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Rating: 
Summary: An addendum to my previous review
Review: I have to add this to my previous review, in all fairness to reviewing. I had to return my 8700 to Microtek. After a phone call to tech support, he determined that my unit may have had a hardware problem due to the inconsistent manner my scanner would or would not work. It would or would not scan the image-it might do a partial scan then black out the rest-or it might scan correctly-I just never knew what it would do.
When you would click the arrow in the toolbar to shut it down, it would not respond.
I did not get an owner's manual with my first scanner. So I sent it off; the replacement was a different story. It worked! It has not given me any "partial" scans; it has shut down properly everytime, and it had the owner's manual.
After e-mailing tech support to find out about the dynamic range, (indicates how a scanner might produce shadow detail) I found out it was a 3.2. This is not so great; I had noticed on more than a few slides that the shadow detail was lacking.
For me, this scanner prints better from negatives, as the film I use has very good latitude. 2400x1200 dpi optical for 35mm is okay but if you are serious about your work, wanting enlargements, your negatives or slides better be super sharp, with good contrast-otherwise I would look for a higher dpi output, or try a larger negative format.
To wrap this up, I wish this scanner had a better dpi output and a higher dynamic range-I would say the two most important characteristics, besides very sharp scans. Otherwise, the scanner is easy to use; the other features make it enjoyable to use. I would give it 3 stars, but the ability to print from larger negatives-4x5, 6x6-6x9 film negatives or unmounted slides, or 8x10 transparency holder w/glass hopefully will help out the quality of my enlargements-will have to wait and see.
Rating: 
Summary: Professional Scanner Budget Price
Review: I'm been shooting film for quite some time and decided to give digital a try. I consider myself to be a professional and wanted a professional scanner, but not something that would put me out. After reading a bunch of reviews I came up with the 8700 Pro. Came with Silverfast which I have heard great things about and this software that lets you blow up a 35mm slide to near poster size without pixelation occuring. Scanner also comes with calibration software that allowed me to plug in my ICM profile into the software for the correct color on everything. Next step is to obtain a great printer. I recommend B&H as they were excellent on helping and the scanner shipped pretty fast.
Rating:
Summary: Professional Scanner Budget Price
Review: I'm been shooting film for quite some time and decided to give digital a try. I consider myself to be a professional and wanted a professional scanner, but not something that would put me out. After reading a bunch of reviews I came up with the 8700 Pro. Came with Silverfast which I have heard great things about and this software that lets you blow up a 35mm slide to near poster size without pixelation occuring. Scanner also comes with calibration software that allowed me to plug in my ICM profile into the software for the correct color on everything. Next step is to obtain a great printer. I recommend B&H as they were excellent on helping and the scanner shipped pretty fast.
Rating: 
Summary: Be afraid.. be very afraid.
Review: The product is OK, but Microtek's support options are second to, well, everyone. You can call a toll number, listen to more options than you ever thought possible, and hold for at least twenty minutes, or you can browse their shockingly inadequate website. I'm not sure that it isn't more prudent to go with a different brand that has more comprehensive support options, especially if you are a new or inexperienced user.
Rating:
Summary: Dependable quality
Review: The scanner itself has what I value most: dependability. I need something that works everyday as I have no down time in my digital photography and design business. I can't tell a customer to hold on while I'm trying to get a product in for service. Needless to say this has not broken down on me since. It has metal rails which is nice when everything else looks like they have gone entirely plastic. With that being said I like the fact that they give you an advanced menu bar, not treating you as if you are to incompetent to know what color curves and descreening are used for. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about don't worry, they have a simple version of the software that comes with the scanner.
Rating:
Summary: Dependable quality
Review: The scanner itself has what I value most: dependability. I need something that works everyday as I have no down time in my digital photography and design business. I can't tell a customer to hold on while I'm trying to get a product in for service. Needless to say this has not broken down on me since. It has metal rails which is nice when everything else looks like they have gone entirely plastic. With that being said I like the fact that they give you an advanced menu bar, not treating you as if you are to incompetent to know what color curves and descreening are used for. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about don't worry, they have a simple version of the software that comes with the scanner.
Rating:
Summary: Great scanner; must work your way through the menus.
Review: The scanning capabilities from this model are excellent. It comes with a firewire card and cable (in addition to a USB cable) that installed easily in my computer(instructions are easy-remove panel from computer-ground yourself by touching the computer case or chassis to prevent static electricity). WinME automatically recognized it right away. My only gripe is that for what this scanner costs, that it does not include a DETAILED user manual. Customer service is a long wait on the 1-800#. I gave up and worked out my questions myself-like how to get to the PRINT menu from PhotoshopLE-a real pain. Also, the tools in the Photoshop menu grey-out. What is going on here? It depends on what file or folder the preferences (in the edit button) get moved to. I'm not sure how they get moved in the first place. It is hard to get to print from the "MY IMAGES" file or folder; another thing I need to work out. From Microtek's photo scan menu, it depends on where you save the image-then a copy button finally pops on the interface (don't ask me how, I don't remember what I clicked) replacing the scan button. VERY FRUSTRATING; took this dumbbell forever to figure out. I really questioned this purchase, and considered returning it but I will keep it, as I am a serious photographer and need the control for my printing. The slide and film holders for DIRECT scanning (no distortion from glass), 42bit color, legal size scanning, 2400x1200, 9600 interpolated dpi are GREAT accesories and qualities for the PRICE. My printer is a 1200x1200dpi inkjet that came w/the computer. The results are ok-color rendition fom scanner is TRUE & EXCELLENT (5 STARS!!) that is important for me, but I see some graininess, so I will upgrade to a higher dpi printer in the future. The software includes Adobe Photoshop 5 LE-this takes some working with, as there is not much in the way of a manual for this. The additional software lets you create a web page, & share photos on the web. There is an icon on the desktop menu bar with a green arrow that when you scroll over it says unplug or eject hardware-DON'T click this-it does not shut the scanner off, it uninstalls something, then you have to re-install the scanner. Useless button that should be talked about or explained in the non-existant user manual. When I first installed the scanner and used it, it worked fine. When you shut down or let the computer sleep, THEN you can turn off the scanner-don't do it before, because then windows won't be able to find the scanner when you go to turn it back on. I have had to uninstall and re-install this scanner twice because windows could not find it. Maybe others have not had the problems I've had, but once you work your way through the menus, it does get better. I would give it 5 stars, but technical support is a toll number-you have to call customer service; hopefully they will help. Also, easier scan to print or copy menus and a thorough user manual would help. But image quality is nice, color is great, even Microtek's scan interface with imaging controls are very good.
Rating:
Summary: Great scanner; must work your way through the menus.
Review: The scanning capabilities from this model are pretty good. It has negative holders for 120 film and 4x5 film, besides 35mm & 35mm transparency holder-not too shabby for the price. I wish the optical dpi were higher. It comes with a firewire card and cable (in addition to a USB cable) that installed easily in my computer(instructions are easy-remove panel from computer-ground yourself by touching the computer case or chassis to prevent static electricity). WinME automatically recognized it right away. My only gripe is that for what this scanner costs, that it does not include a DETAILED user manual. Customer service is a long wait on the 1-800#. I gave up and worked out my questions myself-like how to get to the PRINT menu in Photoshop5LE. Also, the filters & tools in the Photoshop menu grey-out. What is going on here? It depends on if you use 16 bit or 8 bit color-the 16 bit mode grays out some of the menu choices-although you can adjust levels and curves in 16-bit mode, which is the best mode to do this in. (I was a newbie at Photoshop when I first wrote this; still learning about "layers"). I really questioned this purchase, and considered returning it but I will keep it, as I am a serious photographer and need the control for my printing. The slide and film holders for DIRECT scanning (no distortion from glass), 42bit color, legal size scanning, 2400x1200, dpi are very good attributes for this scanner.
The software includes Adobe Photoshop 5 LE-this takes some working with-use the help menus-they have answered more than a few of my questions, as there is not much help in the way of a manual for this very useful software. The additional software lets you create a web page, & share photos on the web. I would give it 5 stars, but because of the not so high dpi-1200 max, and technical support is a toll number if you have to call customer service; (they are helpful). Image quality is nice; color is great, even Microtek's scan interface with imaging controls are very good. You can get a nice 13" print on the long side from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 scanned in at 1200dpi, 1:1 magnification, resized at 300 resolution. You can get a 16.25" print at the lowest recommended printing resolution, 240. I printed Fuji Velvia slides in 120-this scanner was made for this film! As far as the 3.2 density rating is concerned, you can just about ignore that with this film, and of course you can work with levels and curves for more shadow detail from color negative films. I do not use 4x5 film, but I believe this scanner would produce excellent scans for large format users needing 16x20 (or larger) prints.
(This is an updated review, that includes comments about medium format capabilities.)
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