Expected life for a scanner?

[taffer]

>the same is true of automotive headlights.. how many people notice their headlight bulbs are half as bright after a couple years of use

Aaah.

So it's not that nights are darker now ?

Live and learn !

 

[ChrisPlatt]

Businesses anticipate 2 years service for most PC hardware.

Knowledgeable home users can make 4 years.

Typical fussy RFF members can add another 2-3 years,
to stare at it broken, meaning to fix it, complaining about a lack of spare parts,
and how things aren't made like they used to, and screw digital anyway... 😉

"Excelsior, you fathead!"
-Chris-
(Computer service field engineer, 1987-2002)

 

[aad]

Nikons use LEDs which should be fine for a long time, but I don't have one. Epson lists MCBF of 36,000 cycles for the 4490.

My car has Xenon lamps. They stay bright, but my 50,000 annual mileage means the lamp covers are sandblasted, as is my 2nd windshield.

 

[ed1k]

.. I'm probably the only guy in Wisconsin who replaces his headlight bulbs every year

[grin]
Tell everyone to buy really expensive bulbs with couple of years warranty, and replace them for free each year 🙂 Maybe roads will be safer!
[/grin]

Eduard.

 

[ed1k]

Aden Camera (in Toronto) still has them listed on their website for C$399.00:

http://www.adencamera.com/prod-overview.asp?ProdID=804&Category=26

Don't know if they still have them in stock, and I have never dealt with Aden Camera so YMMV.

Actually, I don't need a film scaner anymore 'couse I bought Saunders/LPL C6600 in mint condition 🙂 It's cheaper and it seems to be exactly what I want.
Thank you anyway, I really appreciate it.

Eduard.

 

[GeneW]

Typical fussy RFF members can add another 2-3 years,
to stare at it broken, meaning to fix it, complaining about a lack of spare parts,
and how things aren't made like they used to, and screw digital anyway... 😉

Then pick up two parts machines off eBay, polish the chips, add lizard skin, get it working, and find a copy of DOS and WordStar 5, benchmark it, and demonstrate it blows Windows and Word out of the water ... 😀

Gene

 

[Tom Diaz]

They're like computers and will stop working suddenly when you need them most. If you're lucky you live near a store where you can buy a new one. My Polariod Sprintscan bit the dust on me after about two years of use, and I bought a Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 to replace it. The Minolta is a much better machine, especially for scanning color negatives, which is my main application.

The Minolta will be fine for me if it keeps working. Looking at it here, it seems like it might be a more robust specimen than the Polaroid--better protected against dust, for instance.

The thing is... in this day and age I'm not sure people like me are an attractive market for companies like Nikon and Minolta to build scanners for. Will they keep doing it at all? I can see why there's a market for much higher end scanners that only pros and labs can afford.