flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

Just minutes ago UPS dropped off a new slide/film scanner that I ordered from Amazon after receiving my $600 government handout.

I originally planned on ordering a Kodak Slide and Scan with a 5" LCD display for $160, but when I went to order it the price had increased to $390!!!!

So it was back to researching an alternative. After checking several and reading customer reviews I decided on an equally highly reviewed unit from Magnasonic for $120 that also had a 5" screen. This unit also includes an A/C adapter that the Kodak lacks, it is powered by USB.

After ordering the Magnasonic the confirmation e-mail showed other available units including the Kodak whose price had magically reverted to the original $160 price. WHAT!!!!

So I decided I would be returning the Magnasonic upon receipt and buying the Kodak. I didn't really want to go through the bother, but the Kodak had been my first choice. So I went back and read the customer reviews for the Magnasonic and decided I would keep it after all.

One thing that has me excited is the speed that these units scan. I have an Epson Perfection Photo scanner that I bought perhaps 12 years ago and previously used that to scan slides and negatives. You could do multiple slides at a time but it was very slow. These scanners claim a scan time of only a few seconds each....yippee!

Tomorrow I will be going to my storage unit and picking up a few shopping bags full of slides and negatives and starting to crank out scans. I still shoot film almost exclusively so that is another reason I wanted one of these units...so I could share my pics here.

Since there have been several recent threads about slide/film scanning I will post a review of this particular unit and hopefully a number of posts featuring the scans within a few days.

Now, if only Congress could pass the bill increasing the stimulus payments to $2000, I could get a Nikon D750 and semi retire my Nikon F100...fingers crossed. That camera will never be fully retired as I love it so much. When Nikon's flagship film camera was the F5 Ken Rockwell called the F100 the best film camera ever regardless of price. However, he gave that honor to the F6 when it came out and demoted the F100 to 2nd best...good enough for me since there was no way I would be spending $6000 for an F6.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

F-100. Good old camera. But my personal favorite film camera was the FM3a. Ever use/handle one?

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

No, have had a number of Nikons going back to a 1969 Nikon F, but not the FM3a.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

I am very interested on your report and experience with this scanner. The first question: is it possible to view color film frames in full color on the 5" screen prior scanning?
Thanks

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

Yes you can. It is also possible to view changes to color and brightness on the screen prior to scanning. However, most of the reviewers say those adjustments are limited and recommend making those adjustments in post-processing software after scanning.

I'll post more on that after actually scanning myself.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

That's pretty cool. Thanks for your quick reply.

gleneric Loc: Calgary, Alberta

Looking forward to your review/feedback on the scanner as I am trying to decide whether to buy one or just send out the slides/negatives I want scanned.