I used to have a flatbed A4 scanner and a dedicated negative/slide scanner. The flatbed was quite good but obsolete (with some of the supplied software not working correctly even on WIndows Me), and I had a lot of dust problems with the negative scanner. So, I purchased the 9900F to replace both scanners. Connecting the scanner to the PC is straightforward, and the supplied software is quick and easy to instal. The scanner comes with a plastic holder which takes four strips of upto six negatives. With negatives from the mail order developer arriving in strips of four plus the first (or last) shot on a separate strip, I have to do two scanning runs per roll of 24 and three for a roll of 26. I find that 36 shots at 800dpi take me a little under an hour when saving in Photoshop is included. The supplied software is easy to use and allows you to adjust brightness, contrast, etc. for each individual shot if needed. You can also select which shots and which area of the negative are scanned - a great time saver! The resultant images are really good, though I sometimes find that I cannot match the image colours or quality of recent prints from the mail order company. I scan the prints under these circumstances. Scanning prints and other items from the platen also works really well. Sample prices (8 Sept 2004): www.directshopper.de for Eur 354.44 (P&P Eur 28) - use Google's translation tools www.warehouseexpress.com for £265.
More details
Ease of use
Very easy
Design
Excellent
Range of extra features / functions
Good
Instruction manual
Good
Manufacturer Support
Excellent
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