RE: [APML] new image: IC1396-Provia and halpha CCD

[Philip Perkins <philip@astrocruise.com>]

Jim,

I converted your message to straight text to make it easier to read.  If 
you have not heard the name Chuck Vaughn then you may not aware of the long 
history of scanner discussions and reviews here on APML.  I was asking the 
same question about scanners in 1996.  I bought the Sprintscan 35 Plus 
based on all the evidence I saw and heard.  Over the 5 years since then it 
has turned out to be a superb scanner, so much so that I bought the 
Sprintscan 45 Ultra when I wanted a medium format scanner - that also 
turned out to be superb.

A few years ago the APML list carried out its own scanner test which pretty 
much endorsed the earlier evidence about Poaroid scanners.  Here are the 
results:  http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/scanner_test/

A number of professional tests have been conducted which also endorse these 
results.  Here is an exceptionally good test 
site:  http://www.cix.co.uk/~tsphoto/tech/filmscan/index.htm

Scroll down and click on Polaroid Sprintscan 35 Plus.  You may also want to 
click on the Sprintscan 4000.

All of the images on my website (URL below) have been scanned using the 
either of the two Polaroids (except for some more recent CCD images).  The 
two Polaroids are still sitting on my workbench right now, working as 
perfectly as the day they were purchased.

Yes, the plastic film carrier did break after about four years, but my 
second one is still going strong and I have two more in reserve.  So at 
this rate it will be another 12 years before I need to buy another, and 
they are quite cheap.  I don't consider that to be a problem.  They are a 
mechanical part that gets very heavy use and bound to fail eventually - 
good thing that they are cheap to replace.  Apart from that your list of 
problems seems quite exceptional and unfortunate.  There is nothing cheap 
and flimsy about the two scanners I have - they are both rugged and built 
to last - and more importantly they have lasted.

--Philip


>I don't know who Chuck Vaughn is or what makes him a sprintscan authority 
>(no offense meant to Chuck!), and the use of appeal from authority is no 
>reason for me to discard my lengthy experience with the sprintscan 
>4000.  But I can give you a more tangible review of my life with it, which 
>others may agree with or not:  It's construction is cheap and flimsy.  The 
>loading mechanism is difficult to align and easy to break.  The negative 
>holder requires liberal use of tape to keep them stationary.



Philip Perkins - philip@astrocruise.com
Wiltshire UK & Luberon France
Astrocruise - http://www.astrocruise.com


--  APML Archives at <http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/>  ---
             Unsubscribe at <majordomo@seds.org>