[filmscanners] Re: Scan Dual IV vs Scan Dual II

["Berry Ives" <yvesberia@earthlink.net>]

on 9/11/04 6:43 AM, Arthur Entlich at artistic@telus.net wrote:

> I can only answer half your question, but I have some idea of the
> changes that Minolta made between the two.
>
> In it's time, the Minolta SD2 was considered good value, however, it was
> not without its flaws.  They had a problem with quality control which
> led to what I coined "lazy sensors" which meant streaks or several one
> pixel lines would show up on scans, these lines showing up in different
> places on different colors (RGB).  I was never able to determine if the
> problem with software calibration of the sensors in question, dirt on
> the sensor, defective sensors, or what.  The other problems were a
> somewhat noisy blue sensor, and a light source which tended to emphasize
> dust and grain.
>
> By SD3 improvements were made in most of these areas.  The A/D converter
> provided was bumped up, the software was improved upon, calibration was
> better, the lazy sensor problem seemed to disappear and they offered a
> more diffused lighting option, and some extra tools in software to deal
> with dust and grain.  In the SD IV, They increased the resolution to
> 3200 dpi from 2820 dpi, the A/D converter is now 16 bit, the software
> allows for multiple-sample scans, and they lowered the price to
> something ridiculous, and they claim to have better optics as well, it
> is also now USB 2.0 making it faster.
>
> The unit is now distributed by Konica-Minolta after Minolta required a
> bail out financially.  This is probably a good thing.  With the current
> price of a bit over $250 US, it is probably the best film scanner value
> once again, and it is considerably improved from the version 2.
>
> Art
>
>
> Berry Ives wrote:
>
>> Okay, does anyone have experience on both the Minolta SD2 and SD4?
>>
>> If so, please share that with me. I've read the specs already.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Berry
>>
>>
Art,

Thanks very much for that information.  And at that price, I can't go wrong.

Although I am very tempted by the DSLR alternative, I guess my fear of it is
mostly based on the fact that I am very comfortable shooting with my Contax
Aria, using manual focus.  I love my 60mm macro lens, and use it 95% of the
time, as a normal lens as well as for macro shots.  I fear the loss of this
comfort factor.  And, I get the nice 4x6 prints from a high quality local
shop, which are easy to take along to share with others.  These are great
for selecting what to print.  Under optimal conditions, I can pull off
12x18", but I'm thinking that the SD-IV will do a better job of that.

Still, I find the Olympus E1 quite tempting.

Berry

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