Microtek ArtixScan M1?

There are mulltiple people on the large format photography forum who have bought these. From the threads that have been posted, I would definitely wait. It seems there are some serious line/banding issues that need to be solved.
 
It's Silverfast

It's Silverfast

xvvvz said:
There are mulltiple people on the large format photography forum who have bought these. From the threads that have been posted, I would definitely wait. It seems there are some serious line/banding issues that need to be solved.
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All indications are that the problems are related to the Silverfast software shipped with the M1. A fix is being worked on as I type.

I spoke to a very happy owner of a brand new M1 last week. He is THRILLED with the M1. He hasn't encountered any problems with the Silverfast software.

Stay tuned.
 
Lasersoft Comes Through

Lasersoft Comes Through

News of a second fix from Lasersoft AG in about a week.

Reports of problems with Lasersoft AI software and the Microtek M1 scanner were reported about 2-3 weeks ago. Some folks had problems. Other folks did not. Lasersoft was able to recreate the problems about a week after the reports came in. The problems of banding were limited to some very high end MAC and PC computers. Lasersoft issued fixes last week and again today.

LSI_Noack said:
Dear ArtixScan M1/F1 users

I just uploaded a further release version (6.5.5r4b) to solve remaining issues that we could only produce internally on very specific system setups.
If further problems can be observed still though, I'd be grateful if you could inform us using the problem report form on our website (in the "support" section), because I unfortunately am not able to monitor a lot of external forums.
Thanks ever so much for your kind assistance and interest in our software products :)

Best regards
Sonny Noack
- Manager Technical Support, LaserSoft Imaging AG -
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Please, Please, Please no rumor spreading and general trashing of Microtek or Lasersoft with regards to the new M1 scanner. Both companies worked very hard and very quickly to solve the problems of a new product. I'm sure that all of us have had similar experiences in which the problems were solved quickly, or slowly or not at all.

Microtek & Lasersoft deserve our thanks.
 
Why?

Why?

fbf said:
I am looking at M1, espon v500, v700, v750 and I'm confused.
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Why are you confused? The M1 and the V700-V750 twins are very close in performance and price. At least one reviewer gives a slight nod to the M1 in terms of scanned image quality. As I said earlier, I have a friend who bought the M1 recently and loves it.
 
I own the M1 scanner and have been using it for the past week or so, I think its a great scanner ( for the money ), previous to the M1 I had owned the Microtek i900, I would say its a good deal of an improvement over the i900, better sharpness and very nice clean scans.
 
Venchka, please provide a link to the Epson/M1 comparison you've mentioned.

How does "likes" suggest M1 is a sensible purchase? My neighbor "likes" his gas guzzling, crash-test failing Hummer SUV.

Maybe I've missed it, but I've seen no reviewer dlirectly comparing M1 to Epson or Nikon, both of which are well known, both of which have Ice. One focuses with exquisite auto-precision, the other can be focused to the same accuracy with the proper carrier AND can easily be used for fluid mount scanning.

There's little doubt that M1's better than previous Microteks, but would one intentionally buy a Microtek for 35mm?

Epson's been great for a long time with MF, maybe OK for small prints (letter size) starting with 4990 vintage with 35mm. Some credible reviewers and users have said Microtek beat 4990 Epson with LF.
 
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M1 Feedback

M1 Feedback

Here you go. 4th post down by Ted Harris. In all fairness, you should read all of the recent discussions on the M1 & Silverfast software's response to the problems. Since fixing the software, people are saying nice things about the M1.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=33132&highlight=microtek+epson+v750

I also spoke at length on the phone with a happy M1 owner in Dallas. Eugene is a very experienced photographer and a very meticulous crafstman. He was delighted with his new M1.

All that said, I stand by my original statement, either here or in another thread here: For 35mm film, a dedicated film scanner produces the best results. Folks like myself who own mutiple format cameras must either...
A. Buy a flatbed scanner and live with less than ideal 35mm scans.
B. Buy both a flatbed scanner for large negatives and a film scanner for 35mm.
C. Set up a darkroom and do it right.

I will probably give Option A a try. Option C is looking better all the time.

Cheers!
 
Any updates here regarding this scanner? I'm very close to buying an Epson V700. It's only half the price of a Microtek ArtixScan F1 over here in Germany.
 
Ok, I finally ordered the M1! I'm really looking forward to scanning my medium format negatives with this thing. I'll probably end up keeping my Nikon Coolscan V for 35mm though.
 
I was ready to pull the trigger on the M1 when I realized the Epson V500 is probably more than good enough, even against the V750, for medium format use (no large format).

I still can't figure out the advantages of the M1 or big Epsons (V700/750) over the V500 when just scanning medium format.
 
What sold me on the M1 was that it is the only flatbed (that I know of) with autofocusing. The Epson V500 does seem like a great bargain though.
 
The M1 finally arrived this morning. I probably won't be able to play with it until the weekend. I need to clear up some desk-space it. I'll let you guys know what I think.
 
The M1 is responsible for my first photography-related injury. I'm in a bit of pain right now after I pulled a back-muscle or something while carrying the darn thing down into my basement. The box is huge and must weigh somewhere around 40-50 pounds.
 
Nando said:
The M1 is responsible for my first photography-related injury. I'm in a bit of pain right now after I pulled a back-muscle or something while carrying the darn thing down into my basement. The box is huge and must weigh somewhere around 40-50 pounds.
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That happened to me too when I first got the scanner! :D
 
I don't have too much time right now as I have to take my parents to a doctor appointment and then go off to work. I couldn't sleep last night (thanks to the back pain) so I decided to set up the scanner and I made my first scan with the M1 and compared it directly to a scan of the same 35mm frame that I made last week with the Nikon Coolscan V. I posted the results in a local photography forum w/ 100% crops. Here's the link:

link

I can't elaborate too much on it right now but I just want you to consider that this is my very first scan and it will take me a while to learn how to get good results from the M1. Also, when I was making the scan with the M1, it was 1 o'clock in the morning and I was half asleep.
 
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