Any reason not to get a plustek 7600i?

ChrisP · 10-24-2011

Hi eveyone,
I've been reading up on the plustek 7600i. Reviews from this site were generall pretty good. However when someone brought the scanner up on other sites it was shot down by some people without much of a reason. Is it failure prone or anything?

What I want: I'd like to make some 12x18 prints from film.

Downsides I've heard of.
1 neg at a time
2 its made of plastic
3 the film holders suck
4 the coolscan v is better

1 I can deal with. I have an epson 4490. I can proof with this than pick the good one's for 3200 dpi.

2 I can deal with as long as its not failure prone. I won't be carrying it around with me (I can't handle a plasticky camera because I have to feel the plastic alot, a scanner not so much).

3 Is there an upgrade for this (I'm kind of used to this already since epson film holders suck too!)? Would it work with betterscanning ANR glass or anything?

4 I prefer new. Everything I buy used seems to have little things wrong with it. Maybe I'm unlucky but I'd rather buy new (and warranty makes me sleep better at night).

Anything else? I'd use vuescan software so the bundled software doesn't really matter.

Everyone's opinions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Chris

gnuyork · 10-24-2011

I'm interested in this topic as well. I have the v750 and already make good scans that print well. How much better can I get from the Plustek?

I also print 12x18 with my Epson. I would print bigger if I had a bigger printer.
I would use Silverfast instead of Vuescan. I already do with the Epson as of recent.

ChrisP · 10-24-2011

Also wondering about the dmax of the plustek. seems to be somewhat of an issue? Is it worse then the epson I have? Is there anywhere to find official numbers for dmax ratings (since from what I hear manufacturers dmax numbers aren't that reliable)

ChrisP · 10-24-2011

And does anyone know if the 7400 is the same as the 7600i without the IR channel? Or are there other differences as well?

anerjee · 10-25-2011

I have been using the 7600 for several months now -- no issues so far.

I only consider #1 below to be an issue (for me). I do not shoot a lot (1 to 2 36 exposure rolls) per week, your requirement may be different.

The holders are plastic, but do the job fairly well -- keep the film flat and it shows in the resulting scans.

I've never owned any other scanner, so I do not have much of a point of comparison. If you are interested, I can send you a raw tiff scan to judge the quality. send me a pm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisP

Hi eveyone,
I've been reading up on the plustek 7600i. Reviews from this site were generall pretty good. However when someone brought the scanner up on other sites it was shot down by some people without much of a reason. Is it failure prone or anything?

What I want: I'd like to make some 12x18 prints from film.

Downsides I've heard of.
1 neg at a time
2 its made of plastic
3 the film holders suck
4 the coolscan v is better

1 I can deal with. I have an epson 4490. I can proof with this than pick the good one's for 3200 dpi.

2 I can deal with as long as its not failure prone. I won't be carrying it around with me (I can't handle a plasticky camera because I have to feel the plastic alot, a scanner not so much).

3 Is there an upgrade for this (I'm kind of used to this already since epson film holders suck too!)? Would it work with betterscanning ANR glass or anything?

4 I prefer new. Everything I buy used seems to have little things wrong with it. Maybe I'm unlucky but I'd rather buy new (and warranty makes me sleep better at night).

Anything else? I'd use vuescan software so the bundled software doesn't really matter.

Everyone's opinions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Chris

mdruziak · 10-25-2011

Hi Mark from Plustek here.

I'd like to know more about the film holders "not being optimal" ;-) There have been some comments about not being able to do a wet scan. However we do have customers in Asia/Pacific that use glass slide mounts and wet mount.

Yes the case is plastic, but that's one way we can keep the costs reasonable. The transport is manual to increase the reliability. No transport failures here!

Mark

lem0n · 10-25-2011

I just bought the Plustek 7400 a week ago and have been very happy with the results. Finally I get sharp big images from my negatives without any weird artifacts, which was definately not the case with my previous scanner (Canoscan 4400).

Teuthida · 10-25-2011

quality of the scans is very good. rivals the quality i got from my 9000 coolscan. price is right too. no problems here.

doolittle · 10-25-2011

I find this site good for scanner reviews:

http://www.filmscanner.info/en/Films...tberichte.html

I own a Plustek 7600 and find it excellent for the price. It provides high resolution files and does a reasonable job of extracting details from shadows. I have used it on Black and White negatives, Fujichrome and Kodakcrome slides.
To my eyes for 35mm it beats any of the Epson flat bed scanners.
The scanning process is much slower though. Plastic film holders sturdy enough, can't fault them.
If you plan never to scan anything other than 35mm and not planning to scan a large number of negatives it's definitely worth a look.

Recently I was looking to scan medium format negatives and discovered a place that let's you pay to use a Hasselblad Flextight X1 by the hour. This scanner is in a different league with regards to detail and extracting the full dynamic range. I haven't tried it with 35mm yet, but I am thinking of changing to a low price flat bed for previewing the images and scanning the best ones on the X1.

Matus · 10-25-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by doolittle

I find this site good for scanner reviews:

http://www.filmscanner.info/en/Films...tberichte.html

Recently I was looking to scan medium format negatives and discovered a place that let's you pay to use a Hasselblad Flextight X1 by the hour. This scanner is in a different league with regards to detail and extracting the full dynamic range. I haven't tried it with 35mm yet, but I am thinking of changing to a low price flat bed for previewing the images and scanning the best ones on the X1.

That is the way I went. As I shoot mostly 6x6 (and some 4x5) I got a Microtek F1 for small scans and previews and send only the "better" shots (and all 35mm film) to be scanned with either Coolscan 5000/9000 or X5. The only mistake I did was to get the Microtek - the machine is a PITA, loud, unreliable and unstable. So - do yourself a favor and get the V700 or 750 instead.

David_Manning · 10-25-2011

I really like my Plustek 7600...I've never thought it wasn't on par, sharpness-wise, with a Coolscan.

The only complicated thing is getting the right software mix for good results!

Here are a few quick examples of the 7600's capabilities, which I've posted before:

willie_901 · 10-25-2011

The only problem with Plustek is sooner or later Plustek owners will be forced to use Silverfast.

First OS X users were abandoned and there's no reason to believe Windows users will have ViewScan support when they must upgrade sometime in the future.

I have an old OS X laptop I use just for ViewScan and Plustek. In 3 to 5 years I will have to sell the Plustek and replace it with something that supports ViewScan. I will never buy another Plustek since they abandoned OS X users .

By this time you've figured out I find Silverfast to be unacceptable.

gnuyork · 10-27-2011

I actually like Silverfast a lot. But I can see why a lot of people don't like it. I've never tried Vuescan, and I don't think I will need to. I get along pretty well with the silverfast workflow.

gnuyork · 10-27-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by David_Manning

I really like my Plustek 7600...I've never thought it wasn't on par, sharpness-wise, with a Coolscan.

The only complicated thing is getting the right software mix for good results!

Nice looking scan on the web. How large of a print can you get with that scanner?

My concern with the 7600 is the tested actual resolution was only 3250 or something like that (found that on a scanner test site somewhere.)
I've been looking into the Nikons and the Minolta scan elite 5400 which was tested to have very close to stated optical resolution specs. The problem is these scanners are usually selling for higher price used than they were brand new.

JayM · 10-27-2011

I like my 7400 a lot.

THe negative holder can be kind of annoying but that's just because I'm anal retentive about getting the entire picture in the scan. It doesn't always line up quite right and sometimes no amount of jiggling and fiddling helps. It's not like much gets chopped off. I'm just being picky

SciAggie · 10-27-2011

I have had the 7600i for several months now and have had no problems with it. This is the only film scanner I have ever owned, but it seems to do a good job. I think it as a great value for the money.

ChrisP · 10-27-2011

Looks like I'm getting a 7400.

And just a note, I think claimed optical resolution is only 3600 and that the other 3600 is uprezzing so even if it only goes to 3250 thats pretty close (and 3600 is approx 20 mp from my calculations which is alot more than enough)

stonydeluxe · 10-28-2011

I've got the 7400 for almost one year now and I'm very happy with the results. Only problem I see is that scans can get very grainy due to the used LEDs (as in the Coolscans). And Silverfast obviously, but that's not a problem of the scanner as such.

alexnotalex · 10-28-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonydeluxe

I've got the 7400 for almost one year now and I'm very happy with the results. Only problem I see is that scans can get very grainy due to the used LEDs (as in the Coolscans). And Silverfast obviously, but that's not a problem of the scanner as such.

Have you tried turning down the resolution? on my Reflecta, scanning tri-x ISO400 I get nicer results at 1800ppi rather than 3600ppi since it sees less "grain" information to turn into noise... at least that's my explanation

So many parameters.

randomm · 10-28-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by willie_901

The only problem with Plustek is sooner or later Plustek owners will be forced to use Silverfast.

First OS X users were abandoned and there's no reason to believe Windows users will have ViewScan support when they must upgrade sometime in the future.

I have an old OS X laptop I use just for ViewScan and Plustek. In 3 to 5 years I will have to sell the Plustek and replace it with something that supports ViewScan. I will never buy another Plustek since they abandoned OS X users .

By this time you've figured out I find Silverfast to be unacceptable.

You can also do what I've done as a Vuescan user on OS X Lion: install Silverfast trial version, install Vuescan, everything works. The free Silverfast trial installs the required drivers for your Plustek.

No reason to give up on Plustek on OS X, yet.

mijosc · 10-28-2011

I have the 7600i and am generally pretty happy with it. I scan b&w and color slides mostly, occasionally color print film. See my Flickr site for examples and judge for yourself. (Almost everything on there comes from this scanner.)

Most of my negative comments have already been discussed. Scanning one at a time gets painful, especially after a trip when there's many rolls of film to go through. I don't care that the film transport holders are plastic, but they can be difficult to load if the film has a strong curl.

Lastly, I have had problems getting decent color from c-41 film. Often there is a color cast that I just can't get rid of. I've tried Silverfast and Vuescan, with many different setting, but I just can't get results that I'm consistently happy with.

Overall, a great scanner though, for what I use it for mostly.

willie_901 · 10-28-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by randomm

You can also do what I've done as a Vuescan user on OS X Lion: install Silverfast trial version, install Vuescan, everything works. The free Silverfast trial installs the required drivers for your Plustek.

No reason to give up on Plustek on OS X, yet.

Brilliant !!!!

I will try this tomorrow.

Thanks.

gnuyork · 11-16-2011

OK, after some reading up on some scanners, I decided to get the Minolta Dimage 5400 purely for the 5400 dpi. I won an auction on Ebay and tonight was the first chance to try it out. All I have to say is wow! compared to my V750.

I picked an image that I scanned on the Epson @ 6400 dpi a while back and scanned the same slide tonight on the Minolta and 5400 dpi and - no surprise - the minolta triumphed, but in big way. Not only detail, but also shadow detail. Huge difference. I'm happy.

useless generation · 11-16-2011

What system are you running the Minolta on? I'm waiting for my new iMac currently so I will be on OSX Lion when it comes and have been looking at getting a 5400 or 5400II or the plustek 7600i. Anyone know if the minolta software runs on Lion

gnuyork · 11-18-2011

I running a Silverfast Demo on Snow leopard, but I think I read lion is supported.