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Summary: UMax Astra 3450 Get's The Job Done!
Review: I am a student in the CGI/3D and graphics fields. As a beginner I want to learn as much as I can and not have to forfeit my savings to do that. This scanner was the perfect answer. I have sent pics to websites, I can scan photos, magazine articles, negatives, etc. An added feature is being able to make copies. It's just like having a xerox machine-no more trips to Staples/Kinko's, when I need a quick copy of an item. My one complaint is that I've had it about 5 months and I still haven't recv'd the rebate.
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Summary: Australian Umax 3450 Experience
Review: I bought this headache a year ago and I have NEVER gotten it to work properly with either of two different computers and two different operating systems (Windows 2000 and XP). Recommend to avoid it because of poor product design and support.
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Summary: Buggy and troublesome to use.
Review: I bought this headache a year ago and I have NEVER gotten it to work properly with either of two different computers and two different operating systems (Windows 2000 and XP). Recommend to avoid it because of poor product design and support.
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Summary: astra 3450 problems
Review: I had somehow developed a high opinion of Umax but this is the first of their products I've purchased. Difficulty was experienced loading the software. After being on hold for about 1 hour on a non-toll-free call, a technician solved the problem in minutes. They obviously were familar with the bugs I encountered. Then, in scanning a 35mm transparency at their stated highest optical resolution of 1200dpi only mediocre quality was obtained. When enlarged on the screen in photoshop to 100% these scans had unacceptably poor quality. Soon thereafter additional scans developed multicolor streaking which rebooting the computer and scanner failed to fix. This problem is not mentioned in the manual or on Umax's web page. I'm returning this scanner to the store where I purchased it and looking to another scanner mfgr in the future.
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Summary: Greaty quality and eacy to use
Review: I have used this scanner for over a year and have been very pleased with it. I have not have any problems with it installed of two different operating systems (Win 98 SE and Win 2000). The OCR software that came with the unit is much better than anything HP has placed with their units. The owners manual would be the only thing that is lacking. Must scanners have a very bad owner's manual which gives you no information on how to use a scanner correctly. The ability to adjust the quality, size, and resolution of the image prior to the final scan saves you a lot ot time. I have installed at least 50 Umax scanners and have not had anywhere near as much trouble with them as I have experienced with units from other companies.
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Summary: Versatile Scanner
Review: I've had this scanner for about 8 months now, with good results. The only minor issue I had came as a result of upgrading from Mac OS9.0.4 to 9.1, but I simply needed the updated driver that was on the Umax website to fix that. I use this daily with Photoshop 6 and I'm able to produce consistent results without incident, which is a big plus. The transparency adapter is not suitable for scanning tons of slides, but it does very nicely for the occasional negative, slide or positive film (4"x5" max size). I have found that it is extremely versatile and produces excellent results considering its flexibility. It allows me to say "yes" when the client says "can you do this" since I can throw just about eveything at it.If you need a versatile scanner to produce good quality without spending a fortune, this is a good choice.
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Summary: A huge disappointment
Review: If you are looking for great quality transparency scans using this sleek flatbed, you will be hugely disappointed. All the scans that I did for my slides were lacking in contrast, and lost significant amount of colour depth. More over, because of the lack of high optical resolution (I scanned at 1200 - the max optical resolution offerred by this scanner) the images even look slightly unfocussed ! The preview and scan times are also too long. An average preview takes 3 minutes per slide (forget the 7 secs preview promised on the brochure - I never realised seven second even while scanning a colour photo at 300 res), and an average scan between 6-9 minutes. Scanned colour photo images came out slightly better - but the cost - equivalent images can also be had out of scanners about half the cost of this one ! The scanner is well packaged with all the software I needed, the hardware did not give me any trouble while installing, the scanning software (vistascan) works well without crashing my PC. My reco - look for a better product. And if you really want good transparency scans - I guess it is better to go in for a dedicated transparency scanner
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Summary: Don't expect customer service from UMAX
Review: Spent a couple of months e-mailing, calling and never got customer service. The phone just rings and rings. E-mails nevered answered and that was almost 10 months ago. I fixed it by unplugging unit over night and repluging it in after it just quit working.
Software is user complicated and unfriendly.
Rating:
Summary: Don't expect customer service from UMAX
Review: Spent a couple of months e-mailing, calling and never got customer service. The phone just rings and rings. E-mails nevered answered and that was almost 10 months ago. I fixed it by unplugging unit over night and repluging it in after it just quit working.
Software is user complicated and unfriendly.
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Summary: Despite the description, Mac isn't supported.
Review: The ASTRAs are alright scanners, as is this one. But don't be fooled into thinking it will work with a Mac by the description. UMAX has announced they will never support OSX for these scanners. So You have to run a clunky scanner utility in os9 to get it to work and switch back and forth between OS's This is my third UMAX scanner, and my last one.
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