Scan Elite II marred by poor quality: New 5400 Model far Superior
Written: Jun 16 '03 (Updated Jul 25 '03)
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Pros: Firewire, USB connections. Batch scanning of mounted slides. Easy software interface.
Cons: Poor quality.
The Bottom Line: There must be some reliable ones. Steer well clear unless you are confident that the shop will look after you in the event of problems. Buy a 5400 instead
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| john_pearson's Full Review: Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Elite II Film Scanner (... |
I bought a Scan Elite II on the strength of magazine write-ups. My own experience has been far less encouraging.
First purchase was on 28 Feb 2003. The scanner would not even power up! The replacement powered up but made a noise like it was tearing itself apart internally. The third one actually worked ..... at first.
The software loaded easily and quickly on a Windows XP PC. In general, the software interface is easy to work, although the manual fails to explain fully some of the more complex things you can make it do.
When you switch on the scanner and start the software, it whines several times - I assume this is it making sure internal adjustments are correct.
My first experience was that despite having a lot of good, bright slides, all scans come out dark and need adjustment at both ends of the histogram plus I have to pull the mid point of the histogram sideways to brighten the image. Once this has been done, the result is good, but it's time consuming on big batches.
Over the 13 weeks I've had this particular scanner, I've worked through about 600 slides.
During the last few weeks, getting started has been a nightmare. When I switch on and fire up the software, it almost always whines just a bit and then hangs. It's almost impossible to stop the software except by switching off the scanner and switching back on for another attempt. Sometimes it whines a bit and then does it very loudly so that again it has to be switched off. The last time I used it, this performance took almost two hours before it worked properly! You have been warned.
A further problem has been that some scans are incomplete. The left-hand 20% is black, then the actual slide starts but the right-hand 20% is missing. It's usually OK on the second attempt, but sometimes takes 3 attempts. This problem seems to be linked to the scanner warming up. On my last session, scanning a full 37 frame slide film, the first 20 slides scanned fine. The next 17 took a total of 26 scans because of this problem.
Incidentally, I've even tried re-loading the software just in case there was a problem.
E-mail contact with Minolta technical support got me exactly nowhere: "Send it to us for repair or take it back to the shop." Thankfully, the shop (Jessops in the UK) has stood by me through all of this and they will swap it for yet another Scan Elite II or anything else I'd prefer. There is no question of me choosing the former - but I'm still struggling to decide which alternative to pick. Interestingly, Minolta will soon launch the all-new 5400 model which is very tempting, but will it be a case of history repeating itself? All suggestions gratefully accepted!
***** UPDATE 25 July 2003
Well, I accepted the upgrade to the new Minolta 5400 and it is marvelous. Software loaded first time, the interface is very similar to the Scan Elite II (so I've not even read the manual yet!!) and it works like a dream. The difference between 2820 ppi and 5400 ppi when the images are viewed the same size on screen is quite marked.
Of course, you don't have to use 5400 ppi - there's 2700 and several steps down for smaller scans. Beware: 5400 ppi scan with Digital ICE produces a 100Mb file and slows Photoshop down to a crawl. Incidentally, ICE works well. I haven't tried Pixel Polish or Grain Dissolver yet so I cannot comment.
Scan times seem longer at 2700 ppi than on the Elite at 2820 ppi, although I haven't yet done precise timings.
The slide holder is easier to use and the last slide in a batch can be removed without removing the carrier from the scanner - it just slips out the end.
If you want a good scanner with high resolution and ICE, this seems so far to be the answer.
Interfaces are USB 2 and Firewire;.
I now rate ease of use as 4-5 and give it a 5-star rating so far.
The price quoted below was the dollar equivalent of the UK Pound price of the Scan Elite II. The 5400 came at a special price because of the trouble I'd had. Normal UK price is in the range 530 Pounds to 600 Pounds.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 800 approx
Interface: USB
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john_pearson
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