FS9T 9 MP Slide and Negative Scanner with 2.4-Inch Tft LCD Screen

This is a great product and a great money value. I had come across a stash of my black and white work that was done years back, and wanted to transfer it to digital. The 7300 dpi scan quality is great, and it is not difficult to use. I've uploaded my entire collection. There was a lot of emotional exhiliration to be able to see and share work that for the most part, NO ONE, not even I, had viewed except in a contact sheet. One thing to watch for, but I don't consider it a flaw in design, but simply a reality of nature: dust can accumulate quickly within the scanner itself as you work, probably as a result of static electricity, etc. A little dust can make a big difference in a scan of this quality. So if your scan looks rougher than you thought, you should make sure your negative sheet is nice and clean, dust- and lint-free; and you should use canned cleaning duster (or simply blow through) the viewing casing (name of part?) where you slide the negatives through. Repeat your scan and you will probably see a big change. I also have a "lot" of color negs and have hardly touched them, but the ones I've done seem good. I do have some slides somewhere, but I haven't come across them yet, so I can only refer you to the other comments regarding slides. This was, for me, MUCH less expensive and far more satisfying than paying to have my collection digitized. Which, for me, was the point. For anyone who is not familiar with dpi impact on an image, in order to get a clear print, you need to have an image at 300 dpi or greater. So, WITHOUT razzing your image, you can enlarge a 7300 dpi image to very effective printable sizes; your 35 mm width can be enlarged to about 28" and retain good print resolution. And razzing isn't always that bad. If you're printing something larger than that, you'd have to razz an image captured digitally as well.

I see a lot of poor reviews for this product and I wonder if it's simply because people expect more than they should from a product of this type. First, I wouldn't really call this product a 'scanner' - it's really nothing more than a digital camera image sensor that takes a photo of your slide or negative. The quality is not stellar, but I wasn't expecting that when I bought it. I knew that I would get decent quality for some applications, but not for serious archiving or processing. If you keep this in mind, then you should be pleased with the product. For the price, I find it well built and easy to use. It does what it says it will do and nothing more. I have thousands of negatives and slides. Of those, only a percentage (I'd say less than 10%) are what I would consider worthy of professional level scanning. With a service like ScanCafe, I can have that done, but even with their decent pricing, it can get rather expensive. This device is handy for turning all of my slides and negatives into useable images rather than packed away in a box somewhere. I would say the quality is fine for genealogists/family historians and the average person who may want to add some photos to an album or website. In my estimation, I would say any photos made from the 'scans' would reasonably allow you to print up to a 5x7, maybe even an 8x10, though I wouldn't hang it in a museum. Again, if you need that kind of quality, you need a profesional level scanner - if you don't have several thousand dollars to spend on one or several hundred to use a service, then this may work well for you. You should also note that any scan from this unit will require some post-scan modification, especially if your slides or negatives are a bit older. Over time, temperature, humidity and light have an adverse affect on film medium that will degrade images. There are many products out there to help you do this, some for free, some at a cost. Just expect to be doing some post-scan sharpening, color adjustments and messing around with stuff like gamma, levels and contrast. It's not hard once you learn, and if your software can 'batch process' a group of photos, you can handle a whole group of scans rather quickly. Products like FastStone Image Viewer can do just that, and it's free. Do be sure to clean your slides and negatives before scanning to minimize dust and lint that will cost you more editing time. Cleaning up dust and lint on your images is probably one of the most time consuming pieces of post-scan editing, plus you'll likely not find a free version that will give you that capability. The slide and negative 'carriers' that come with this unit are solid and well-built, something I've not found with previous scanners I've owned. If you can afford it, have your images professionally scanned, if not, consider this product. Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase. I got exactly what I was expecting, so there is no reason to be upset that I'm not getting all the bells and whistles that some others seem to think are missing. Go into this purchase properly informed and you should be satisfied as well.

Wow, I am totally impressed with this product. Not only was it simple to setup and use but it integrated to my MAC without a flaw. The quality of the images are amazing (providing that the slides are good). I have scanned photos in the past but find digitally converting the slides to be much better quality. NOTE: remember to blow off the dust on the slides before you scan them. The system comes with 2 trays each for slides or negatives. Although that may not seem like a lot (3 slides per tray) it proved to be fine. I also used the SD memory card from my camera so I didn't have to buy another one. I do recommend using a memory card for without it the system can only store about 10 pictures. With the memory card I was able to use the machine and the 1000 slides I have and quickly convert them while I was watching a movie. Later I went back to my desk and connected the scanner to my MAC and downloaded. Easy! If you have old slides I highly recommend doing this. Not only will you get a good laugh at old memories but for me I will be putting together a DVD to give as gifts. I am sure the rest of my family will get a kick out of the old pictures as well.