Microtek i900 scanner impressions or reviews....

[avid]

Does anyone here use the Microtek i900 and can tell me what they

think? I had the Epson 4870 and after some trouble with it got the

i900 (recommended by a friendly salesman at Calumet photographics)

but I am not sure if the scans are better or as good (even with the

patented glassless holders). Just wanted to see if there are happy

owners out there (if so, why?) before I decide to return it. Thanks.

[jack paradise]

Don't know how much credibility the following site has, so caveat emptor. If you do not read german, use BabelFish translation. Second to last paragraph is where the kicker resides.

 

http://www.filmscanner.info/MicrotekScanMakerI900.html

[peter_weimann1]

That before given address seems quite reliable afak. The problem with Microtek is that they have really good products with a really lousy, close to non existing, service. Once sold a product they don?t care about customers. You should know this. I use the Artixscan 120 TF which is a really excellent scanner, but I am aware that I have to buy a new scanner as soon as there is a problem with that unit. The quality of the scans speak for themselves.

 

http://peter-weimann-nature-photography.meinatelier.de

 

Hope this helps

[matt_needham]

I've been using an i900 for about 6 months now, mostly scanning large, and medium format negs, and some 35mm. Overall I am happy with it. As has been mentioned there in no customer service. I have emailed them several times with questions/problems, and gotten absolutely no response. Fortunately forums such as this have helped solve my problems.

 

The only other gripe I have is that you have to cut medium format film into individual frames to use their glassless holder. I print my own in the darkroom, and single negs are too much of a pain in the butt, so I end up having to use the glass holder to keep them in strips, and then I get neuton rings. For me this is still doable because I'm only looking for low res images for my website and posting.

[t._l._burger]

I purchased the i900 a couple months ago and had been using it exclusively for 4x5 large

format scans. I also shoot 6x7 medium format every now and then and in the process of

scanning some I noticed that there was a noticeable blue haze on my image. I did a scan

of just the glass-less area with just an empty holder only to find that there was a blue

haze on the right side of my image, and a yellow haze on the left side. I contacted

Microtek, and after trading a few emails and phone calls they gave me an RMA # and I

shipped it back to them for servicing. I guess I was lucky to receive support at all.

Actually it wasn't too bad of an experience. Turn around time on the repair was two weeks

to the day.

 

I bought this scanner mainly to scan 4x5 and the occasional 6x7. I shoot mostly Provia

100F and Tri-X 320. This scanner is faithful to the colors of the original slides, and I can

make sharp 24x30 inch prints and could probably do a decent 40x50 inch print.

 

For my Tri-X, this scanner is a dream. I've never really been happy with scans of 35mm

Tri-X. They always came out too punchy and lacking the tonal range capable of this film.

The i900 produces a very neutral image that can then be tweaked to your heart's content

using contrast adjustments and Photoshop's Shadow & Highlight command. Print size for

the black and white is the same as I stated for slide, although, I think that larger may be

possible, only because I think that the grain structure adds a little something to the image.

A beautiful print at normal viewing distance, and beautiful grain patterns when viewed

close up.

 

I did scan some C-41 4x5 and found the results lacking. The colors were muted and there

was no apparent contrast. Sure, tweaking with it in photoshop could help it, but it would

just be too much work. Luckily, this isn't a real problem for me, as I don't shoot color

negative!

 

The scanning software that you use also has a great impact. The scanwizard software

blows, and silerfast 6 Ai isn't documented enough in it's own manuals. I prefer using

VueScan. It's easier to use than the other two, and has features that the others can't

touch. (Muti-pass scanning, over-expose scanning, etc.) You can try it out for free, and if

you really dig it, the pro version only costs 100$. (worth the price and then some!)

 

Vuescan really helped me capture a tough slide that I had under-exposed by 1/2 a stop.

(Forgot about the bellows extension factor.) The dark areas had noticeable CCD signal

noise. Since signal noise is a random occurrence, I used VueScan to do a 2x multi-pass on

the image and then do a long exposure pass on it to help breath some life back into it.

After doing these three separate scans, they were all merged to create a useable image! I

was really impressed!

 

 

i900 Pros:

Faithful to original colors.

Sharp prints up to 24x30 using 4x5 film.

Beautifully neutral black and white scans. (All tones and gradations accounted for!)

Nice 4x5 and 35mm slide holders

No newton rings.

Decent software for the average user.

Vuescan supports this scanner!

Technical support (when they're there and feel like picking up the phone)

 

i900 Cons:

Visible noise in really dark areas (black is still black, but if there's something there, it will

come out as noise. VueScan can help fix this and scanning at 48-bit also helps a lot)

Medium format holder blows! Why single frames and not strips!?

 

That's my review! I find the Epson 4870 comparable to the i900, but went with the i900

because of the glass-less scan area. Despite the problem I initially had with my unit, I'm

happy with my choice.

 

-Anthony

[james_nissen]

Purchased a Microtek i900 in Aug 2005. Never had any problems with it until 5/07. I may have scanned 250 pages, negatives etc over this period of time. This week, I tried to turn the unit on and it wouldn't light up. Checked online with repair facility to see what can be done. No customer service per se. Only refer you to 48 hr. response line that said since the unit was out of warranty there was nothing that can be done. I paid around $500 for this unit and now it's worthless. They told me there are no repair facilities in the United States and offered me a number to get a discount on another i900 or equivalent version. Why would I if there is no repair service in the United States, warranty or not? I will never buy a Microtek product in the future. They are expensive junk.