Problems with Reflecta RPS 7200

[Cowboy]

Hey everybody,

I bought a Reflecta RPS 7200 recently. I am scanning mostly Velvia 100 and Provia 400X and use Vuescan.

Unfortunately I ran into some problems:

1. Vertical stripes: The picture in the attachment shows it on the right side in the dark areas. I can reproduce these stripes (I have the 4th scanner now, Reflecta's support is quick but does not solve the problem 🙁 ), they always look the same, depending on the scanner. I suppose this is due to the characteristic noise of the CCD. It is not visible in average pictures, just in dark parts like here. The stripes appear only on the left OR the right side of the scans, the rest of the picture shows normal noise, no stripes.

2. Film transport is only working 80 % of the time. Sometimes it happens that the film is not being transportet properly. Then it scans some of the last and some of the next picture. I already tried flipping the film around (emulsion side facing up or down), that seems to help some, but does not fix the problem completely.

I am afraid all this is a construction problem and nothing I or the Reflecta service can really do about. Am I too picky? I mean, this scanner is not the cheapest (ok, it's not a Nikon...) but anyways...

- Cowboy

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

you can adjust the film transport yourself, I use the scanner with vuescan and only had transport problems when there was no clear edge between a frame and the spacing.

I get a proper thick line of huge coloured artifacts with mine recently, faulty CCD, have to send it in. 🙁

apart from that it's a great scanner.

I can't see the stripes in the dark areas that you are talking about, but that's probably the dark screen here at work.

 

[Cowboy]

Ok, I think I need to be more precise.

When I am batch scanning strips or even a complete roll of film, I sometimes get the transport problem. My initial plan was to load a roll and then let the scanner scan the whole thing by itself. If I then need a certain picture for printing in a higher quality, I would do a single scan with all the necessary adjustments.

I found another picture where the whole stripe-thing is more evident. The crop is a 100 % crop from the lower right corner.

I am just tired of sending the scanner in and in again... it would be #5 now.

- Cowboy

 

[tammons]

I had a Pacific image 7250 pro3 which is the exact same scanner.

With color film mine streaked on one side no matter what.
Always the same pattern too.
I had one reply on photo.net that said it could be the calibration strip, but I think it was the chip.

I did not have an IT8 target to try and recalibrate the scanner to see if that helped.
If you are going to keep it I would try that.

B+W film was a different story as it was almost perfect and never streaked.

I also had film transport problems. I think most of it comes from when the film is first loaded if it is cupped or curled after you set it on frame 1, the end hits on something inside the scanner and causes the film to slip.

Once it is off frame it does not correct.

These are basically the old Kodak scanners just with a new chip.
Ed Hamrick of view scan told me these scanners just count the number of steps in the stepper motors, IE its a dumb drive system.

The Nikon scanners according to Ed counts the sprocket holes so they can correct misalignment.

Being able to scan an entire roll in one shot was why I bought it too, but in the end I figured it had just too many problems and returned it for a refund.

My advice would be to buy a Nikon 4000ED, V ED or a 5000ED.
Supposedly there are two terminals you can connect together and they will batch scan as-is or you can buy the film feeder for the 4000 or 5000.

 

[Cowboy]

Hey tammons,

thanks for the reply. I think I will give it another try. The streaks come from the sensor for sure. I calibrated the scanner with IT8 targets, the streak pattern remains the same. Looks like I will have to live with it 🙁

Since I am shooting slide film exclusively, good bw performance is not that important to me. This week I found a way how to get around the transportation issues (in a strip of 5 I manually set frame 2, and then scan 2-5,1), so I can mark that as solved.

I will send it in again tomorrow. Let's see what happens, I'll keep you updated. A Nikon scanner would be nice, but then my wife would kill me 😉. And then the nice Nikon would not be used...

Has anyone tried using a macro lens and a decent slr? I own a S5Pro (but no macro) and wonder whether the dynamic range of the camera and the scanner are in the same range...

 

[tammons]

I was interested in exclusively B+W with an occasional slide film, but I decided to ditch it. If it would have had a reliable film transport system I probably would have kept it.

I did get some full rolls of 36 to batch scan successfully, but you have to get past the part that jams internally and makes it skip.

You can get a good scanner for less than the Relfecta used.

A few months ago I missed a Nikon V ED by about 1/2 hour for $300 locally.

Just happened to hit Ebay just after that at the perfect time and snagged a Minolta 5400 for $300 and its like new. Got lucky. It wont batch over 6 frames but then again it will return single pixel detail with microfilm at 5400 dpi so its a really good scanner.

 

[Cowboy]

300 $ for a Nikon V ED? That's insane 😱

I do look locally as well as on ebay. Nikons or Minoltas always cost more than 1k €. That's why I got the Reflecta since this scanner is supposed to come very close, considering IQ.

Let's hope that Reflecta will send me a decent model this week and I will keep my eyes open on Nikons 🙂

-Cowboy

 

[sempull_tampush]

Hi,
simmilar problems here, I've had the scanner for a repair twice, today I settled with a Reflecta guy on exchanging my scanner for a new one. So let's see... If this doesn't help I'll send it back for refund, my patience is running very thin...

 

[Cowboy]

Hi,

I sent my scanner back to amazon for a refund after the last (5th repair) by reflecta was unsuccessful. I can not recommend this scanner. Looking for a Coolscan V now... although it's much more expensive 🙁

-Cowboy

 

[sempull_tampush]

USB related issue?

USB related issue?

One more thing...
During yesterday's call to Reflecta, the guy asked me, If i had an external hard drive attached during scanning, that this could cause some problems.
A friend of mine, another upset RPS owner, gave it a shot after my recommendation and disconnected all USB devices except mouse. Believe it or not - it worked!

 

[sempull_tampush]

...temporarily :bang:

 

[tomele]

I have similar film advance issues now and then (like 1 strip out of 6 or so, that I need to rescan). I think it is an intrinsic design issue, so no need to send it for repair IMHO. It seems to happen mostly with curved/curled film.
I am quite happy with the image quality though, so I guess I am going to keep it, unless I can get my hands on a Coolscan 8000 or 9000 at a decent price.
I will be happy to provide sample scans if someone is interested, just give me a shout (I mean a PM).

By the way : does anyone know if/how I can clean up the scanner's glass ? I can't seem to find a way to open it...

 

[Nigel Meaby]

I'm considering one of these. Simon how is your scanner? Do you still have it? Still working? Anyone else have one and care to comment. If not one of these what do people recommend? I presently have an Epson V700 but would like a dedicated 35mm scanner.

 

[Cowboy]

I have not visited this thread for a while (well, not too much happened...) but I think I can help here.
I finally got rid of the reflecta because it was a mess. I now got an used Coolscan V. That does not scan rolls, but it is way faster and the image quality is much better. In the end these stripes in the dark areas were too much for me.

@ tomele: I opened the reflecta. There are 4 Screws at the bottom, I think they hide behind the feet (I do not remember exactly). Just take the screws out and you can open the scanner easily. The scanner glass can not be cleaned easily I think. The CCD unit sits at the back behind a lens. And there is also a mirror involved. In my oppinion there is not much to clean...

@ Nigel: Don't do it. Please. I owned 3 of them and had 2 of them sent to reflecta for repair - which did not help. If you already own a V700 get a Nikon. You will not be happy with the reflecta because working with it is a mess 🙁.

 

[Nigel Meaby]

Thanks for your input Cowboy. It's a shame you had such poor luck with these as they seem on paper, at least to produce very good scans. I wonder if they have sorted out their quality control issues.

 

[Cowboy]

You're welcome, Nigel. The Reflecta does produce good results as long as you do not scan pictures with dark areas (see example in my first post), then you will get stripes. Normally exposed pictures look fine and the resolution is good, too.

 

[luuca]

I own this scanner since 2010 and I use it with silverscan

I confirm problems with film transport, the roll must be VERY flat to avoid it.
I usually cut 6 frames and leave the strip under a heavy book. After this treatment everything works fine

the quality, coupled with silverfast, is very very good: