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Scanners That Handle Transparencies

Want to take your transparencies digital? We look at five scanners--three flatbeds with adapters and two slide-and-film units--to make Editor's Picks.

Rebecca Freed

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CanoScan 9900F Scanner 3200X6400DPI (Canon-8132A002) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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Canon USA CanoScan 9900F Scanner 3200X6400DPI (Canon-8132A002)

3200-dpi optical resolution, Scans 8 slides or 24 negative frames at once, FireWire and USB 2.0 ports, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software , Canon FARE 2.0 automatic image fixing technology, Street price when evaluated: $400

Bottom Line: Canon's ScanGear CS utility makes batch-scanning a breeze, including producing a proof sheet that you can print--but the 9900F was slowest on all our scans save one. Most test images appeared fairly attractive, and our enlarged slide looked fantastic. (4 stars April 2004)

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Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner 3200X6400 dpi (Epson-B11B161011) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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Epson America Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner 3200X6400 dpi (Epson-B11B161011)

3200-dpi optical resolution, Scans 4 slides or 12 negative frames at once, USB 2.0 port, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software, Epson Easy Photo Fix automatic image fixing technology, Street price when evaluated: $199

Bottom Line: The 3170's scan times were about average in all our tests, and the model processes fewer slides or negatives in a batch than the other flatbeds here. Image quality was similar to that of the 4870, but the 3170 produced smoother transitions and richer tones. (3.5 stars April 2004)

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PERFECTION 4870 PRO SCANNER 4800X9600 DPI 48-BIT PRO SOFTWARE (Epson-B11B163071) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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Epson America PERFECTION 4870 PRO SCANNER 4800X9600 DPI 48-BIT PRO SOFTWARE (Epson-B11B163071)

4800-dpi optical resolution, Scans 8 slides or 24 negative frames at once, FireWire and USB 2.0 ports, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software, Kodak Digital ICE, plus Epson Easy Photo Fix automatic image fixing technologies, Street price when evaluated: $599

Bottom Line: The sharpness of the 4870's test images wowed us, but our photos of people looked too contrasty. Editing in prescan with Epson's expert tools produced better results. Comes with professional-level control software and color-management software. (4 stars April 2004)

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Dimage Scan Elite 5400 Slide Scanner (MINOLTA-QMS-2890301) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 Slide Scanner (MINOLTA-QMS-2890301)

5400-dpi optical resolution, Scans 4 slides or 6 negative frames at once, FireWire and USB 2.0 ports, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software, Kodak Digital ICE, plus Konica Minolta Grain Dissolver and Pixel Polish automatic image fixing technologies, Street price when evaluated: $899

Bottom Line: The Scan Elite 5400 had the highest native resolution and the fastest cumulative scanning time of the bunch, but we were unimpressed by the sharpness and color saturation of its images. This is the only scanner we tested with a manual focus knob. (3 stars April 2004)

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PrimeFilm 3650 Pro3, 3600 dpi, 35mm, Film Scanner (Pacific Image-PF3650) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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Pacific Image PrimeFilm 3650 Pro3, 3600 dpi, 35mm, Film Scanner (Pacific Image-PF3650)

3600-dpi optical resolution, Scans 1 slide or up to 40 negative frames at once, FireWire and USB 2.0 ports, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software, Kodak Digital ICE automatic image fixing technology, Street price when evaluated: $600

Bottom Line: An autofeeder lets this unit batch-scan continuous filmstrips up to 40 frames long. The CyberView X software, though not as slick as some, is full-featured, and we liked this scanner's speed. But it had problems keeping color true, and its documentation is sparse. (3 stars April 2004)

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