It works very well and the quality of my finished product (file/picture) is what I was looking for. I wanted to be able to get a replication that delivered clear quality with the option to get a >5M file, and this one goes much higher. From there I can manipulate the images, as needed, for individual exposure adjustments on my Mac. I went through about 2000 slides and copied about 200 in a half a day. The larger slide duplicators that can handle more slides at a time? I dunno. This one worked well, was efficient, and once I was able to get into a rhythm it was fast and easy. Example pictures are shot by my grandfather in the 50’s using Kodachrome.
It's amazing how all the detail and then some in 35mm slides and negatives is captured in this scanner's 22-megapixel resolution! The scanner's resolution is default-set to the lower 14-megapixel resolution, so if you want the max 22, every time you turn the scanner's power on, you have to manually set the resolution to 22 before you begin scanning, a minor inconvenience. I guess Magnasonic figured the average consumer would favor lower-resolution scans in the interest of saving memory card or hard-drive space.
Slides fared better than negatives in transfer quality, particularly in black level, but that's because the black level in my negatives from 30 years and before faded, whereas the slides still have images that look pretty good. Never fear: If you have Adobe Photoshop or a similar image-manipulation program, you can restore much of that black level and color quality, as well as paint out dust and scratches if you're really feeling ambitious.
The scanner has rudimentary controls for color-balance and brightness correction of images built-in, in rather large increments, so make a best guess in scanner and then be prepared to do some additional tweaking of the images in Photoshop or another image-manipulation program to get the images as gorgeous as you remember them. I prefer to scan the images a bit on the dark side and then brighten them up in Photoshop, versus scanning the images too bright. Watch those highlights! Once they're gone, blown out white, they're GONE!
I tried using this scanner to scan Super 8 movie film and, at much lower 6-megapixel resolution, with horrendous grain, it's basically useless for scanning such small film. For larger film up to 135mm, if your film is in good shape, the images are stunning!
I've been saving my images to an SD card, then inserting that SD card via SD card reader into the USB slot in my computer, and it's been great--the computer simply recognizes the scanned images as from any other digital device, at which point you can simply upload them to your computer's hard drive.
I had very low expectations. Seriously. I edit images and do visual design work for a living. I needed something that would allow me to very quickly scan in my family's legacy slides and negatives. And I mean quickly - I was calculating less than 10 seconds per scan.
Amazingly this device lets me scan in about 5 seconds per scan!
Quality is quite acceptable - assuming you have an image editing program to color correct and edit the images you decide to keep. Ignore all color, white balance, and resolution settings and scan at default.
I used the included composite video output to display image previews on a 23" 1920x1200 HP IPS LCD display. That was a waste. The preview is only useful for cropping and determining if the slide/negative is somewhat in-focus. I'd guess resolution is sub VGA.
If you are an experienced image editor don't bother to connect to an external display. You can trust the preview in the dinky built-in display to guide you and your raw scans will provide enough image data to work with for sharpening, color correcting, and removing mild dust/scratches.
This really does perform great. Just keep your slides, negatives and the machine as free of dust (and fingerprints) as possible before you begin.
I would not recommend using this for slideshows on an external display. The low resolution and I mage quality of the onscreen preview makes even good slides look poor quality.
Note: there is no included adaptor for super large format 6x6cm+ slides. I'm currently trying to find the best way to scan these...
Note that this is NOT a scanner. This nifty piece of equipment takes a digital image of slides (or negatives). The average scan time for an 80-slide carousel was about 30 minutes. Don’t expect great quality in the images and do expect to spend time using photo-editing software to perfect the “scanned” images. If you end up wanting even small format prints (i.e. 4x6) you’ll want to copy directly from the slides. That being said, the quality is good enough for sharing decades of wonderful memories and it will give you and your family digital images that can be enjoyed by all and will preserve them in case something catastrophic happened to the original slides.
PROS: 1) Easy to use. 2) The slide adapter seems pretty flimsy, but it’s remarkably sturdy and it functions well. 3) Adjusting the color saturation (especially for red) worked better than I thought it would. 4) The unit reminds you to insert an SDHC card which is very helpful.
CONS: 1) The brightness control doesn’t always work. 2) There is an internal 2013 date that can’t be changed, so if you use an SDHC card for saving images this “system” date will be on all of your images. What this means is if you use Shutterfly (for example), it will put your uploaded images on your 2013 timeline instead of on your 2017 timeline. This is irksome at best. 3) The “Flip” setting doesn’t reset after you flip a slide image, which I didn’t figure out until l I had scanned and uploaded about 30 slides. The first one was backward, so I flipped it not knowing that setting would “stick.” This resulted in the remaining slides being scanned backwards which I didn’t catch until I had uploaded them to my laptop.
One more note about adjusting the brightness: As another reviewer stated, “Blown out slides will still be blown out.” I agree. Using the brightness controls to adjust the contrast for these will only make a darker “blown-out” image. You can brighten dark slides to some degree, but I found that the setting didn’t work very often.
All in all, this is a quick and easy way to digitize thousands of slides (which is what I’m doing). TIP: Use the included dust-remover wand often to clean the glass!
I bought this to scan in some of the thousands of slides I had accumulated over the past 50+ years. This was a project I had always wanted to do (had previously bought 2 other film scanners, but both required computer connection and neither worked beyond Windows XP). This one was freestanding, and having surgery scheduled, I would use the recovery time to get the job done. My goal was not professional scans for large prints or blowups, but to be able to look at my slides on a TV screen or computer screen. So far, this has done a great job.
Positive side: it is relatively fast, taking about a second or two to store the image. It is USB powered, I am using a small battery pack for recharging cell phones -- after 3 hours of use the battery pack still shows full charge. I do not have to sit at my computer desk with limited space, but can work almost anywhere. Images can be flipped both horizontally and vertically quickly. Image adjustments are relatively easily made, and stay the same until you either turn the unit off or change them back. I have only made brightness adjustments, figuring the other adjustments would be better left to a computer photo editing program. Image quality is very good to excellent for my needs. Yes, I can tell they are scans and not digital originals, but unless the original image has an overly broad dynamic range I am very satisfied with it. This is really good for mass scanning, stack all your slides on the right, slide them in one after the other, stack them when they come out. You use the next and previous slide to accurately position the current slide. Image on screen is bright and clear, but it is a small screen. You would not want to use it to decide which slides to scan -- it is easier to scan them all then delete. Transfer of images by moving the SD card to the computer is quick and easy. Negatives scan just as easily as slides, however negatives that have attached "handling strips" must have the strips removed to fit in the carrier. The slide and negative carrier are both solidly made, the 110 negative carrier is flimsy, I haven't used the Super8 carrier.
The negatives: Screen image is too small to really tell much about the slide. Slides do not "pop out" of the unit but are pushed out by the next slide. To remove the last slide you must remove the carrier.There was no brush for cleaning the unit as described in the instructions, however the unit does have spring-loaded doors that cover the opening to the imaging chamber when the film holders are removed. When reformatting the SD card to hold more images, all of the slide numbers are reset to begin again at PICT0001. This will cause problems when uploading to a computer directory with overwriting previous scans.
In summary, an excellent scanner for my needs, transferring old film images to digital quickly and with good image quality for viewing on a computer or TV screen. I would buy it again.
Feature Product
- Effortlessly convert your 126KPK, 135,110, Super 8 and Negatives into premium high resolution 22MP digital photo JPEG files. Still images only, not video. Relive and share your memories in no time with only the push of a button.
- View your scanned slides and films with the built-in, vibrant full color, 2.4 inch LCD screen or directly onto your television with the included Video Out TV cable. No computer is needed to transform your slides from outdated to updated.
- Thanks to the generous 128MB of built-in memory, save up to 100 images directly onto the All-in-One Converter. The easy to use SD card slot expansion allows you to hold even more of your high resolution images until you are ready to transfer them to your computer, smartphone, tablet or digital picture frame.
- Quickly and seamlessly scan all your film without the need to precut into strips and painfully line up correctly. When teamed up with the one-touch scanning software you can go from loading to saving in less than 5 seconds.
- Start editing your photos right out of the box with the easy to use plug-and-play interface. No complicated computer software or driver installation needed.
Description
Bring your film, slides and negatives into the digital age with the help of the Magnasonic Film Scanner. This digital slide converter delivers outstanding 22 megapixel quality and takes just seconds to scan and archive each memory you want to preserve. You can even fine-tune your photos right on the built-in, full color LCD screen without the need to learn and use complicated image editing software.
Wide Range of Film and Slide Compatibility
This versatile digital scanner turns your treasured photos into superior high resolution 22 megapixel jpegs. With just one button, you can quickly scan and convert 35mm negatives, 126KPK film, 135 film, 110 film, Super 8 film, slides and negatives into premium quality digital files.
LCD Screen for Instant Viewing
Instantly view your scanned photos directly on the Magnasonic Film Scanner with its built-in vibrant 2.4 inch LCD screen. Or if you'd prefer, use the included Video Out TV cable to view on a larger screen and reminisce in timeless memories with friends and family.
Excellent Memory and Storage Potential
Boasting 128MB of built-in memory, easily store up to 100 photos until you're ready to share with friends and family. Use an optional SD card (up to 32GB) to collect even more photos directly onto the scanner until you're ready to transfer elsewhere.
Fast Scanning Potential
Save time and effort with the included fast-loading film trays. Super quick 5 second scanning lets you get through that pile of film, negatives, and slides in no time at all.
All-In-One
There's no need for a computer when you can edit brightness, rotation and more directly on the all-in-one film scanner. Choose one of the pre-installed film profiles for a more accurate color rendition and eliminate the need for expensive editing software.
This was money well spent! Being able to view old negatives and slides is wonderful, but being able to then capture them digitally to archive and share is magnificent. My mother recently passed away and I am working my way through a treasure trove of memories in slides. This product has allowed me to take a walk back in time and protect those memories for future generations.
The plain brown box was not what I expected, nor were the relatively poor directions, but thankfully this product is pretty easy to start using on the fly. I suggest you get a SD card and format it, then put it into the back of the device instead of saving photos directly to the onboard memory. That way you can view your photos on PCs and Mac computers, and use your favorite photo editing software to make adjustments.
I'm very excited to be able to print off captured images for scrapbooks, and protect family photos for generations to come.
When I first opened the box, plugged the scanner in and looked at the manual, I just about threw up! After 15 minutes with the manual, I was an inch away from packing it all back in the box and returning it to Amazon. I re-read the reviews and they were mostly positive, so I soldiered on.
I'm very pleased that I did. Once you figure it out (not exactly rocket science!) it works great! However, whoever wrote the manual should be taken out back and shot! It is without doubt, the worst manual I have ever read! It references buttons that don't exist, and really offers no explanation of how to use. You have to figure it out. As I said, it's not that hard to do so, but a few clear instructions would help a lot. I'd scanned about 20 35mm color slides before I figured out you could sort of fast feed them into the machine without removing the slide holder or fiddling with any of the menu settings. The end results are great, though with the 40+ year old slides I'm digitizing, the colors are off and for the ones I care about I'll spend a little time with Photoshop.
Net/net, it works very well, seems versatile and is very good value. Also seems well made, which makes the garbage manual even more a mystery—how did they let that happen!
As I read the reviews I was first reluctant to purchase the “All-In-One High Resolution 22MP Film Scanner…” I must the admit the instruction are NOT very clearly written. After trying various conversions and looking carefully at each item, I began to see how simple it was. After 15 minutes if experimenting, I captured pictures as large as 5 MB in size.
Below would be my simple instructions.
1. Chose type to convert, slide, or negatives.
2. Chose carrier labeled to your choice, slide, or negative. (Each carrier is labelled “slide or negative”)
3. Plug the device into your computer.
4. Insert your storage (where you want your final results to be stored) into the labelled slot in the slide view.
5. Push down on the “scan menu” button
6. Select which function you wish to use (slide, or negative)
7. Insert SD card into back of main device.
8. Once selected, push down on the scan menu button.
9. You’ll see a picture of a camera with choices listed below.
10. Make you choice, slide, or negative, and hold down the “ok” button.
11. You’ll see the screen dim as your choice is captured.
12. Once the capture stops, click the right arrow on top of the deice until you reach “USB MSDC”
13. Hold the button down until you are notified that you picture has been captured to you SD card.
14. You can use the same process by plugging the USB end directly into your computer.
15. If you choose to copy direct to your computer, I suggest creating a fold on your desktop for easy transfer.
Slides are more straightforward than negatives as you need to do less color balancing. I actually returned one of these devices because the negative had a strong green color cast, which was correctable with the color balance screen. B&W negatives are no problem at all. Quality of the "scans" (not really scans but a photo process) is pretty good, not as good as with a flat-bed scanner but good enough, all the same. Much faster than a scanner. I've attached 2 photos made from negatives (leotard) and 2 made from slides (lighthouse and woman)
I have about 2 thousand 35mm slides from my parents that need to be scanned. After reading the reviews on 20 different scanners I settled on the Magnasonic. I sat down and have scanned 55 slides in about an hour. I figured it out without reading the directions and would say it's easy to use. The quality of the scanned images is very decent. I didn't purchase an SD card and the scanner itself held 55 photo's. I connected to my laptop (Windows 10) and transfered the jpeg images over without any issues. I plan on doing batches of about 50 as time permits since I'm also trying to catalog and name the photo's, The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star was because the screen is pretty small, but other than that I recommend this product.
0 comments:
Post a Comment