So... I've been scanning in some old slides lately. My current 35mm film scanner is an old Minolta Scan Dual IV. Which unfortunately isn't supported by Konica/Minolta on any modern operating system.
The traditional solution to this is to use Hamrick's "VueScan" software, because it has built-in support for most scanners: No need for a driver from the manufacturer. I tried VueScan years ago but struggled with the interface and gave up on it. So I'm pleased to report that the latest version has a vastly improved UI from what I remember. Image quality is excellent: The multi scan capability is easy to use and really lets you get the best dMax from a scanner. I'm very impressed. Now here's something interesting: VueScan comes in two versions, Basic and Pro. "Basic" supports only flatbed scanners, not film scanners, and has some other limitations but it's only $39.00. The "Pro" version costs $99.00 but supports film scanners. Unfortunately, I accidentally purchased the Basic version though strangely they only charged me $29.00 rather than $39.00 listed on the web site. I was still annoyed with myself... until I noticed that one can upgrade for just $50.00. So that's what I did, just moments later. I ended up getting the full pro version, legally, for $79.99 instead of $99.00! Seems like an odd loophole but I'm not complaining! And another bonus: Way back in the jusk closet in my office I had an old Visioneer flatbed scanner which I abandoned when the manufacturer decided not to update their drivers to support Windows 7. ( I think I tried to give away this scanner on the PDML and had no takers.) So I bought an Epson flatbed and forgot about it. But guess what? VueScan supports it. So I took it in to school and now I have my own flatbed scanner there. So basically, I also got a free scanner out of the deal. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
