Review on Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE scanner black by Micha Jwiak ᠌

Name: Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE scanner black
Item: Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE scanner black
Rating: 4

July 06, 2023

I like it, thanks for the quality product.

In general, the product leaves a good impression, but the shortcomings of the included software and the inability to work with narrow films do not allow us to give this device from Plustek the highest score.

Updated 1 year ago

Rating has not been changed

I wanted to add some photos to my review to visually showcase my experience.
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Pros

Fairly high-quality scanning of film and slides. Simple enough control of basic functions for the average user. The build quality is unquestionable, as development and production is carried out in Taiwan, and not in the basement firms of mainland China.

Cons

Problematic bundled software SilverFast SE Plus 8, the cost of which makes up the majority of the total purchase. As far as you can understand, this is a third-party program from the German company LaserSoft Imaging. There is not enough intelligible support for the 2022 language, and there are also significant "jambs" when scanning positive films, when the automatic removal of dust and scratches is selected. Sometimes the scanned image turns into a completely defective frame of large "pixel cubes". This is especially true for black and white positives. Since the scanner was recently purchased, the next time you turn it on, SilverFast SE Plus 8 offered a free upgrade to version 9. After a lot of "dancing with a tambourine", I still managed to install it on the current version of Windows X Pro. In 9-ke, improved support for the 2022 language and a slightly ated version of the interface were noted. The joy, however, was short-lived. After the third launch, SilverFast 9 began to "slam", although the 8th version continued to work without problems. As a result, it was decided to no longer experiment with the "nine" out of harm's way. Another disadvantage is the inability to scan narrow films 16 and 8 mm wide, although for many users this is a very desirable option. Curiously, many of the much more affordable scanners come with the appropriate frames and software for processing narrow film stock.