Customer Reviews

Pacific Image Electronics' PrimeFilm PF1800U USB Film Scanner

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Customer support [is bad]; the drivers and software that I bought in March 2003 had a 1996-1998 copyright date; and worst of all, scans get progressively darker. A scanner that can't handle exposure settings! it's OK until it runs thru it's 'calibration' routine, then it's the beginning of the end. I went thru two different units, they both were terrible.

I have purchased two PF1800U's over the past 18 months, because it seemed the only option in my price range and I need quality slide scans (flat bed scanners definitely not an option). Both units had lamp failure, the second one after only a couple dozen slides. "Customer service" is hardly an option; difficult to impossible to reach via their website and not terribly helpful over the phone. I had to locate my receipt and register the product by fax before I was allowed to ask any questions, and I still didn't get any answers. Needless to say this was terribly disappointing.

On the good side, the scan quality is quite good, though the process is very slow and you may have to close down most open programs to get it to work. Interfaces well with Photoshop.

Would I buy one again? While the new version with the ICE software is quite tempting, I'd have to say no. I'm looking for another, more reputable brand. Maybe a Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual III. About a hundred bucks more, but if it doesn't break down it will be well worth the extra money.

Before buying this scanner, I'd had some of my 35mm transparencies professionally scanned, which produced great results but was an expensive approach. I bought this scanner in the hope that it would allow me to produce reasonable-quality scans at a lower price. Unfortunately, although the software worked fine for me, the quality of the scans is so hideously bad that I gave up in disgust after a few scans. Here are some of the problems: 1) strong pink tint to every scan. Although this can be corrected to some extent in software, there is a significant loss of color spectrum that cannot be restored. 2) Poor dynamic range: rendering of shadow detail is nonexistent. The most astonishing thing is that I bought my unit several years ago, and they're still selling this piece of junk now!

it is impossible to get tech support for this product. i have a burnt out scanner bulb, and i know that it will be next to impossible to have it replaced, as i have tried all day to access any form of aid. they want to sell them, but look out, if it breaks. i give the device two stars.

I purchased that scanner to finally convert my slides to jpeg pictures. It took me over 4 hours to scan only 40 pictures. Why? Because the software was constantly hanging after the second slide. I had to reboot the PC after 2-3 scans. The problem is the driver software called CyberView X-FX.

i had the same problem as others with this scanner. i used it for a few days and it worked great. i went to use it again a few weeks later and nothing. I manged to get a new one over the weekend and just plugged it in this am and it burned out. No more items from this company for me.

The first Pacific Image Electronics' PrimeFilm PF1800U USB Film Scanner I received was damaged and would not work at all. I returned it and was sent another as a replacement. The scans from this scanner are terrible. This thing is junk. I returned the second PF1800U scanner and purchased a Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV. It cost a little more but was well worth it. The Minolta is wonderful I have scanned close to 9000 slides with it and have had no problems.

I researched 35mm slide scanning services over the Internet and found that the cost was app. $1 per slide and that was at a low resolution. I purchased the PF1800U because it was the cheapest film scanner I could find that was built for that purpose (not just a flatbed with a mirror or backlight). I have scanned app. 300 of my 2500+ slides and am very happy with the purchase. The image quality is comparable to a 1.5M pixel digital camera (the images are actually 2Mb in .jpg format), suitable for web pages or printing (I plan on making a book with mine).

It's always galling when a product has poor reviews exclusively and a guest reviewer shows up proclaiming the company's virtue as only an employee can. It's obvious Pacific Image sent someone over to perform a weak attempt at spin after so many disappointing customer comments.

DON'T BELIEVE THEM!!! This product is poor quality compounded with weak customer support. It's ironic that all of the reviews complain about the service yet the company clearly has time to counter opinions they don't like in a poorly composed anonymous review. That employee could have been helping one of these poor people!

Nikon and Minolta are two reputable companies in this field - Pacific Image is not.

I had the same problem with mine...I had Lamp Failure with very few hours on the unit(around 15 hours). I had lost my sales slip so could not get any help. I would have given this unit a 5 star rating because when it was working it was a great tool. Too bad the lamp life wasnt better.