Not the newest model but excellent bang for the BUCK
Written: Dec 02 '02
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Pros: Plug and play, ICE, especially good with transparencies, low noise
Cons: Doesn't do batch processing
The Bottom Line: This early version has most of the features the current versions do. At half the price. Unless you need to batch or medium format scan, this is an excellent value.
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| criticaleye's Full Review: Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Elite Film Scanner (35 ... |
I can't believe no one has reviewed this film/slide scanner, because quite frankly it's an excellent value for one's money.
Let's first dispense with the question, who really needs a slide/film scanner. Obviously it would be someone who is an avid photographer, whether they are pro, semi-pro or a hobbyist. The other type person who would be looking at this sort of product would be someone like my father, who is going through all of our family photo albums and scanning the special negatives into a digital format.
So why get a dedicated slide/film scanner instead of using a flatbed scanner with a transparency unit? Well, I think it's really a matter of how often and how reliant one is going to be on their scans that determines the answer to this question. Flatbed scanners are made to scan flat objects such as prints, magazines, books and the like. While they can do an adequate job of scanning film or slides, they simply aren't constructed to optimize such scans. Dedicated film and slide scanners are.
So if you have determined that you really need a dedicated slide/film scanner, read on.
The Minolta Dimage Scan Elite is basically a late second generation film scanner. It has all the refinements that weren't in the first batch of film scanners, things such as Digital ICE and the like. Because of it's age though, it doesn't have the most modern data transfer abilities of USB or Firewire. For me, this isn't a big deal. I have a slightly older G3 that I use as my desktop publishing station. Since I like data transfer via SCSI, I simply bought a SCSI interface card for one of my empty PCI slots on my G3 and I was ready to go. The good news about using slightly "obsolete" computer equipment is that unless you're a computer snob, you don't know it's obsolete, so you just focus on the job it does. If it does a good job, great. If not, then it's time to upgrade. In the case of SCSI cards, I found mine for less than $40....to me a good bargain.
Speaking of bargains, let me continue my ideas on slightly obsolete gear. This scanner has basically been replaced by 2 other Minolta scanners. One is that MASSIVELY EXCELLENT PROFESSIONAL Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro and the other is the Scan Dual III and Multi. These (the Multi Pro in particular) are worthy products, worthy of their own separate reviews. My point is that the Dimage Scan Elite is still a very usable product. VERY usable. The only thing that happened to it in the last few years is that Minolta introduced new products and thus this became "last year's baby." If you don't have to have bragging rights about who owns the most expensive or newest piece of computer gear and you really interested in getting a good value for your hard earned money, the introduction of new models by Minolta has made this one more affordable to the casual user who might not have spent the original suggested $800 price for it. You can currently find discontinued/new units for $200, refurbished/new units for $175 and used units for $120 or less. Given the amount of features on this unit, I consider this a steal.
What this unit does right
It produces really nice, crisp, sharp, color accurate scans. IN PARTICULAR it scans slides so vibrantly you want to gasp. I can see grain (not noise) but grain in my scans. It's easy to set-up. Simply plug and play. (be sure you have a scsi card though). The installation software is perfect for my MacIntosh mind. Throw the installation CD into the CD, press install, and you're ready to go.
The scanning software suits my needs, though I do have friends that belong to the cult known as VUESCAN. For those uninitiated to the cult, VUESCAN is a great scanning software program. In their cases, they prefer to use VUESCAN software rather than Minolta's software. Personally, both work quite well for me, this simply isn't an issue.
ICE allows for dust and scratch removal on slides and negatives. It works really well. In particular, on the dust issue. You activate ICE by simply selecting it on your software interface and then scan as you normally would. It's kinda like magic.
Scanning is simple. You load your slides or film into the provided carriers and then (GENTLY) load into the scanner. Press scan and it does the rest. AutoExposure is generally right on, though sometimes you might prefer the scan to look a different way. You can either adjust in photoshop or you can fool around with the scan. The provided software allows you to work with curves, saturation and the like, enough to make your head spin.
Criticisms
This early version of the Scan Elites (the f-2900) didn't do batch processing. For me that's not an issue since I hover over the computer whilst scanning, and then like to view results as they come up on the screen.
The autofocus/exposure preview portion of the scan isn't the fastest. If you have thousands of slides to scan and little time then you should opt for a professional level slide scanner. (oh and expect to pay like 8 times the amount for this baby).
Banding is noise (computer jargon for bad looking junk on your scan). You can occasionally get banding on certain types of film or exposures. Reality check here is that certain films scan better than others. That's one reason why lots of folks use VUESCAN because "problem" emulsions have already been figured out how to scan. Beyond problem films (films that look good in real life but in the digital world are hard to "see") VERY underexposed negatives or areas that are really dark are prone to banding. It's pretty much the nature of the beast as the scanner is trying desperately to get the information from an area that is dark (and thus has none). The only real answer to this is to simply not underexpose your shots!
Technical Details
Sorry, I can't recite transfers per millisecond or optical resolution comparisons to spy satellite technology or the like. I can say that this unit is basically comparable to the Nikon Coolscan (of a few years ago) for MUCH less the price.
If you need to get the ultimate in your photos in terms of digital scans, then you pay the $20-$50 a shot for a professional drum-scan of each slide you want scanned.
If you are scanning your own work for later manipulation in photoshop and you aren't planning on blowing it up to 4 feet by 8 feet, then you get this kind of scanner.
I think the Dimage Scan Elite is an excellent value for the dollar, and with all the money you save you might be able to buy the Professional version in a couple of years!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 215
Interface: SCSI
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Epinions.com ID:
criticaleye
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Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 1 member
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