I would like to know the PROS and CONS for the Polaroid SprintScan 4000. Are there any users who can offer their experiences.

Thank you.

-- ken bielat (bielat@acsu.buffalo.edu), October 07, 1999

Answers

I have been using the SS4000 for a couple of months now and find it quite satisfactory. I've compared 2700 ppi and 4000 ppi scans and you can see a difference in detail in fine grain films. From all that I have read on the internet, I don't think that there are any significiant cons from any other scanner available. It is noisy but you always know where you are in the scan process, It makes different noises at different parts of the scan. It appears to have about the same speed as other scanners. You have to be careful about how you load the film and slide holders into the scannner.

Everyone seems to either like the software that comes with scanners or not. Personally, the Polaroid Insight software works well. It has just enough features to leave only minor adjustments (if necessary) to be made in whatever graphics software you use.You cannot batch scan with Insight although you can with Ed Hamrick's (www.hamrick.com) Vuescan software. I have Vuescan as well, and quire frankly I'm not sure which is better.

A full sized scan at 4000 ppi is about 55 meg. I only have 128 meg of ram which limits my ability to deal with a 55 meg graphics file. My next computer will have 512 meg of ram. I currently can work with a 27 meg file comfortably. This allows me to print an 8 X 10 at 300 dpi. The 4000 ppi allows you to select a portion of the frame for printing and mintain 300 dpi printing. An 8 X 10 does not have the same diminsional ratio as the frame so you don't use the whole frame anyway.

Hope this helps. Bob Johnson

-- Robert Johnson (rjjohnson@silverlink.net), October 12, 1999.

Some PROS:

* Resolution - you can crop away, and still end up with enough pixels to produce a strong print at the limits (below 300 dpi) of inkjet paper's resolving power. YMMV, depending on your printer, ink, and choice of paper.

 I find the shadow detail to be quite good, which surprises me - this is not a drum scanner. I've read reviews which agree that the advertised Dmax is understated.

* PolaColor 4.5 is a MAJOR improvement over the older scanner software, and I find the film profiles let me move pretty seamlessly between emulsions - which I value, since I shoot both 400 ISO Agfa for moderate saturation and high speed, and 100 ISO Fuji Reala for cartoon-like vivid color.

* The PhotoShop plug-in (on a Mac) makes life simple.

* It's cheap - I got mine at B&H -- it'll be cheaper by the time you read this.

CONS * Resolution means BIG files - I have a GB of RAM, run Photoshop in 800 MB of it, and wish I had more RAM. Note, this is really just whining. Big files are good.

* I hate the film carrier (I shoot negatives for a variety of reasons); the slide carrier may be better.

* You need a SCSI card with a G4, but since this is a SLOW device compared to a disk, you can get by with an Adaptec 2906 for about $50 from B&H.

* Polaroid's WWW site is downright bizarre as far as navigation and information. Info that any normal being would put on an HTML page is delivered as an Acrobat PDF. Who knows why.

Bottom line, I never use my old, reliable Fujix DS-330 digital camera, nor my flatbed, unless I'm in a serious hurry. Film scanning takes longer, but at 4000 dpi, I can create good work without worrying about losing information when I crop, transform, or otherwise beat on the image.

-- Pat Collins (hamdust@spamcop.net), June 01, 2000.