Rating: 
Summary: high quality scans, low quality build
Review: I just boxed up my Epson 3170 to send it back. I had it one day, during which time I was able to coax some very nice scans from some old color negatives.I say "coax" because my unit quickly developed a problem where it would intermittently emit a high-pitched squeal and the red trouble light would flash. Sometimes powering the unit off and then back on would fix the problem, more often it would not. I described the problem to Epson support and they advised one possible fix (working the transport-lock lever back and forth),
which had no effect. So it was a faulty unit. Fine. I would have ordered a replacement, except that Epson's scanning software really is as awful as any I've seen running under Windows XP. I did several cold starts, a full uninstall of the scanning suite, then a reinstall of just the basic "Epson Scan" software. After that it seemed to work, although it's an awkward design at best. I really like Epson's design when it comes to handling slides and negatives of various sizes, but given my experience I can't really recommend the 3170.
Rating: 
Summary: Always download driver from the WEB SITE! (apple G5)
Review: I purchased a microtek at the same resolution capacity and it was AWFUL!!! Software crashed and it wouldn't work on my apple g5 running 10.3.1 OR windows XP. So, I tried this one for 50 dollars more and it's fabulous. I would think by now people would learn that when you buy something that didn't just come out yesterday, ALWAYS go to the web site for the most recent driver(s)! It has updated patches and drivers for mac os 10.3 and I've had no problems whatsoever. This is the 3rd scanner I've tried to scan slides on and this one is by far the best quality. Who cares about speed ? Quality is there - you're not going to get a rocket for $199. It is the most convenient, regarding use with slides - no outside attachment and you can do 4 at a time.
Rating:
Summary: Easy set up, Works with XP, Quiet & Fast
Review: I purchased this scanner based on reviews to replace a Microtek 3600 which was noisy and somewhat slow. WOW! The Epson is quick and quiet. Works easily with the included software or with XP.
Rating:
Summary: quality scanner...
Review: i rated this a 5 co's speed isn't important to me which is the only thing i would say against it...scanning prints it's fast and high quality, when i ask it to scan negatives it takes it's sweet time..gives you the chance to go make a coffee if you scan 4 at the same time...lol, but ALL very high quality scans. I havn't explored all the functions yet but so far i am VERY happy with it, the software is a doddle to install and the results are very very good....RECOMMENDED!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I'm Impressed ! !
Review: I use the Epson Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner with windows XP and Adobe Photo Shop. I love the whole set-up. Sure it makes a little noise when scanning, but nothing major. That does not take away from the functionality of the scanner. What I really like most is the fact that it will do multiple scans. In other words, I can place three photos on the scanner and get three separate files. It has fully automated scanning plus two advanced modes for greater scanning control. I've been restoring some old photographs and I'm really pleased with the quality of the results. I'm glad I bought this scanner. It is well worth the money. I give it five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent product and outstanding support
Review: I would have given this four stars because of software conflicts, but their phone technical support was so above average that they deserve at least five stars. The bottom line is the scanner is terrific and works fine with XP. I had a problem with SMART PANEL not launching. After two hours on the phone with some very patient tech support people, it was determined that the TWAIN_32 folder in my C:drive had a folder for my digital camera AND one for the new scanner. They conflict with each other. Windows recognizes them as the same thing. All we had to do was put the camera folder on my desktop instead of the TWAIN_32 folder, and the Smart Panel finally worked 4.0. Unfortunately, if I want to use my camera, I have to switch the TWAIN_32 folder contents. Which is not Epson's fault. Either way, the scanner and software is terrific and incredibly easy to use. I highly recommend this scanner.
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice scanner, Very poor software.
Review: I'm kind of having mixed emotions about this one. While it produces some of very decent quality scans , the software that claims to be the help (as the copy function or scan and mail) in fact is the nail in the chair padding. It takes time to realize that without this bunch of garbage that Epson has packed with the default installation we will do much better.
The scanner by itself is very versatile,it is reasonably quick and has very good color rendition. It accepts MF film that makes many things for the inspired photographer much simpler. I'm not sure does it posses as much of the physical resolution as it claims to be, but I will describe it of as decent and reliable. It takes your works into much more expensive level that was out of reach (by monetary meanings) for most of us only couple years ago.
I would give it 3.5 stars. 5 stars for hardware for the price range, and 0 stars for shamefull software.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent results, the stuff in between is suspect
Review: I'm using this scanner with Mac OS X Panther (10.3.5) at the time of writing this on a G4 iMac with 512 MB RAM.
I'm using this scanner primarily for the film scanning abilities, but I couldn't afford both a slide/film scanner and a lfatbed for the time I need that. This was a very good compromise in that light.
Like pretty much all scanners for the Mac (though it sounds like it's increasingly true for Windows users, which is really saying something), the driver for this software is marginal. The installer leaves junk in your Applications folder. The "Smart Panel" utility it installs is a waste. I only use the Epson Scan application, as the other items are just not worth the effort to muscle around. The driver itself is usually TWAIN-compliant, which means that it should work with Apple's Image Capture framework, and other software that doesn't necessarily read Photoshop plug-ins. However, the TWAIN compliance has been spotty, with some versions of the driver not being a good citizen. The current driver (October 2004) seems OK.
The problem with the scanner software, or rather, the Epson Scan software is that the interface is very klunky. The features behind that UI are rather good though. The "Professional" (advanced) mode is an ugly approximation of the standard Aqua UI, and it's slow to respond to user input, which makes fine tuning things like color curves or histograms a pain. The preview window has some odd tools in it and can be tricky to use, especially if you're scanning multiple images, but it gets the job done. It crops thumbnails too aggressively on its own, so I do it manually. The tools for correcting color are good except for the slow response. It has all the other bells and whistles (ICE, etc.) for fixing up images and does do a decent job with restoring older prints and film.
It can use its own color correction scheme which is usually good, but some of my negatives were too high contrast. It also works with your ColorSync workflow, though auto-correction usually produces a slightly cool result and needs a tweak.
Well, once you're through all the headaches of actually setting up the scan, the scans themselves turn out really well. The frames for placing slides and film strips on the scanner bed come in handy and are easy to use. It's a pretty low tech procedure -- slip film or slides into grooves or holes, place frame into corner of glass (there are markings to help)-- which is fine by me. I've scanned a slew of slides and film from years ago, and they look great. It's important to clean your film of dust and fingerprints too, but the Epson does have tools to help with all but the largest blemishes.
Overall, the results are great, it's just how you get there that needs Epson's attention. If anyone at Epson reads this: the hardware is good, the software needs work!
Rating:
Summary: love it
Review: just got the scanner. it's my first one. I reasearched which is the best in my price range and this is it. It scans relatively quick if you set the resolutions low if you set them higher it does take a while about 3-5 minutes. I scanned a photo at 300dpi and enlarged it and printed and it looks fantastic, excellent quality. I tried the negatives and that was fine too. I highly reccomend it if you are into photography.
Rating:
Summary: Software can really confuse you
Review: Most of the time all works well if you operate in "full auto" mode. It does get confusing at times because the software that comes with the scanner constantly opens and closes windows, sometimes with a long delay in between. The scanner has big trouble with washed out pictures. Then things can get really confusing!
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