Plustek Opticfilm 7300
by Plustek
|
List Price: Our Price: $250.00 You Save: $39.00 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Plustek Opticfilm 7300
Customer Review: Plustek to the Rescue
Summary: 5 Stars
This scanner is a marvel! It arrived less than 24 hours after I'd place the
order, and it has changed my life! I'd struggled with terrible name-brand
flat-bed scanners for years [they produced terrible noise in the shadows and
were dead-slow at resolutions above 200dpi] in my efforts to digitalize a
collection of many thousands of treasured 35mm slides dating back 50 years.
Not only is this scanner incredibly fast compared to the my old ones, but it
does a triple pass for every slide, then averages the results to produce
images that are beautiful and have no noise in the shadows. I've succeeded
in making wonderful pictures from slides that were terrible! One set, very
important to family memories, taken in 1969 at a special occasion, had been
unusable due to inadequate flash technique [they made everyone look like
stainless steel; i.e., no flesh tones and gleaming highlights]. Due to the
capacity to try different resolutions [up to 7200dpi] and then use the
remarkable software to achieve optimal tones, I was able to resurrect the
entire collection, with the exception of a few that had been hopelessly
underexposed. Trouble with finding the detente position for the slide carriage
reported for earlier/other models has been eliminated on this model. While I
can't just set it and walk away the way commercial processors would have to
do, I'm thoroughly delighted with this unit. Thank you, Plustek & AOL.
Customer Review: Great Scanner, Steep Learning Curve
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this scanner to convert my parents' aged and deteriorating slides to electronic format. I did a lot of research before buying, and many reviewers commented that Plustek scanners were great. They're absolutely right... this scanner converts negatives and slides to a digital format in great detail. The software included (I use the PC version) allows you to straighten the image, edit color levels and brightness, and do almost anything you want. With all of the options, though, it comes with a lot of learning. The publishers have included videos to show you how certain features work; they're recorded by a gentleman with a European accent which may cause some problems understanding the first time through. I haven't yet had to read the manual (included only on the CD, not in print copy), but you should expect to spend at least an hour playing around with the various options and seeing what they do. The manufacturer quotes a scan time of approximately 35 seconds per slide - be aware that this is for single pass scanning, and does not include multiple passes (for better dust/dirt removal) or processing time for despeckling or sharpening.
All in all, a great device (even packed with its own padded carry bag - use it and toss the original box into storage if you like) that offers a myriad of options for making your scanned pictures as good as you want them. Just be prepared to trade some of your time for increased quality.
Customer Review: Best 35mm scanner (for the price)
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, It's slow but worth the wait. I left film photography several years ago to get "into" the digital era. But I missed the quality of Ilford and Kodak B&W film. Plus I have tons of Negatives laying around. As a result, I've taken my old film camera's out from storage (Nikon fe, Nikon f100) and began shooting several roles. I then decided to have most of my c41/b&w film developed at the local mini lab and scanned on a disc for digital editing... The best of both worlds I thought.
But something was missing... I soon realized that taking film to get developed by others takes the fun out AND is frequently a hit or miss experience. So I dug into my storage room and found my developing/darkroom equipment and then began to do some research on quality 35mm scanners. Plustek was the best for it's price and was recently reviewed on Shutterbug mag. The downfall... Plustek Opticfilm 7200 wasn't MAC compatible. BUT... to my surprise this new model (7300) as well as the 7500 are now MAC compatible. Fairly quick and painless to set up and get started. And yes it takes some time to scan (especially at highter res) but I'm in no hurry especially since I'm so particular of results. I totally recommend this scanner to anyone looking to digitize old 35mm film or for those creative folks that want to use both analog and digital formats. Does the trick!
Customer Review: Plustek 7300 very adequate
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a professional photographer and photographic lab technician for a total of 17 years and find the Plustek 7300 a cost-effective and useful tool. I have approximately 8000, old slides and negatives to sort through, and I will probably only scan a small fraction of them, so a medium-priced,dedicated scanner like this Plustek makes sense for me.
It gives amazingly detailed scans of both slides and negatives, even at just 3600 dpi. You can go even higher if you like, but the files become huge, and unless you are going to print a 16x20, you don't need to go beyond making a 3600 dpi/50 megabyte TIFF (which will convert to an approximately 5 to 8 megabyte JPEG). You can send 4 or 5 JPEGs of this size via e-mail at one time, but if you go bigger, expect a lot of problems.
The Silverfast software that comes with it gives excellent control over color and contrast. Based on what I have read about flatbed film scanners, I doubt that I would have been satisfied with the resolution they offer as I have always been a high-definition hound. Neither am I worried about scanning every negative I ever shot, so I don't need the speed of a flatbed scanner. If you want to escape to your computer now and then to convert your best negatives and slides into a modern, useable format, this scanner will serve you well.
Customer Review: An Amazing Film Scanner
Summary: 5 Stars
The Plustek OpticFilm 7300 is an amazing film scanner which I couldn't be happier with. I previously used a Polaroid Sprintscan 4000, which cost me way more than the Plustek and delivered much less resolution and not as good results. It also requires a SCSI port, which my newer computers don't have and which I really didn't want to bother with. I have also been using an Epson Perfection 4990, which is a good scanner but not that convenient or sharp for 35mm slides. I plan to scan lots of family slides which are stashed in metal cases and wanted something easy and relatively fast and convenient.
The Plustek with its USB 2.0 connection and incredibly nice SilverFast SE software fit my requirements perfectly. Especially terrific is the multiscan function for exposure where it first scans the slide for the bright areas, then again for the dark areas, giving you a final scan with detail in both as well as good dynamic range. You can have it do all sorts of other things so that you end up with a slide practically ready to print, or you can leave most of the work for Photoshop, which you scan directly into.
The results are clear, perfect color, with great exposure and contrast range using multiscan, fast and easy to use. It is everything that most folks would want in a film scanner. Kudos to Plustek on the 7300.