I spent a small fortune on my plustek OpticFilm 120 and it's been nothing but a giant headache ever since I bought it. Worst piece of photographic kit I've ever bought. It seems to have broken down completely now, refusing to scan anything. It'll take the carrier in but then nothing. If I keep rebooting it very occasionally I'll get a scan but it doesn't happen very often, maybe 1 out of 30 times. I'm pretty certain it's a plustek issue rather than a Silverfast issue. To make matters worse, there's no plustek representative in this country I can send the unit to to determine what the problem is. My advice a) don't buy plustek equipment, my experience has been awful 2) if you are tempted to buy, double check that plustek has a local service representative in your country before you buy
Hi! You mentioned that flatbed scanners may have better quality. Would you recommend buying a flatbed scanner instead or do you think it would be possible to achieve some good resolution with the Plustek? I like this one because it's so portable and I move quite often, so a flatbed scanner could be bulky. Also, I rather invest in a good one. It will be interesting to hear about your experience so far. Thank you for your video! Pretty helpful.
The PlusTek range are very good value for money, the best flatbed scanners I have used are the Epson V800 & V850. I have the V850 which is better than the PlusTek but is £800 to buy.
Help me out here. When you use the software with a scanner (any scanner) does the software really control the HARDWARE. IOW, when I change exposure, does it in fact change the light output of the sensor array? Other than scan--and maybe crop--do we need any adjustments at all for the scanner? Can we control the 'sensitivity' of the receptors that are illuminated by the light source with software? When you scan at 600 dpi even though you have a 7200 dpi sensor array, aren't you really just throwing away every 12th pixel and that's how you arrive at 600 dpi? It knows this of course because you set it in software so I understand the need for it there. At 600 dpi is scans really fast. So are we being sold a can of goods when we buy silverfast or vuescan?
Depending on the software it unlocks features (or makes them accessable) that a simple scan software does not cover. Such as Multi Exposure or the Infrared scratch and dust removal, if the scanner supports it. If you wanna have more options you need to use something with more features like Vue Scan or SilverFast offer. These Plustek Scanners often come bundled with SilverFast so you don't have to worry about getting extra software for it. However if the Scanner does not have any additional features, the software also won't offer these extra functions. The website for SilverFast lists supported Scanners and shows what functions are available in the software.
How does this compare to other dedicated film scanners? I have an older Minolta Dual Scan, and it's pretty good, but I've had sharper results with my DSLR. I'm considering just paying the lab to do scans and be done with it, unless there's something better.
i believe i own the 1800ie Plustek film and slide scanner. it is way better than what i could have imagined. i use it mostly for the web and it definitely overkills that. i don't make prints from it. i also own a flat bed Epson scanner. it is very good too.
Thank you for your great informational video on Plustek film and slide scanners. I bought the Plustek OpticFilm 7200 about 13 years ago and used it to make some high resolution scans of old family slides and will try to get it working again. I have a Windows 10 PC so I am contemplating running Windows 7 in VMWare workstation to perform my 35mm slide scans.
THANK YOU very much - SO helpful. I'm just starting out on the journey of converting hundreds of my mum's negatives, and I wanted to be sure that I was on the right track. I think that I would choose the 8200i because I have Windows 10. Have you made any videos on how to use the Silverfast SE Plus 8 or Viewscan? Although I'm more interested in the Silverfast Plus 8 as I've got Windows 10. Once again, thank you very much for this video. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
hello so if I purchase the 8200se that some sites say does work with windows 10 and some say it doesn’t, if I purchase vuescan, compatibility problems don’t matter? As that works on all operating systems? Thanks
8200i models have infrared dust and scratch removal. The SE and Ai models ship with LaserSoft SilverFast SE and SilverFast Ai. You can read about the differences here: www.silverfast.com/download/docu/silverfast8versioncomparisonchart_en_2015-04-29.pdf
Mark Chaplin, lots of reviews disagree with you. There’s a steep learning curve with any new hardware and software, whereas some people expect everything to be plug and play.
Contra the video, Vuescan runs on the latest Windows operating system. Overall, film scanners hit their peak of features, optical performance and build quality about 20 years ago. I have an Acer 2790 scanner in storage which is half the size of the Plustek units, operates faster, has auto feed for strips, and delivers a true 2800 dpi resolution, where the Plustek might deliver 2900 while claiming 8000. An old Minolta Dual Scan IV Is fully automatic and will deliver a better image than any Plustek, and it was Minolta's middle of the product line model. You used to get them in like-new condition for $75. Now that folks are getting smarter about film scanning, they seem to be the $450+ range.
I strongly suggest that the poster of this video EXPLICITLY state which models he will be reviewing, best if written in the title, but if not, then stated at the very beginning of the discussion such that the voice-recognition software for the attached transcript. Why? Because, in this case, for instance, why should I waste my time even viewing this 3+ year old presentation?
WOW! I only bought it a few months ago, no wonder it only works up to windows 7! They are good scanners though, not to the standard for 'high end' scanning but perfect for prints up to 10x8 I have found.
@@AvpStudios FYI I work for Plustek in the US. You can get prints larger than 8x10 from the OpticFilm 8000 scanners. I'd suggest scanning at 3600 DPI and using SilverFast sharpening or sharpen during post processing. Did you buy the 7200 scanner as new? I know that US inventory of that scanner was depleted years ago.
@@RoastBeefSandwich hello so if I purchase the 8200se that some sites say does work with windows 10 and some say it doesn’t, if I purchase vuescan compatibility problems don’t matter? Thanks
Didn't think much of the Plustek Opticfilm 8100. The software was a nightmare to use and the results very hit and miss. Replaced it with an Epson which is a dream to use, and the quality of the scans looks better (more natural, and equally sharp) than anything I managed with the 8100. The Plusteks take alot of babysitting. I found that DSLR scanning is the best and quickest method for me.
Mark Chaplin, but you have to remove dust and scratches manually when using a DSLR to scan, which is super time-consuming... and you need full Lightroom with the negative studio plugin. So it’s not actually faster in the end. Not to mention that a good AF macro lens, copy stand, and light source can run you way more than the cost of an 8200i ai.
Plustek works just fine. The initial setup can be difficult as they provide CD’s and need to hv it downloadable which I believe it is now. Excellent product and software easy to work with. Not sure what issues you had but I certainly hv zero
I have bee GIVEN by a Fellow Camera Club member who gets stuff at car Boot Sales a PLUSTEK OptiFilm 7200 but no film holders so I found e-bay VERY expensive £39 quids for 2 plastic holders then Amazon £ 24 odd so ordered those - not arrived yet ! THEN when I tried to insert the CD as you found it will not work with WNDOWS 10 and I did not want the 'SiverFast' one as I have VUESCAN BUT MY VERSION did not FIND the scanner -- so an E-mail to Mr Hamrick in Good Old US of A and he said to upgrade to version 29 which I DID and it FOUND the 7200 NO PROBS so as soon as the film holders arrive I can try it out compared with my Canon 9000F Mk II flatbed. Also a WARNING --- when I tried to get onto Plustek Site to get the 7200 driver before going to Mr Hamrick, a box came out saying it was infected with Malware !
Installing the latest version of vuescan will install the drivers for older scanners in Windows 10. This is just one reason for buying and supporting Hamrick Vuescan.
There probably are but would be older scanners made by Fuji and ICL. Scanners are hard to come by now, as far as I know Plustek make the best 'affordable' scanners and these are better than using a flatbed. Check out Plustek website for more details
I wanted to use my 7400 on my mac only to find out the software is windows only.seems like a poor business to sell it like that.If anyone has a disc for sale that works on a macor the serial # I need for SilverFast please let me know.
It ships with Mac software but I doubt the version of Silverfast bundled will run on latest macOS. Plustek offered a free upgrade from Silverfast 6.6 to 8.0 years ago, it's likely that offer is now expired. You would probably need to buy a newer version of Silverfast, or an alternative like VueScan, to use the scanner now. FWIW I never use Silverfast with my Plustek, only Vuescan.
I have an Epson v550, which is just like 600, but without some ocr features, and a plustek 7400 which has the same optics like higher models just without autofocus, and digital ice. The quality on plustek when scanning at 7200dpi (and then later exporting at 3800) is incomparalbe to Epson. Dedicated film scanners like minolta, plustek, nikons and so on have less flexibility, but the results from them are always way better than probably from any flatbed scanner.
There is a site with reviews of many film scanners and they always measure real optical quality of those. My flatbed has maximum real resolution of about 1300dpi, whereas dedicated one 2600-2800. When scanning for home use at lower dpi and in jpg it doesn't matter because for that kind of use even something like used Epson v100 photo (that I also own) will be sufficient. Its a tenth of the price and you won't feel any difference.
I've got 8200i. Very happy with it, I'll never pass my negatives to a lab for scanning now.
But my God, if they are not compatible with windows OS any newer than 7, why waste our time showing it?
lastest version of vuescan and the plustek 7200 now work with windows 10
I wish all the scanner has built in SD card to store images , a very simple thing that cheap scanner had but expensive scanner can’t .
Have plustek OpticFilm 8100. Like it.
I spent a small fortune on my plustek OpticFilm 120 and it's been nothing but a giant headache ever since I bought it. Worst piece of photographic kit I've ever bought. It seems to have broken down completely now, refusing to scan anything. It'll take the carrier in but then nothing. If I keep rebooting it very occasionally I'll get a scan but it doesn't happen very often, maybe 1 out of 30 times. I'm pretty certain it's a plustek issue rather than a Silverfast issue. To make matters worse, there's no plustek representative in this country I can send the unit to to determine what the problem is. My advice a) don't buy plustek equipment, my experience has been awful 2) if you are tempted to buy, double check that plustek has a local service representative in your country before you buy
Hi! You mentioned that flatbed scanners may have better quality. Would you recommend buying a flatbed scanner instead or do you think it would be possible to achieve some good resolution with the Plustek? I like this one because it's so portable and I move quite often, so a flatbed scanner could be bulky. Also, I rather invest in a good one. It will be interesting to hear about your experience so far.
Thank you for your video! Pretty helpful.
The PlusTek range are very good value for money, the best flatbed scanners I have used are the Epson V800 & V850. I have the V850 which is better than the PlusTek but is £800 to buy.
I love this guy
Help me out here. When you use the software with a scanner (any scanner) does the software really control the HARDWARE. IOW, when I change exposure, does it in fact change the light output of the sensor array? Other than scan--and maybe crop--do we need any adjustments at all for the scanner? Can we control the 'sensitivity' of the receptors that are illuminated by the light source with software? When you scan at 600 dpi even though you have a 7200 dpi sensor array, aren't you really just throwing away every 12th pixel and that's how you arrive at 600 dpi? It knows this of course because you set it in software so I understand the need for it there. At 600 dpi is scans really fast. So are we being sold a can of goods when we buy silverfast or vuescan?
Depending on the software it unlocks features (or makes them accessable) that a simple scan software does not cover. Such as Multi Exposure or the Infrared scratch and dust removal, if the scanner supports it. If you wanna have more options you need to use something with more features like Vue Scan or SilverFast offer. These Plustek Scanners often come bundled with SilverFast so you don't have to worry about getting extra software for it. However if the Scanner does not have any additional features, the software also won't offer these extra functions. The website for SilverFast lists supported Scanners and shows what functions are available in the software.
Excellent video! Very knowledgeable and useful. I think I will be purchasing an 8200i SE soon!
How does this compare to other dedicated film scanners? I have an older Minolta Dual Scan, and it's pretty good, but I've had sharper results with my DSLR. I'm considering just paying the lab to do scans and be done with it, unless there's something better.
Jameson North, lab scans (Noritsu, Frontier) are better, but you pay a lot for that, and you give up a lot of control.
i believe i own the 1800ie Plustek film and slide scanner. it is way better than what i could have imagined. i use it mostly for the web and it definitely overkills that. i don't make prints from it. i also own a flat bed Epson scanner. it is very good too.
Thank you for your great informational video on Plustek film and slide scanners. I bought the Plustek OpticFilm 7200 about 13 years ago and used it to make some high resolution scans of old family slides and will try to get it working again. I have a Windows 10 PC so I am contemplating running Windows 7 in VMWare workstation to perform my 35mm slide scans.
You should be able to use the scanner in Windows 10 with vuescan
Do you recommend epson 850 pro or plustek 8200i ai ?
the 7200i doesnt run on windows 10, it needs Win 7/XP or 2000
THANK YOU very much - SO helpful.
I'm just starting out on the journey of converting hundreds of my mum's negatives, and I wanted to be sure that I was on the right track.
I think that I would choose the 8200i because I have Windows 10.
Have you made any videos on how to use the Silverfast SE Plus 8 or Viewscan? Although I'm more interested in the Silverfast Plus 8 as I've got Windows 10.
Once again, thank you very much for this video.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No I have not, I use Vuescan for most of my scanning but when I use the Epson V850 I use the Epson software as I really like its ease of use.
What software are you using with this scanner?
hello so if I purchase the 8200se that some sites say does work with windows 10 and some say it doesn’t, if I purchase vuescan, compatibility problems don’t matter? As that works on all operating systems? Thanks
According to Plustek, the 8200i SE works fine with Windows 10.
Hey not sure if you can answer, but can they overscan the negative (I like scanning borders/film info also)
Bit late but plustek scanners have carriers that hold the negatives by the borders so sadly cannot include the borders.
So you have to physical push each negative in? The strip you have inserted doesn't automatically move along?
They are manual scanners. No motor to move it along. The Opticfilm 135 (which I think has been discontinued, not sure) is motorized.
This review is nearly two years old. Are there later upgraded models?
As far as I am aware Plustek have not released any new models or software upgrades for several years.
Thank you for telling us it only works till Windows 10. Almost fell for it!
you can still use it with vuescan!
According to Plustek, the 8200i SE works fine with Windows 10.
Who is your friend that specialises in slide and negative scanners please?
Matt kaye, karmaan scanning, he has all the pro kit and knowledge. www.karmaanscanning.co.uk/
What’s the difference between the i , se and ai?
8200i models have infrared dust and scratch removal. The SE and Ai models ship with LaserSoft SilverFast SE and SilverFast Ai. You can read about the differences here: www.silverfast.com/download/docu/silverfast8versioncomparisonchart_en_2015-04-29.pdf
Not much, they are all equally terrible.
Mark Chaplin, lots of reviews disagree with you. There’s a steep learning curve with any new hardware and software, whereas some people expect everything to be plug and play.
The software bundled is the only difference.
Is this manual only for Slides, or 35mm is the same.
Contra the video, Vuescan runs on the latest Windows operating system. Overall, film scanners hit their peak of features, optical performance and build quality about 20 years ago. I have an Acer 2790 scanner in storage which is half the size of the Plustek units, operates faster, has auto feed for strips, and delivers a true 2800 dpi resolution, where the Plustek might deliver 2900 while claiming 8000. An old Minolta Dual Scan IV Is fully automatic and will deliver a better image than any Plustek, and it was Minolta's middle of the product line model. You used to get them in like-new condition for $75. Now that folks are getting smarter about film scanning, they seem to be the $450+ range.
I strongly suggest that the poster of this video EXPLICITLY state which models he will be reviewing, best if written in the title, but if not, then stated at the very beginning of the discussion such that the voice-recognition software for the attached transcript.
Why? Because, in this case, for instance, why should I waste my time even viewing this 3+ year old presentation?
Great Video! Just a comment on the 7200. That scanner has been discontinued for about 7 years.
WOW! I only bought it a few months ago, no wonder it only works up to windows 7! They are good scanners though, not to the standard for 'high end' scanning but perfect for prints up to 10x8 I have found.
@@AvpStudios FYI I work for Plustek in the US. You can get prints larger than 8x10 from the OpticFilm 8000 scanners. I'd suggest scanning at 3600 DPI and using SilverFast sharpening or sharpen during post processing.
Did you buy the 7200 scanner as new? I know that US inventory of that scanner was depleted years ago.
@@markdruziak4573 the 8200 is available on Amazon
Vuescan has reverse-engineered the driver and you can use the 7200 with Vuescan on Windows 10, Linux, and latest macOS.
@@RoastBeefSandwich hello so if I purchase the 8200se that some sites say does work with windows 10 and some say it doesn’t, if I purchase vuescan compatibility problems don’t matter? Thanks
Mine broke down after three years!
Didn't think much of the Plustek Opticfilm 8100. The software was a nightmare to use and the results very hit and miss. Replaced it with an Epson which is a dream to use, and the quality of the scans looks better (more natural, and equally sharp) than anything I managed with the 8100. The Plusteks take alot of babysitting. I found that DSLR scanning is the best and quickest method for me.
Mark Chaplin, but you have to remove dust and scratches manually when using a DSLR to scan, which is super time-consuming... and you need full Lightroom with the negative studio plugin. So it’s not actually faster in the end. Not to mention that a good AF macro lens, copy stand, and light source can run you way more than the cost of an 8200i ai.
Plustek works just fine. The initial setup can be difficult as they provide CD’s and need to hv it downloadable which I believe it is now. Excellent product and software easy to work with. Not sure what issues you had but I certainly hv zero
I have bee GIVEN by a Fellow Camera Club member who gets stuff at car Boot Sales a PLUSTEK OptiFilm 7200 but no film holders so I found e-bay VERY expensive £39 quids for 2 plastic holders then Amazon £ 24 odd so ordered those - not arrived yet ! THEN when I tried to insert the CD as you found it will not work with WNDOWS 10 and I did not want the 'SiverFast' one as I have VUESCAN BUT MY VERSION did not FIND the scanner -- so an E-mail to Mr Hamrick in Good Old US of A and he said to upgrade to version 29 which I DID and it FOUND the 7200 NO PROBS so as soon as the film holders arrive I can try it out compared with my Canon 9000F Mk II flatbed.
Also a WARNING --- when I tried to get onto Plustek Site to get the 7200 driver before going to Mr Hamrick, a box came out saying it was infected with Malware !
Installing the latest version of vuescan will install the drivers for older scanners in Windows 10. This is just one reason for buying and supporting Hamrick Vuescan.
@@VitorFonseca YES -- I WON a Pro Version of Vuescan and Mr Hamrick is very helpful when I contact him !
Vuescan is the answer, I love their product, they help keep our scanners alive!
I have an Epson Expression 1680 Pro is it better than the Plustek scanners? Have lots of slides to do so quickness is a key to.
Does it scan 120 and 220 negatives?
No
interesting!
Good vid. Are there scanners about that are faster?
There probably are but would be older scanners made by Fuji and ICL. Scanners are hard to come by now, as far as I know Plustek make the best 'affordable' scanners and these are better than using a flatbed. Check out Plustek website for more details
I wanted to use my 7400 on my mac only to find out the software is windows only.seems like a poor business to sell it like that.If anyone has a disc for sale that works on a macor the serial # I need for SilverFast please let me know.
It ships with Mac software but I doubt the version of Silverfast bundled will run on latest macOS. Plustek offered a free upgrade from Silverfast 6.6 to 8.0 years ago, it's likely that offer is now expired. You would probably need to buy a newer version of Silverfast, or an alternative like VueScan, to use the scanner now. FWIW I never use Silverfast with my Plustek, only Vuescan.
I find Plustek way over priced for the quality they produce and how slow they are....
It cost more than Epson V600 *($200)*
I have an Epson v550, which is just like 600, but without some ocr features, and a plustek 7400 which has the same optics like higher models just without autofocus, and digital ice. The quality on plustek when scanning at 7200dpi (and then later exporting at 3800) is incomparalbe to Epson. Dedicated film scanners like minolta, plustek, nikons and so on have less flexibility, but the results from them are always way better than probably from any flatbed scanner.
There is a site with reviews of many film scanners and they always measure real optical quality of those. My flatbed has maximum real resolution of about 1300dpi, whereas dedicated one 2600-2800.
When scanning for home use at lower dpi and in jpg it doesn't matter because for that kind of use even something like used Epson v100 photo (that I also own) will be sufficient. Its a tenth of the price and you won't feel any difference.
We need a company in the analog photography market to do for film scanning what U-Turn audio did for turntables.