Plustek vs. KM IV vs. KM Elite II?

[sooner]

Hi Folks,

Sorry for yet another scanner thread. I have read the archives and looked at the recent scanner comparison (pass the negative), and thank all of you for putting so much work into it. However, I am still reaching out for a quick opinion to help me choose a scanner.

I don't want to spend a lot and had decided on a KM Dual Scan IV but then they got hard to find, and had "settled" on a Plustek 7200, which seemed to do okay by those few who owned one, and the price point is oustanding.

I'm at my parents house wanting to buy a scanner today to do some slide archiving this weekend, and a local photo store has a KM IV for $299 and a KM Scan Elite II for $60 more. This is slightly more than I wanted to spend but I can't go as high as $500 for anything better, no matter how much better the results. Besides, it seems these Konica models have given users here very good results over the years, and I'm no perfectionist.

So, is the Digital ICE worth the extra $60 for an older model with slightly lower resolution? I'm leaning that way. Your opinion? Help push a tightwad over the edge! Many thanks for your indulgence.....sooner/john

 

[wintoid]

I'm using the Scan Elite II (NOT the Scan Elite 5400 II). It seems to be very good with Vuescan, but was lousy with the KM software. I usually shoot BW so the ICE wasn't really an issue for me, but I've used it a few times with XP2Super and BW400CN..... I get streaks from the ICE at the highest setting, but that could easily be user error, and I use it so rarely that I don't care to sort it out.

 

[sooner]

I went ahead and bought the Scan Elite II. Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't get more responses, but perhaps we're all tired of the endless scanner debates.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Huh; I was looking at the prices for the Dual Scan IV at the 'bay, and looks like they've gone up, in spite of it being discontinued. A good scanner, even if it doesn't have ICE (but don't use the manufacturer's scanning software!!!)

Hmm, sounds like it's a good time to sell (I have one in spic-n-span condition). Very fast scanning and preview (if you don't set the autofocus on for the preview). The best bang for your buck for under $300.

 

[phototone]

Hi Folks,

So, is the Digital ICE worth the extra $60 for an older model with slightly lower resolution? I'm leaning that way. Your opinion? Help push a tightwad over the edge! Many thanks for your indulgence.....sooner/john

Maybe it is just me, but I prefer to manually "spot" my scans using the clone tool and healing brush in Photoshop.

The "Digital ICE" does not work with b/w silver based film, only color film materials, and chromogenic (C-41) b/w.

McCluney Commercial Photography

 

[sooner]

Actually, after buying the Elite II mostly for the ICE and better dmax, I re-scanned a slide that showed some dirt specks in the sky portion of the image using the ICE feature. To my surprise, it didn't take appreciably longer, and the scan was perfectly clear of any black specks. It was like a miracle. Based on that one slide, I'm inclined to agree with those who say ICE is a must-have, but we'll see how it works for batch scanning. --sooner

 

[peter_n]

If you're scanning color or C41 I think ICE is a requirement. KM SD IV is a great scanner for regular B&W though I still haven't come to terms with Viewscan.

Sounds like you made the right decision for you though! 🙂

 

[John]

I think the digital ice is a miracle too. I tried the logic based dust removal options in Vuescan and Photoshop. There is absolutely no comparison. Scanning was painful before ice. (colour only) 😀