Sobia Chishti |
Inexpensive Scanner I am looking at Pacific Image primefilm 1800u scanner for scanning negatives and slides to upload my images here. The specifications are: 1800 x1800dpi 36bit color 12 bit gray image depth I'm getting it in $100. I found just one review which was good. But I want some guidance in this regard. If anybody has experinced with this one, please tell me. My budget is $100-150 which I know is very low to get a decent film scanner. Does flatbed with film adapters works well if I don't print the images? Which one would you recommend in my budget?
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doug Nelson |
I have read a good review or two on this scanner, but I have not used it. Given your budget, you're doing about as well as you can. I would, however, buy it new with a warranty. Check out the company's web page and see what they offer for product support. Use a good imaging program with this, maybe Adobe Elements. Some flatbeds do 35-mm, but it's a makeshift solution, because 35-mm is so small. Yet, people on this site have been satisfied with the Epson 2450's 35-mm scans. This scanner is $300-400. Anyone use a Pacific Image 1800?
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Sobia Chishti |
Thanks Doug Nelson for your guidence. I'm getting it new with I think one year warranty. Well, I'll wait for a few days to get any more reviews before I make the final decision. By the way, I've checked out your website and tips long before on various matters including scanners. In fact, after reading your article on scanners, I had better understanding about them. Thanks again.
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Vincent Lowe |
A friend of mine who lives in a rural part of the UK ordered one of these from the city where I live. I was visiting her a few days later so I collected it from the shop. While I had it at home I did a comparison test against my Nikon Coolscan 2 and I have to say I was very impressed indeed with the results. To curb her impatience, I put them on a 'private' web page for her to have a look at and they are still out there on the web, so feel free to have a look.... http://www.vlec.freeserve.co.uk/scanner/index.html I would have no hesitation in recommending this scanner - you will get far better results than any but the most expensive of flatbeds.
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Vincent Lowe |
Oops - sorry folks, forget that previous message, it's a different scanner!! The one I had was a PrimeFilm 1800u.
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Vincent Lowe |
....Vince sticks his head back below the parapet and hopes nobody noticed how senile he's getting lately....
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Vincent Lowe |
Oh dear.. this is all very confusing. After my first message I did a search for the scanner and the first site I looked at threw up a picture which was nothing like the model I reviewed. I've just had a look at some other sites and now realise that I was correct the first time - what confused me was the first site took me to the PrimeFilm 1800 AFL. I should have looked at the suffix more closly. So, correction to the correction - it WAS the correct scanner. Sorry for the confusion. I'm going for a lie down now...
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Ali Shah |
Hi. I picked up a Minolta Dimage Elite digital film/slide scanner off of UBID for like $ 175.00 shipped. Brand new w/ 1-year warranty. Although its a SCSI scanner and will require you to purchase a SCSI card...its a good quality scanner at a very affordable price. These were normally about $800.00. The only stickler is that I had a little bit of an issue with the scanner on my XP Pro Dell. However, a couple of calls to Minolta technical support cleared up the issue. I scanned some very old slides for my neighbor and they came out AWESOME. The digital ICE feature is great for removing blemishes, dust specs, etc. Have a good one!
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Sobia Chishti |
Thanks Ali. Thanks Vincent. I visited your provided link and the comparision between both scanners helped me to finalize my desicion in the favor of pacificimage Primefilm 1800u. Your photographs shows your love of landscapes.
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Vincent Lowe |
Glad to be of service, Sobia. As it happens I've just been to get some inkjet paper and picked up the new Jessops catalogue (largest UK photo store group) and they are marketing it under their own brand - it looks the same anyway, and the same spec. They say it was rated highly by Macuser magazine (4 out of 5). Selling for 120 pounds sterling here, so $100 looks like a bargain from this side of the pond!
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Ali Shah |
Until now I had not heard of the Primefilm product... is this available in the USA? It only costs $100... and it does a good job?!?!! WOW!! (perhaps I should check the net). I purchased a CANOSCAN D660U flat bed, which isn't too bad at scanning negatives and slides. However, I find myself still shooting enough film to warrant a better scanner so I opted to get the Minolta scanner.
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Sobia Chishti |
I haven't got the scanner yet. Yes this is available in USA. The actual price is arround $150 but these days it is available with a $50 manufactures rebate. Don't know what is the deadline. You can go to the Pacific Image website and check the stores listed on their site. Also check out the link Vincent L. has provided with the images.
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doug Nelson |
I found a Shutterbug magazine on this very scanner (Pacific Image 1800) this weekend. It may be the April 2002 issue, if not try September. It is reviewed by Bob Shell, a straight-up, honest reviewer. He says to get it with the Silverfast scanning software. If you don't, get Silverfast later.
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Charles G. Borden |
I have been using a Pacific Primefill 1800u for a little over a year now. I am very happy with the results. I does a very good job with all of the slides and negatives aI throw at it. When the software loaded it was setup so I could access it directly from Corel Photopaint making it very easy to use. Hope this helps Charlie B.
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HERBERT C. BELL |
...WHAT IS SAID ABOUT A LOT OF 'CLUCK-FOR-BUCK' ATTRIBUTES IS TRUE. THERE IS ONE THING TO CONSIDER, THOUGH. THEY HAVE THE LOUSIEST TECH SUPPORT THAT I HAVE EVER RUN INTO. IF ANYONE KNOWS ABOUT REPLACING THE SCANNER BULB, LET ME KNOW ABOUT IT AT bellzhellz@sbcglobal.net herbie bell
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