[17 x 10 x 8.25"] Now that I'm retired, I'm finally sorting through all my transparencies (1000s of them) getting ready to digitize them. Yes, I have negatives to do also. I already own a flatbed scanner that will do both slides and negatives, and does a decent job. However, the main problem, no matter how much care I take in handling and cleaning my transparencies, is the small speckled dust particles that have somehow creeped on to them. I've used film brushes and air sprays on them before I scan, but on my flatbed, the digital output has every one of those particle represented just as well. That usually meant some time in Photoshop to clean it all up. So I read about this Plustek 8200i scanner (I got the SE Plus model), and decided to give it a try. It comes with Silverfast SE Plus, and once registered, the free upgrade to version 8.8 was on-line to download. I'm using a late 2009 iMac, and was able to install everything just fine for it to work. Initially, took me a couple hours of playing around with Silverfast to understand it, since it has extensive advanced capability for adjusting about anything, and works real well. That brings me back to the dust particles that wouldn't go away on my original transparencies. The 8200i has an infrared scan mode for removing those dust spots. So initially I do a PreScan, then use one of the many options to adjust levels, color, historgram, (or can use an Auto-Mode), but I then turn on iSRD (for the infrared). Once I click scan, it will do a full resolution scan, according to what I set, but then does a 2nd full scan using the infrared. In doing that, it actually detects every one of those particles and will either mark them for you, or actually just correct those areas of the image. I have it correct them. The result is a perfect scan, but with NO dust particles. That's the BIG difference with this scanner, plus the extensive adjustments you can make to your PreScan image before the final full scan.

[35mm ] This is a very good scanner for scanning color negative films. The resolution is outstanding, the contrast is good enough for negatives and with the bundled software is not too difficult to get great colors.

[35mm ] I purchased this scanner to archive the slides and negatives of my childhood. Contrary to what the photos suggest, the 70's were't frosted in a pink hue. Our photo technology and skills just sucked (or maybe that was just my mother). Anyway, this scanner is easy to use with no real learning curve so long as you watch the introductory videos for SilverFast program first. The end product is fantastic (I chose to scan at 7200 dpi) and it's easy to adjust to the photos so that they actually look like real life. I probably spent more that I needed to for what I wanted, but this was a project that I didn't want to go cheap on.

[1x LED] Easy to use, works exactly as described.

[35mm ] Having scanned with Nikon's Coolscan and others, the Plustek is reasonably fast, has good Dmax range and fits the needs of many with slides and negatives they wish to archive. The resolution is such that a 35mm slide or negative can be printed up to 11x14 with good results. Slow if you have batch scanning to do however. If you are used to scanning software, Silverfast is complete and stable. However, if you are installing on a Mac, there will be features unavailable to you.

[1x LED] This is a great archive tool. I've been scanning 40 year plus transparencies. Silverlight & Plustek provide the tools needed to revive history. The image processing tools are familiar to anyone who has worked in photogrammetry.
Several historical institutions have used the images.

[1x LED] I read a lot of reviews that criticize the SilverFast software and recommended VueScan. The MacOS VueScan software no longer supports the 8200i due to an updated logic processor on the hardware. Fortunately, the included silverFast 9 Plus license seems to provide sufficient functionality for me, although limited to use with the 8200i itself.

Overall, this device is significantly better than the do it yourself viewer scanners and really does a nice job. It does force you into a workflow of only scanning
Your worthwhile content but that is a good discipline to develop.

[AC Adapter] Simple set-up and easy to use. Scans that contain a lot of white (snow) or dark (like a sunset) are not the greatest - grainy. Scans of all the other slides I've done are fantastic. Excellent quality and color. Definitely worth the extra money if you are serious about converting your slides to digital or to print out. Works great on a Mac. (Having a little trouble with the windows computer, I doubt it's the scanners fault.)

[1x LED] This machine is great. Some features of the scanner may take more time to scan but for people like me sticking to 35mm its really all I need. Thank god I could download SilverFast online too because my superdrive on the computer doesn't work. Just remember to turn ON the scanner before you run the app because if you don't nothing of the app will work.

[AC Adapter] I only have used this scanner for slides. Just starting to understand the capabilities of the silverfast software bundled with the scanner. It produces decent scans at high resolution , the higher the res the longer the scans take. One slide at a time , I knew this from the product info. I can be tedious if you have a large amount of slides. It appears to be a good price. The software is good,There is a learning curve for the software I would have liked a more detailed manual. The iSRD works but I have had on occasion to use photoshop to clean up some image problems.