Weekend of June 20th, 2008

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Product Spotlight

Plustek OpticFIlm 7300
(Film Negatives & Slides Scanner)

It’s time to stop neglecting those old film negatives and slides. There are several scanners available that are dedicated to scan slides and film
negatives. Here we have one from Plustek. It’s the OpticFilm 7300. Right off the bat, resolution is pretty good at 7200 dpi. It scans quickly,
somewhere between 10-15 seconds. It's compatible with Windows (2000, XP, & Vista) and with Mac (10 and higher, including Leopard).

I found myself a bit lost when I began using the scanner. The instructions weren’t that clear. I struggled with the software program included to
format the images. That’s one of the things I’d like to see improved along with sticking to one software program. The OpticFilm is bundled
with 3 different programs. The main one is LaserSoft Imaging’s SilverFast 6.5 SE Plus (Multi-Exposure) software. You'll use the SilverFast
program to scan your images, much like other scanning programs for regular scanners, designed to enhance your pictures.

The OpticFilm scans both film negatives and slides. It comes with two separate negative and slide holders. The scanner has an
illuminated slide/negative frame viewer on the top side where you can preview what you’re going to scan. To scan negatives, for example,
you enclose them on the negative holder and insert them into the slot on the scanner. You can press the “Quick Scan” button and it will
launch the SilverFast program. You can preview the image before actually scanning it, like other scanners. Then, just save it
on your computer. After you scan the first image, you’re good to go. You can then have a family “scanning party”.

Overall, it's a good product for what it's designed to do. MSRP for the OpticFilm 7300 is at $289. Personally, I think it’s a
bit too much, but Plustek considers it a high-end scanner. You can find it for less at the following e-tailers:

Amazon.com ($244) | Newegg ($229) | TheNerds.net ($227) | TigerDirect ($249)

--- Submitted by Rob Almanza

Additional Websites Mentioned