Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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307 of 309 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE IT!! Great for transparencies, April 6, 2003
I had an unusual situation--a week before the 3200 was released, I bought the Epson Perfection 2450. I didn't know about the 3200. And I liked the 2450. It was fabulous. But when I discovered the 3200's release, I returned the 2450 and opted for the 3200. I'm glad I did. There is a difference. Even when I scanned the same transparency at the same setting, the 3200 usually was better--sometimes quite noticably better. It is also supposed to be faster than the 2450.The big thing for me is the transparency scanning, so I'll focus on that. I've scanned both slides and negatives, and both are great. The color is good, I don't have to sweat bullets in Photoshop trying to salvage the scan, like I have done with previous scanners with so-called "transparency adapters". This scanner puts all the other transparency adapters I've encountered to shame. An awesome transparency adapter, indeed! However, I have some underexposed Kodachrome slides, so they are always going to be a little more difficult. But, with some tweaking with the bundled Silverfast scanning software, my scans (even on dense, undexposed Kodachrome) have been fine. I find scanning negatives to be quite nice as well. I get good color on them (especially when using Silverfast). However, this is not a professional level transparency scanner, and it should not be mistaken as such. (It may be surpisingly close to pro-level in some cases, however!) The only complaint about the Silverfast software (which is a "lite" version) is that it won't scan in 48 bit. But 24 bit mode is OK for me. My file sizes (when scanning a 35 mm transparency) are about 35 to 40 MB at 3200 resolution, 24 bit. This translates to a 14" x 9 1/2" print, at 300 dpi (good resolution setting). It'll yield a much bigger print if set at 150 dpi, obviously. That's more than enough for most people using ink jet printers. I have been frequenting a message board that has reviews on this scanner, and many professional photographers are also most pleased with this scanner. I'm not at the professional level yet ("serious hobbyist" is more like it) but I can get a bit picky with my photos. But these pro photographers were far pickier than me, and they liked this scanner. Those who were scanning large format negatives (larger than 35 mm) were very pleased with the quality of this scanner, especially for the price. They said that there wasn't that much of a huge difference (at least not several thousand dollars difference) between the 3200 and a high-end thousands-of-dollars professional scanner. Don't get me wrong--you'll still need and want a dedicated "pro" scanner for certain things, but for most people, (even some pros) this scanner more than fills the bill. I installed it on a Macintosh G4 running OS X.2. Installation was seamless. My Mac loves this scanner! I have it attached to the Firewire port, but it comes with USB as well. I have a lot of RAM loaded on my Mac, and as usual, lots of RAM is recommended when dealing with large graphics files. I tried the Epson "Scan" software (which will scan in 48 bit) but it's not quite as nice as the Silverfast software. (By the way, Silverfast is considered to be excellent scanning software, and sells for a tidy sum separately.) Epson's software tends to crop the negatives and slides too much when set in "thumbnail" mode. I highly recommend using Silverfast, or just avoiding Epson's "thumbnail" mode. Also, there are several plastic film holders, so your transparencies are kept in place. Very handy. Also bundled with this scanner is Photoshop Elements 2. This "little brother" to Photoshop is an excellent software package and great if you don't yet have your own graphics software. (I had Photoshop 7 so used that most of the time.) Photoshop Elements will suit most users' needs more than well enough. I highly recommend this scanner. And apparently, many other (far more experienced) photographers share my viewpoint. Most of the buzz about this scanner is very good.
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58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Scanner, Easy Setup, Kudos to Amazon for their Service, September 6, 2003
I bought this scanner after a lot of research into scanners within my price range (under $500). This scanner's predecessor, the Epson Perfection 2450, consistently came out on top in user reviews. So, I came to Amazon, and found they had the best price on this newly released model.HOWEVER, when the scanner arrived, it had DUST UNDER THE GLASS. There was one VERY LARGE piece of debris under there that was particularly troubling. I knew that unless I could somehow remove it, I'd have to edit every picture to take out that spot. Now I love Photoshop's "healing brush," but I don't see why I should have to use it on my own scans from a BRAND NEW scanner!! That's what I call a self-inflicted wound! After trying for considerable time to figure out how to get under the glass and clean it, and consulting with my wife and a friend, I decided that if I took the scanner apart I would probably void the warranty and possibly do some damage. I had read that Epson support was a little lacking, so I turned to Amazon. And I'm glad I did! Without any hesitation, Amazon agreed to send me a new scanner (which arrived before I sent the original back), and paid the return shipping on the original item. I have to say that Amazon's attitude restored my faith in customer service--in fact exceeded my expectations. By the way, Amazon sent me the replacement scanner by 2nd Day Air! (the oriiginal came by super saver shipping, i.e. FREE!). I now have the best scanner in it's class and price range, with no dust underneath the glass! I'll add that I am a Macintosh user (fanatic might be a better word!), and this scanner works great with my 1 Ghz Dual Processor G4 running OS X 10.2.6. The software was a breeze to install and simple to use. Thanks Epson for a great scanner (shame about the dust!), and thanks Amazon for the best in customer service.
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Scanner, But Keep a Can of Compressed Air Handy..., November 25, 2003
I bought this scanner as an upgrade to my old Epson Perfection 610 Scanner. There was nothing wrong with the old Epson, but I wanted a scanner that could do 35mm negative scans.I've had this scanner for about 4 days now, and it's worked great. The setup was effortless and the scans are great, rich in color. As I said, I primarily use it for film scanning and the tools they've bundled with it are terrific. You can scan 12 35mm negatives, or 4 slides, or even 120 medium format film. I've tried scanning at 3200 dpi, and it produces files which are around 800k-1.5mb in size with a resolution of about 10-12 megapixels. 2400 dpi is acceptable, but I really wouldn't go lower than that. Also, when scanning in your negatives, you can do up to 12 35mm negatives at a time. However, I'd suggest doing just 6 at a time when using the higher dpi settings. That's because the top lamp tends to "cook" the negatives if you leave them on the tray too long. Maybe cook is too strong a word, nothing happens to them - it's just something to be wary about. I've tried out both the Silverfast scanning software as well as the standard Epson scan software. It works great if you're only interested in scanning the pictures/negatives. However, the only drawback to it is that the dust removal software that's bundled with both are pretty much useless. It adds twice the overhead/time to the scanning process and does nothing to remove dust or scratches. I'd say get familiar with the Photoshop Elements 2.0 software that comes bundled with it, or use Photoshop 7's Healing Tool. Because of the software's inability to remove dust, I keep a can of compressed air handy and give the tray and film a quick burst of air right before I scan them in. BTW, the Silverfast software is ugly and very unintuitively designed - it reminds me of an old Windows 3.11 app. I'd say, overall, I'm very happy with the scanner. However, because of the software's limited functionality, I give it 4 out of 5 instead of the 5 out of 5 it could've gotten.
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