Will the ION 35mm Slides 2 PCS scanner turn your old slides and negatives into decent digital files?ION’s 35mm slides 2 PC Scanner can turn your old slides and negatives into digital files at a resolution of 1800ppi and is powered by USB 2.0, so there’s no mains plug to worry about. It sports a 5Mp sensor, so there’s no ‘scanning’ process in the traditional sense – instead it captures the image more like a digital camera.
The colour balance and exposure are automatically controlled by the scanner, not the user, and test scans revealed a greenish colour cast, which needed correction in Photoshop. The 1800ppi images are respectable for a dedicated 35mm device at this price, producing 8x6in prints, and these were compared with the same resolution scans and prints from an Epson V500 scanner. In print, the sharpness appeared on a par, but close inspection at 100% in Photoshop revealed a waxy appearance that was lacking in fine detail, so the images from the Slides 2 PC unit weren’t as good as those from a scanner with a moving head.
If you’re on a tight budget, the Slides 2 PC will do a quick and acceptable job, but if you’re willing to put an extra £100 towards a scanner you’ll get a much higher resolution (4000ppi), giving you larger, more detailed prints.
PC only
At a GlanceImage Sensor: 5Mp CMOS
Colour Balance: Automatic
Exposure Control: Automatic
Resolution: 1800ppi (2592x1680 pixels)
Scan time: 22secs per frame
System req: Windows XP/Vista
Software: ArcSoft Photo Impression 6
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