Hello everyone!
We have discussed the ES-10 scanner before, but now I am finally in
a position to put some hard facts on the table: I received mine
yesterday morning.
My initial trials, squeezed between new year festivities, look not bad
at all.
The scanner comes packed in a good quality cardboard box by Olympus, so
transport damage seems to be unlikely. Jessops had added another box
and filled it up with a lot of those foam plastic things. Very fine.
Unpacking and basic installation is straightforward. Only problem
was to locate a suitable mains cord, as the one supplied of course
had a British plug. Fortunately Olympus has used a standard detachable
cord, so I was able to use one from a laptop computer. The connector
on the power supply is almost shaped as a figure 8. The PSU is rated
100 to 240 volts, so the unit sold by Jessops can also be used on 110
volt.
Installing the scanner software was simple, once it finally succeeded.
The manual says that all other programs shall be stopped. Believe it!
I do not know which of the background programs in Windows 98 were causing
trouble, but I had to kill off several "handy" agents to keep the ES-10
setup program from locking up the computer. Once the setup program ceased
to lock up it went surprisingly fast. The scanner program worked at the
first attempt after installation.
Now, after all this trivia, the interesting part. Does it work and
is it any good? I'd say yes, but it is not perfect. It can deliver
the quality advertised, i.e. 2400 x 1600 pixels resolution of a
normal 35 mm negative or slide. Colors from slides look reasonably
neutral on the computer screen. Negatives are more tricky. The software
will let you select from the well known film manufacturers, presumably
to correct for manufacturer specific variations. It works - sometimes.
I have found that the Fuji setting gives the Fujicolor Superia 200 a
distinct blue hue. The Kodak setting works better for that one. On the
other hand, the Fuji setting is very fine for the Fuji Super G Plus 800.
What is lacking is a way to make ones own film profile. Now one is
left to experimenting with the manufacturer setting.
The default density setting seems to be a bit off when used on my
negatives, and to a less degree on slides. It may be my exposure
habits, which are a bit off, but the results tend to be too light.
Anyway that is easily adjusted in the software, but is unfortunately
not saved between scanner sessions, so you will have to readjust
every time you start a scanning session. Not so good.
Getting the full resolution performance of the unit requires a bit
of practice. The main problem is that focusing is controlled manually
using a small wheel and an indicator on screen. In theory it is just
a matter of rolling the focus control until a bar reaches its maximum.
There is even a marker set at the highest level encountered during
focusing, so you will know if you have shot over the best position.
In practice there seems to be some backlash, which makes it a bit
more difficult to adjust. Care in focusing is well worth the effort.
Carefully focused, the result is good. I have tried comparing the
ES-10 scan to a Photo-CD made from the same negative and the ES-10
delivers about the same sharpness. I can even detect the film grain
in some cases.
Other details: My HP2000C printer works correctly chained through
the ES-10, but the ES-10 will not work chained after an Iomega ZIP
drive. Scanning speed is not impressive, but that is probably more
a matter of using the printer interface. Scanning a picture at full
resolution will take about five minutes.
All in all, I am satisfied with the ES-10. Although I have not has
an oppertunity to compare with other scanners, apart from whatever
was used for a Photo-CD, I think the ES-10 does an OK job, whithin
its limitations. I get plenty resolution to make an A4 print, so
the results are satisfying to me. It is not perfect, but at UKP199,
the ES-10 is a good buy (IMHO).
I intend to put a few samples on my web site soon, once I have decided
how to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of the scanner.
Now, how do I get it to work with my Linux system? Hmm...
Regards
Lars
--
Lars Haven <mailto:lhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxx> http://isa.dknet.dk/~lhaven
"When writing about women, one must dip one's pen in a rainbow"
D. Diderot
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