Film Scanners Easily Digitize Negatives

While flatbed scanners are inexpensive and do a terrific job of digitizing printed snapshots, you get the best quality if you scan images directly from a negative with a film scanner. Flatbeds are generalists--great for scanning printed graphics and text--and most lack the resolution necessary for optimal enlargement of 1-by-1.5-inch 35mm film negatives. Film scanners offer much higher optical resolution (ability to resolve detail) and dynamic range (ability to capture shadows and highlights).

We looked at two new film scanners: Acer's $395 ScanWit 2720S and Minolta's $499 Dimage Scan Dual II. The two models have comparable specs and features, but they differ significantly in appearance, interface, and operation.

The Acer ScanWit is cheaper, faster, and easier to operate than the Minolta Dimage. But the Minolta model is lighter, has a smaller footprint, and is easier to set up. We liked the Minolta scanner better for its higher resolution, greater control over scan settings, and better image quality.

Acer ScanWit

The ScanWit unit is a dark-gray, shoebox-size device with a SCSI-2 interface. Included with the scanner is a SCSI cable and a proprietary, self-terminating SCSI board that supports only this scanner. If you want to take advantage of the scanner's two 25-pin SCSI pass-through ports--which enable you to daisy-chain SCSI devices--you'll need to use a third-party SCSI board, as well as buy a terminator. The unit has an optical resolution of 2700 dpi, can scan and save in 36-bit color, and offers a dynamic range of 3.2D. (The higher the dynamic range, the more detailed the highlights and shadows will appear in the scanned image.)

Installing and initializing the Acer model was quick and trouble-free. The connectors at the unit's rear are labeled to correspond with the included cables. The SCSI ID number selector is clearly readable and easy to change, and a photo-illustrated step-by-step instruction sheet is included. (The ScanWit does not work with Macintosh systems, and Acer has no plans to release Macintosh drivers.)

Operation was a breeze as well. The icon-oriented TWAIN interface is clean, simple, and easy to use. The unit automatically calibrates itself prior to each scan, performing such adjustments as zeroing out the color settings, checking the focus, and making certain that the lamp is properly warmed up. You can automate some tasks, such as scanning multiple slides at once and previewing all images when the Acquire image mode is activated. Conversely, you can simply press the scan button, which launches the default imaging application, scans in all the frames, and opens them up in the driver's preview screen or in an application.

However, that push-button approach can be more annoying than helpful, as it offers you no control over which negatives or transparencies are included or skipped in the preview. Another quirk: The scanner cannot autodetect which slide frames are empty, and therefore will scan all of them, even if they are blank white squares. You must preselect which slots you're using, via the software interface.

Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II

The blue-and-gray Dimage is about the same shape as the ScanWit, but about half its size and weight. Minolta's model has a slightly higher optical resolution--2820 dpi--and can scan and save in 36-bit color. (Minolta hasn't made available information regarding the dynamic range of the Dimage unit we tested.) With a single Universal Serial Bus port in the rear, the unit proved truly Plug and Play; setup was virtually automatic. The Dimage works with PCs and, according to Minolta, with USB-equipped Macs, but you'll have to download the Mac driver from Minolta's Web site. (The company says the driver will be available by the end of August.)

The Dimage's TWAIN interface is more powerful and configurable than the ScanWit's, but it is also more complex, with numerical values, technical parameters, and terminology that may initially seem confusing to novices (at their prices, these two scanners aren't aimed at professionals). However, veteran scanner users will feel comfortable. The unit calibrates itself upon activation, but the carrier tray must be removed and the door closed. You can't command the unit to automatically scan all slides or negatives, but you can select and scan more than one frame (the carrier tray holds up to six negatives or four slides) at a time.