Well, I made the mistake of getting a Microtek i800 without reading the reviews on this site. I got it because it seemed to be the cheapest scanner out there that can scan 8x10 negatives, and the two big issues that people seem to have had, the slowness and the soft scans of 35mm fiilm, didn't worry me too much.
I got it today, set it up, and installed Silverfast SE, which came with it, as well as the ScanMaker software from Microtek.
Here's the problem I'm having. There is a band of lighter tone running through the scans about two to three inches wide. See attached images.
Also, when the light head in the lid moves back to it's starting position after finishing the scan, there is an audible 'thunk' when it returns to the end. Is this normal? I find it hard to believe it is, but before I go through the unquestionable hassle of trying to get Microtek to send me another one, I want to be sure that it is a mechanical problem, and not just a software problem.
The banding occurs when using both SilverFast SE and the proprietary ScanMaker software, so I have a nauseating feeling that I'm going to have to go through their customer service department.
Any suggestions or observations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Paul
This is just a bare scan, converted to positive in Photoshop 7.0
This is the bare scan as a negative, but with the contrast increased slightly in PS
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