If you're a PC user using anything else it's a 1.

I guess this is what I get for trying to scan with a PC and, gasp, use PhotoPaint instead of PhotoShop.

I'm returning it tomorrow. I'll give the Microtek Artixscan 4000t a try. Microtek builds the Polaroid's insides.

Customer Service

Polaroid customer support is fast, friendly and toll-free, if not useful.
When I told Polaroid about memory errors using the TWAIN driver, I was told to "move the SCSI card to another computer and try it there." I have 256 megs of RAM.
SilverFast TWAIN driver is hit and miss (mostly miss). LaserSoft "isn't really supporting the TWAIN driver, we're pushing the PhotoShop plug-in."
Apparently color goes kablooey on PhotoShop 6 on Mac, but they're working on fixing it.
Polaroid: "We don't support the SilverFast software, call SilverFast"
SilverFast has a toll-call customer support line and they didn't get back after a voice mail message and 3 e-mails. I got through on the second call. They're nice, but not quick or useful.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon Coolscan
Microtek ScanMaker 5

Great scans. Lasersoft bundle.

No digital ICE ( like Nikon Coolscan

This is a very powerful scanner that can produce a high quality file for your needs. The Lasersoft bundle was what ultimately sold me on the Polaroid 4000. I've used the Coolscan 2000 but had to buy my own scuzzy card which was a little twitchy to install into my PC. The card that came with the Polaroid was easy to install and the supplied cable was far better than the Nikons. The Polaroid also does a better job on B&W's and Kodachromes. While much has be written on the buggie film holder, I found that if you put a registration mark where the film should line up with the frame window when the clamshell like holder is closed, it's not a problem. The slide holder works fine. As for the speed of the scan, 40 seconds or 70 seconds, big deal, It took a lot longer to get the picture. With the Lasersoft software and it's twain interface with Photoshop, I'm getting some good stuff and can recommend this scanner.

Customer Service

No need

Similar Products Used:

Nikon coolscan 2000

excellent images

contstant need to calibrate film transport annoying..
extremly sensitive to dust... transport will fail to function... repair cost approx $400...polaroid is aware of the problem, but has yet perfected "installed brushes" to remedy problem... when not in use keep it covered...

this scanner will exceed your expectations

Customer Service

most services excellent, many times unable to get anyone to return a call.. multiple attempts to contact via email, and fax transmissions unproductive... best bet is to track them down by phone...

Similar Products Used:

None

Outstanding high resolution scanner at 4000dpi. Scanning from Gold 100 negatives better than any digital camera I have seen. Prints are actually better (because of shadow detail) than those I have made in my color darkroom.

Polacolor software barely acceptable, but silverfast now included is excellent!

The SS4000 allows photoquality (not near photoquality) printing of 11x14 prints from color negatives and slides when coupled with an Epson 1200 printer.

Customer Service

Short wait times and helpful support.

Similar Products Used:

None

High resolution. Easy to use software.

Pitiful color accuracy. I bought the scanner to archive my slides. The color reproduction is so terrible that I simply won't use this scanner to archive my slides in a digital format. I can't wait for Nikon's new 4000 DPI scanner!

Great resolution. Good for scanning images to the web. Bad color reproduction.

Similar Products Used:

None