sam_taha

Hi Everyone, I think I've fixed it. I have the Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 II with severe banding when using Vuescan. The banding was consistent with the location of the grooves in the three "half circle" lenses. I tried the original minolta software and no banding was there. I opened up the scanner, got into the mirrors and lights and everything in there (open heart surgery) and cleaned everything but the banding was still there. So it seems the minolta software subtracts out uneven lighting during calibration. So what you have to do is explicitly run the Scanner--> calibrate step in Vuescan after opening the software. thought that the little dance the scanner did when firing up the software was calibration but it's not. You still have to go to the menu and calibrate. I'm very relieved and hope this little trivial step will help you.

<p>No official repair centers exist anymore, spare parts are nearly impossible to find, and people who can fix these scanners are as extinct as dinosaurs. BUT... I miraculously found a guy in Germany who used to work in Europe's KM's authorized repair center and still has some spare parts. He recently fixed my 5400 II and did a complete overhaul (cleaning, greasing, alignment, etc). He's the real deal and a real pro. I didn't ask permission to post his email on public forums, so send me a message privately or email me at sam_taha@yahoo.com and I'm happy to share his info on 1:1 basis (he's OK with that).</p>