Review on Pacific Image PrimeFilm Slide Scanner by Radney Taala

I've tried several inexpensive slide scanners in the past and have always given up after a few scans because the results were terrible. I then did some research online and came to the conclusion that I would have to buy a scanner for around $2,000 to get good results. For several weeks I experimented a bit with taking slides with a digital camera. There are many videos on the web that describe how to do this. But again, I wasn't satisfied with the balance of quality and performance. I needed to build a proper camera scanning rig, get a macro lens, etc. I then searched the web for decent slide scanners, found some good reviews of PrimeFilmXE and XA, and placed an order with Revain. I've been using the scanner for a few days now and I have to say this is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time. It comes with a piece of software called CyberViewX, which works but is fairly basic. It also comes with SilverFast SE8 which I think is a demo that needs to be upgraded to the full version. I'm not entirely sure because I already have a great scanning software called VueScan and have run a few scans with VueScan and been blown away. Scanning slides and film is not easy and you need to spend some time to get good results. Thanks to the combination of Pacific Image PrimeFilm XE and VueScan, time and work are reduced to a very pleasant level. I am currently scanning 35mm slides at around 1.5 to 2 minutes per slide. But first I spent a couple of evenings getting used to the scanner and learning how to scan slides with VueScan. My advice: take your time. If you want to use VueScan, please download the .pdf manual and read it carefully. It's time well spent. I ended up using most of the default settings in VueScan, but some scans require some manual adjustments, and the guide explains how the whole process works. I assume that this will also be the case if you choose SilverFast. Worth mentioning is the absolutely fantastic dust removal you get with this combination. The scanner performs an additional IR scan, which the software then uses to magically remove any dust and blemishes. This is something you don't get when you shoot slides with a digital camera, and it's a HUGE time saver since you don't have to Photoshop the dust afterwards. CyberView X, SilverFast and VueScan support dust removal.