Epson Perfection 2400 Photo Scanner

Shipped with the travel lock disengaged. Would power on but scanner bar immobile. Downloaded latest software (that provided seemed to relate to Windows XP) but no success.Returned to Amazon without problems.

Contrary to earlier reviewers, I found the software very easy to use and flexible. It has allowed me to adujust contrast, brightness and a whole slue of other aspects of the print with little effort. I've got thousands of positive slides, the product of 15 years of living abroad from Asia to Africa to S. America, and the the slides are on a variety of type and quality of slide film. I have been able to adjust for all imperfections. For the price, you can't beat it.

Caution to buyers. Epson software on both Mac and Windows is questionable at best.Mac OSXI started on my preferred platform, running Mac OS X 10.2.5. Right off the bat, I had to go to the Epson web site for compatible drivers as the Install disc software only supported OS 9.x. After installing the appropriate drivers, I opened Photoshop 7.0 and tried to initiate a scan of 4 slides from the Import menu item. Unfortunately, the manual option to scan slides was inexplicably greyed out. I rebooted and tried again. Still the scan slide option was unavailable. Did a cold-reboot and this time the option was available. It appears, that each time I try to use the scanner, the software behaves differently. Sometimes options are available, other times not. Sometimes the scanner "forgets" and scans slides as reflective art.Bottom line: Mac OS X support is terribly lacking. There is no stand-alone scanning application. You must use it within Photoshop or the included 1.0 version of Photoshop Elements.Windows XPSo abandoning the Mac, I tried to get it to work on my Windows XP Home laptop. Long story short, while the software support appears to be better on Windows, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Opening the Import menu in Photoshop Elements under Windows did not even provide an option to scan slides or film. But yet the Autoscan "senses" the film and does the right thing. Problem is, using Autoscan does not allow you to set the resolution or color correction parameters. You are left between a rock and a hard place.I've been using Mac and Windows PCs for nearly 20 years, and if there were a manual or decent help system included, I would even surrender to RTFM. But unfortunately, while the reviews on the scan quality have been good (which at this point is hard for me to confirm), the software cannot be defended.If you decide to buy this scanner, be sure to reserve some significant time working through all the software quirks - and maybe you'll be rewarded for your efforts.I'm not giving up yet, but I only have so much patience.

I bought this scanner having read the negative comments about the included software, but also the glowing reviews of the scan quality. At this point I would have to say I'm pleased with my purchase in general, but have been frustrated in certain ways. Overall I would have to say this scanner delivers at least fairly good quality in all types of scanning for the price you're paying, but it does not quite achieve professional or near-professional results. In the end, you still get what you pay for.My intended use for the Perfection 2400 was primarily as a high quality photo scanner and hopefully good quality negative/slide scanner (it's usually better to scan negatives if you have them, and have a scanner capable of it). My tests have shown this model far more capable with photo prints than negatives - the sharpness is not quite there on negatives, even with the resolution set to maximum (2400 dpi - the scanner will let you select higher resolutions, but they're obviously interpolated). Yes, I've made sure the emulsion side is facing the scanner. There is no available focus adjustment, and this may be the problem (this is one of the features you pay for in a dedicated film scanner, or high-end flatbed). Annoyingly, the negative attachment likes to move around on the glass simply from the vibration from the scan motor - I have to tape it down to the side of the scanner to keep it in place. Worse, the scanner driver (even the latest version from Epson's web site) does not support multisampling (scanning the same image multiple times to reduce random noise), so to get the best quality scans you will need to purchase an external program that's capable of it. There is also a serious problem with Epson's dust and scratch removal algorithm when making high-res negative scans, resulting in large blotches all over your images (especially if you're using older, dustier negatives). Again, you will need to either use a separate scanning program capable of dust/scratch removal, or do it manually in an image editor.For photo print scanning, this model is excellent, although the "auto" mode settings will not always give the best results. To get the best out of your scans you really need to learn how to use "professional" mode, and I was thankful that Epson provides so many advanced settings. With a minute or so of tweaking you can easily get a scan that looks exactly like your original photo, and displays every bit of detail.I had initially written that I had no problems with the included software, but now have to amend that slightly - the scanner has repeatedly hard-locked my PC during scans, and when it does the scanner will no longer respond even after a reboot (the scanner itself must be unplugged; there is no on/off switch). I've also become increasingly annoyed with the fact that you can't scan in the background - when doing a batch of high-res negative scans that take up to 5 minutes each, it's very annoying that you can't even realistically browse the web or do anything else in the meantime. Other than that though, the software does still work better than some people give it credit for - the one-touch scanner buttons all work for me, and each application functions as it should. The scanner driver itself is something of a weak link.This scanner is a worthy purchase at the mid-range of consumer flatbed scanners. I really wouldn't recommend this model if you're looking mainly for a negative scanner - get a dedicated film scanner instead. But for a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, it's pretty decent given the price you're paying.