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> [Hi, James,

I currently use the Minolta Scan Elite 5400 and obtain excellent results at 5400 dpi. Processing the scanned images with Adobe CS2 gives excellent results. It is advisable to have plenty of RAM on board and to make sure that no other programs are running in the background whilst scanning, since errors may be thrown up. I currently use 1.5Gb of PC400 RAM with Windows XP Pro and have absolutely no problems with either Firewire or USB2. I can highly recommend this scanner.

Mike

http://www.scotcolour.com]
 
Hi Mike

Thanks very much for that info on the scanner, it sounds very good. I have a very high spec PC as I'm a film editor and it has to run Avid HD, so I don't think it'd be a problem in that respect.

Could I ask you whether, after using a scanner, one can still keep the photo in a RAW format, for better processing, or does the scanner use tiff or jpeg?

What printer do you use, and do you get good results at the printing stage?

James
 
> [Hi, James, The Minolta Scan Elite offers three post-scan storage formats, namely .bmp, tiff, or .jpeg, however I can take these back into a Fuji LE RAW converter program and re-convert to RAW format. There shouldn't be a problem in that respect. I recently installed a 64-bit motherboard, but have continued to stay with 32-bit technology since I have heard murmurings that perhaps Canon and Minolta may not yet provide the necessary 64-bit software for their equipment. As you correctly mention, printers could be the weakest link in the chain. I still continue to use an Epson Photo Stylus 900 (A4 borderless) and an ageing Canon BJC 6500 (A3), but am now looking to upgrading both later this year.

Best wishes,

Mike http://www.scotcolour.com ]
 
Mike, my KM is the Scan Elite II. It had an ecstatic review in the November issue of 'Shutterbug' and my experience supports the reviewer's opinion.
 
FWIW - KM has announced that they will be pulling out of the camera business. Their scanner will likely be discontinued as well.
 
>I have been using a Nikon Coolscan 4000 dpi scanner for several years and have had good results with my Leica images (both negitive and slide). I scan images as TIFF files and convert to photoshop format for processing. I now also have a 5D Canon and am experimenting with using my R lenses with a converter. I have had good results with my 90 2.8 and 180 2.8. I find it nearly impossible to manage focus and stop-down with anything moving, but with static subject matter focusing is not that difficult. Anything wider that 90 mm seems more difficult to focus. Leica optics are still very competitive in subtle ways.
 
Yes, I had seen that KM were pulling out of the camera business, but hadn't drawn the conclusion about their scanner.

This is a worry, although I suppose that support of one kind or another will still be available.
 
> [I have nothing but praise for Konica Minolta, Francis. I had film > transport problems with my first Scan Elite 5400 which was exchanged for a > new unit within one week by the manufacturer.

As Bryan points out KM are, indeed, pulling out of the film end of their business interests. Agfa also appear to be withdrawing their Precisa film range. Coupled with Microsoft's change to 64-bit technologies (and Canon's unwillingness to provide 64-bit drivers for older printers, for ex&le), we are being driven along new roads by market demands.

Mike

http://www.scotcolour.com]
 
Marvin, very interesting. It hadn't occurred to me that one wouldn't have open aperture metering when using R lenses on the 5D, but of course that's precisely what I have to do when I use the old Pentax manual screw mount lenses on my *ist D. What I do there is focus wide open first and then stop down.

I just tried stopping down a lens on my R6 using the DOF lever. At f22 with my 100/2.8 APO MACRO it is difficult to focus I agree, but this is partly because I'm using the Universal Focusing Screen.

I agree about Leica optics. Interestingly I saw a test of a Pentax lens I have, the SMC-FA 77/1.8 Limited, that produced comparable results.
 
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