• Professional-quality digital film scanner
• 4,800 dpi optical resolution for 35mm film
• Digital ICE-cubed image enhancing technology
• Automatically performs image correction and restoration
• Dual IEEE1394 and Ultra SCSI interfaces; PC and Mac compatible

For black & white photos, I use Kodak's black & white film for color print (C-41) processing, the film recommended for use in the Minolta film scanner (due to limitations in how the Applied Science Fiction image enhancing software works). The results, nevertheless, were fantastic.

The images were sharp -- with tremendous amounts of detail in both the highlights and the shadows. And digitizing them allowed me to use my PC to control the tonal range better than I ever could using a professional print service or my own home darkroom. Shooting -- and printing -- b&w photos has never been more satisfying. For once, I really felt like Ansel Adams!

For underwater photography, I use Canon's A-1, a very affordable autofocus camera that's good down to 11 feet -- a sufficient depth for snorkeling or taking photos of my kids swimming below-the-surface in the pool.

When I scanned some kids-playing-underwater shots into the Minolta, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the results. The original photos (from the photo lab) were very bluish, as would be expected. But the prints made from the Minolta-scanned images had flesh tones and bathing suits that looked as natural and as colorful as if the photos had been taken on land! It was truly amazing. It made me immediately want to go out and enroll in scuba diving lessons -- to take underwater photos of very colorful fish. Jacques Cousteau, here I come!

In both cases -- for b&w and underwater photography -- the Minolta allowed me to create the most sensational images I've ever authored in either medium.

The Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro film scanner continues to delightfully expand my photographic horizons. I'm sure it can easily do the same for you.

The enlargements I've made (using the scanned images of my 35 mm negatives) are just phenomenal! Not only are they sharp and crisp -- but the Minolta brings out all of the shadow detail normally lost in the typical prints one gets back from a regular photo finisher. Pictures that I would've normally dismissed as being "too dark" now come alive with color and detail -- just as I remembered the original scene to be.

I once read that 35 mm film contains between 11 and 13 megapixels of information -- which is far in excess of the capacity available in today's most advanced digital cameras. After seeing the photos created by my Minolta film scanner -- I have no doubt that this comparison is absolutely true.

The enlargements I've made using my Minolta film scanner are vastly superior to my previous efforts:

- Using a digital camera -- where the color range and image resolution are definitely inferior.
- Making professional enlargements from my 35 mm film -- which doesn't adequately bring out the shadow detail (without dodging and burning) since the process isn't digital.

As background, I selected the Minolta Scan Multi Pro since it was the only film scanner that I found which could do all of the following:

1) Accept both 35 mm and 120/220 (medium format) size film.
2) Scan up to 4,800 dpi for higher resolution.
3) Connect via Firewire (as a faster option than USB), which I have on my Sony Vaio (desktop) computer.
4) Scan using Digital ICE, ROC and GEM (from Applied Science Fiction), which removes dust and scratches, and restores and adjusts the color automatically.
5) Is Windows XP compatible (which many film scanners, particularly the older models, aren't).

The Minolta software that came with the unit was very easy to load. And the screen interface is very intuitive.

The Minolta program is intended for scanning images only -- and opens as an import into Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (which I use), and other major photo editing programs. Since all of the retouching takes place in the host photo editing program, this allows the Minolta scanning software to be much simpler -- and much more reliable.

There is an index scanning feature (at lower resolution) which provides for fast (initial) image viewing. Photo uploads -- at the highest 4,800 dpi setting with all of the filters turned on -- takes about five minutes. (I drink coffee while I'm waiting.) And the photos, once captured, normally require only minimal retouching or color adjustment (if at all).

Since I shoot mainly with zoom lenses (and without a tripod), I was also worried that my 35 mm negatives woudn't be sufficiently sharp for making nice 8 x 10's. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to discover the following:

- That my 35 mm photos had much more resolution than I ever knew existed (particularly in the shadows and fine details).
- That I didn't need to change my equipment (to fixed focal length lenses) or use a tripod to make sharp pictures.
- And, most importantly, that I didn't need to buy an expensive higher-megapixel digital camera to make excellent 8 x 10 enlargements.

The level of detail (and drama) that I now see in my scenics and portraits is truly exceptional! I couldn't be more satisfied.

Granted, this Minolta Multi Scan Pro isn't cheap. And a less expensive film scanner can probably be had, especially if one can do without some of the options listed above (in particular, the 120/220 film capability, the faster Firewire connection, or the 4,800 dpi).

I love, however, that my photo albums are now filled with page-after-page of beautiful -- and richly detailed -- 8 x 10 blow-ups. And I'm even happier knowing that I can continue to shoot using the highest resolution photo medium yet available today. Film!

Get a Minolta Multi Scan Pro film scanner -- and discover just how good your 35 mm pictures really are! You'll be truly amazed!