> contemplating bargain purchase- apart from glowing review at
> not much else to go
> on; I'm running a powerbook 233 with a big screen so limited RAM (192Mb)
> and disc space
The Scan Speed was the first Minolta 12 bit scanner. It was soon replaced by
the Scan
Elite, which had the addition of an infrared channel for ICE defect removal,
but I think
both models had multipass scanning to reduce noise. From memory, another
difference
between the 2 scanners was that the Scan Speed software wasn't as good as the
Scan Elite
software for colour management.
The Elite (and the subsequent Elite II scanner) did have some CCD issues but I
don't
recall any posting from Scan Speed owners with these problems. (This may be
simply
because the Scan Speed doesn't seem to have sold as well as other models so
defects may
not have filtered through to this list.)
If you don't need ICE defect removal, the Scan Speed is a fairly capable unit,
although a
number of Scan Speed owners have opted to use Vuescan rather than the Minolta
software to
get the most out of it. Another way of getting around some of the deficiencies
in the
Minolta software is to use the Minolta software to produce a 16 bit raw scan
and then use
the Scan Elite ICC profile (NOT the Scan Speed profile) in Photoshop to convert
it into
your working space. I can't remember the exact problem - either the Scan Speed
didn't
ship with an ICC profile or it was broken. Either way, because the hardware is
very
similar, the Elite profile works well with it.
Raw 16 bit scans at full resolution done this way should take less than a
minute to
produce, although you still have to allow time for Photoshop to apply the
profile. This
would produce files around 60mb which your system should be able to handle
reasonably
well.
Like the Scan Elite, the Scan Speed is fixed focus but seems to have sufficient
DOF.
Also both models cannot batch scan - the film holders have to be manually
advanced from
one frame to the next.
Hope this helps!
Al Bond
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