Rating: 
Summary: Quit Working for no Reason...
Review: I had it less than 6 months and it quit working, for absolutely no reason. The prescan viewing area is terrible which makes it hard to fine-tune your graphics. For some reason the scanner would make noises like it was going to scan something EVERY time I saved a file, no matter what type of file it was. I also do not like programs that automatically start when Windows starts.... with no consumer's choice to do so. Of course, I disabled that. The scans did not come out as good as I wanted them too.
For being 48 bit the final scan is not that great.
Rating:
Summary: Quit Working for no Reason...
Review: I had it less than 6 months and it quit working, for absolutely no reason. The prescan viewing area is terrible which makes it hard to fine-tune your graphics. For some reason the scanner would make noises like it was going to scan something EVERY time I saved a file, no matter what type of file it was. I also do not like programs that automatically start when Windows starts.... with no consumer's choice to do so. Of course, I disabled that. The scans did not come out as good as I wanted them too.
For being 48 bit the final scan is not that great.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Scanner - Issues with Vaio and XP
Review: I had the same problem ... in that with XP on a Vaio computer, a program called "SDII.exe" forces the CPU to run at 100% and makes other tasks freeze. When i unplug the scanner, the problem goes away. Sony and [a local store] support technicians have helped me tremendouly with no success. I had used the scanner on a different computer, and the scanner itself is a great scanner, highly reccommended to people without Sony Vaio computers.
Rating: 
Summary: A suggestion for scanning slides with this unit...
Review: I haven't used a high end scanner so I can't compare, but so far I've been pleased with this Microtek. I bought this for home use--specifically because I had boxes of old family slides to convert to a digital format and I've worked this scanner hard on that project. Other reviewers have stated they had terrible results with this scanners slide/film function and I have to say that when I first plugged the scanner in and scanned a slide I felt the same way. Then I looked through the incredibly paltry two page "booklet" that came with it and saw the software included a calibration set-up for slide/film use that, while included, had to be installed from the software. After installing and calibrating, the quality of the slides was enormously improved--so much that I went from thinking I'd return the scanner to being satisfied with it (the scanner has to be recalibrated periodically but after in initial setup this only takes a few seconds). These slides are important to me and I wanted a genuinely good picture from them so I processed each scan through Photoshop Elements to adjust color, contrast, sharpness, etc, but some of these slides are almost 50 years old and I wouldn't expect them not to need some individual attention. Be prepared to fiddle a bit with the settings for each slide and run a couple tests until you get it right--if you're wanting something that's set-it-once-and-forget-it, well, this might not be your scanner. The photographs I've scanned have turned out very well with less tinkering and I think that's probably this scanners stronger suit. Ideally, a scanner made specifically for slides and negatives would be better, but I needed something more versatile and less pricey--though you really need to install and use the film/slide calibrating software with this scanner to feel good about the results. I give this unit four stars because the accompanying instructions are basically zero and the software is a bit clunky (though I haven't had any problems with it behaving badly). Overall, a nice scanner and I'm glad I got it.
Rating: 
Summary: No windows XP Problems here...
Review: I love this new scanner. I was a little hesitant to buy it because I have XP. Ran into no problems though. Scans quickly and beautifully. Easy to install. Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: Poor Manufacturing
Review: I received two of these, and both had the same problem. The scanning surface (glass) was not completely attached. This is just poor manufacturing. Amazon.com service was great in returning the item, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing this scanner at all.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Manufacturing
Review: I received two of these, and both had the same problem. The scanning surface (glass) was not completely attached. This is just poor manufacturing. Amazon.com service was great in returning the item, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing this scanner at all.
Rating:
Summary: Good all around scanner
Review: I seem to be in the minority of scanner users who actually scan documents and not photographs. By scanning documents, I have slowly been turning my paper into digital images. Depending on scan quality, and image file format, the contents of a filing cabinet can be safely held on a CD-R. With those goals in mind, I searched for a dependable scanner. Higher-end models had document feeders, but given my experiences with previous scanners...I decided that they were not rugged enough to elicit that kind of cash. I ended up with a middle of the road model - the ScanMaker 4800. I started scanning and shredding. After a few weeks of playing with the software and the scanner, I can say it is on par with (or better than) the other scanners I have had. To stress test, I was downloading a file from the internet, ripping a CD, playing an MP3, while scanning a document. The scanner would stop and stutter when the PC went to disk, but it never lost its place, and recovered nicely. Pros: Easy to install, comes with Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and it installs the Adobe PDF software. After installing the adobe software, you suddenly have a "PDF Printer", and you can now generate .pdf files from Word or Excel by "printing" to their driver. Cons: The OCR software that is included is a nag-ware (crippled) version. It doesn't exactly work that great, and it constantly begs you to buy the "Professional" edition to get better scanning features. I find that annoying. Luckily, I don't do OCR that much. A 35mm film scanner attachment is included, but I have no reason to attempt to scan old film (I don't have any).
Rating: 
Summary: light lid problems
Review: I think it is a good scanner, but I bought it to do slides. Light Lid came with it but never turned on....
Rating:
Summary: Simple interface, easy install, lots of features for good $
Review: I was thoroughly impressed with this scanner upon taking it out of the box. Although it is bulky compared to the popular Canon flatbeds (670U, 676U) this model was surprisingly economical with desktop space. The exterior shell is nice and has a metallic shine to it. Simple five button layout. All in all, not a bad looking machine. As with all other USB products I own, the installation was EXTREMELY easy, and the concise manual is written in plain English. Just as important, the Windows 2000 TWAIN drivers are very stable. Running ScanWizard 5 and importing to Photoshop 6 is very painless and simple. Scans are pretty fast with 96-300 DPI resolution, but once I reach 600, it becomes a tortoise-like drag. I do a lot of scanning of magazine pages in full-color, and I wasn't impressed with the clarity until I reached 1200 DPI (although the maximum interpolation DPI goes as high as 9600). However, because my preferences for professional quality photos are high, most consumers shouldn't worry, especially if you're only using this scanner for web graphics and family photos. Black and whites and web graphics were very fast to scan, and I was impressed with the results. I'm sure most people won't need to go beyond 300 DPI anyway, because that's the best resolution for printing. I stick with Adobe Photoshop 6, but the included software (Adobe PhotoDeluxe) is a trimmed-down version of essentially the same stuff. The ABYY fine reader program is pretty good with OCR but the Ulead Photo Explorer SE is the best program included, making organization of my scans very painless. Furthermore, to clarify another review, the 35mm Light Lid IS included for scanning film, although I haven't tried it myself yet. As for the cons, the most disturbing thing is that there is no power button! The only way to turn it off is to unplug it, although there is a power-saving mode. Secondly, size does matter and I do envy the Canon owners who get a much sleeker model that is literally three times thinner. Another thing to note is that support is only available for 30 days. After that, you have to pay for the call. Fortunately, I haven't had to question anything yet, and that's always a good thing. In summary, I say the buck stops here for scanner buyers. Do your research to confirm you need 48-bit color (most people don't, and actually the human eye can't perceive beyond 32-bit), and have the desktop space. The software, extra features and installation are a steal..., and there aren't any extra hassles to deal with either.
| 
