Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 Slide & Film Scanner

The Konica/Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 is a practical consumer option for archiving 35mm slide collections. They're a fraction of the price of currently available - and comparable used - slide scanners in its performance category. And unlike the Nikon products, the 5400 allows set and forget workflow for 4 slide batches without an add-on slide feeder.

All this practicality comes at a price, however: given its age the unit requires Windows XP (or earlier). While there is a patch out on the net that's alleged to get it to function with Vista, I was not able to get it to work, and eventually hooked it up to an older computer.

High-quality scans are time-consuming, both in terms of the scanning time of the slides and software/processing time. Be aware of this before going into a scanning project, and plan what you're going to do during scan cycles. They are also processor intensive - you won't want to use the attached computer during cycles - and quickly eat up storage space.

Once you get your own preferences figured out (output quality, corrections, Digital ICE) you can can efficiently work your way through several boxes of slides in an afternoon. And while it's the only scanner I've personally used, I think it's a high quality solution to the expense of having a service scan your slides. These units are well-built, readily available, and deliver quality results. I look forward to keeping mine for many years.

I first chose the Scan Elite for its resolution and dynamic range. I first bought version I and then a version II. I realized I am entirely dependent on these machines for my fine art B&W work. When nothing comparable appeared on the market, I decided to look for another to back up my arsenal. I use these scanners with VueScan software and find them capable of producing excellent images. For those in need of support services, Sony/Konica/Minolta provide support at 1-677-462-4464. I recommend buying one now while supplies last. They're irreplaceable!

Subject to good quality, great features and professional, but bought by a mistake of that on an automatic Ebay bid to increase it instead automatically inserted the "Buy Now".