The new Microtek scanner...

[Don Miller]

I would be very suspicious if the new Microtek showed dramatically apparent better resolution at this price point. I would need to know if the scanner was hiding some sharpening in the background processing as the Imacons did (do?).

I agree.
It certainly appears with scanners that you get what you pay for.

I would prefer that the M1 be a $2000 scanner.

[Scott Rosenberg]

I would prefer that the M1 be a $2000 scanner.

hey don, i'll gladly sell you an M1 for $2,000...

there really is a huge gap in scanners north of $1k... the landscape is simply empty until you get a ways into the 5 figures.

[ifer]

so, is this scanner out already?

[Ted Harris]

The M1's are in the Microtek Warehouse in CA and should be shipping to dealers next week.

I've seen the production model demonstrated at Photo Plus and played with it a bit. If it delivers everything it appears to deliver it will be significant step forward. However, as Kirk noted there mya be some surprises under the hood. I will ahve one in my hands to test within a week or two and we will know then. If there is any hidden sharpening ala the Imacon then it will show up as digital artifacts when I scan the AIG test target.

[Scott Rosenberg]

They've been talking about it since last January. They better start worrying about it going obsolete, especially with Epson likely to announce their new version in the near future (It was only 1 year between the 4990 and V700 series). Then their advantage might be gone or lessened.

how many new scanners do you expect beyond the current crop? the r&d dollars that a company must invest to bring a new scanner to market is tremendous, and when they are selling for < $1k per unit, i gotta think it's going to be difficult for any company to justify the outlay in the diminishing market. i'm not saying that the V750 and M1 will be the last prosumer flatbed / film scanners we see, but i have to think we're getting close...

[Ted Harris]

Scott, they may not be the last we see but they could well be the last we see at this price point, barring any revolutionary breakthroughs, that is. The current technology that any manufacturer can deliver in the under 1000 range has been ousded to the limit. Witness the Microtek 1800f which was discontinued because they couldn't afford to sell it at anything like the 1000 it had been selling for after the CCD manufacturer stopped making the part in quantity. What happened was Microtek was the only customer left for the chip and their cost was going to go up from a few $$ to 20&#37; of the total cost of the machine ... they just couldn't afford to keep on making the machine. A long winded way of saying I agree.

[Asher Kelman]

Scott, they may not be the last we see but they could well be the last we see at this price point, barring any revolutionary breakthroughs, that is. The current technology that any manufacturer can deliver in the under 1000 range has been ousded to the limit. Witness the Microtek 1800f which was discontinued because they couldn't afford to sell it at anything like the 1000 it had been selling for after the CCD manufacturer stopped making the part in quantity. What happened was Microtek was the only customer left for the chip and their cost was going to go up from a few $$ to 20% of the total cost of the machine ... they just couldn't afford to keep on making the machine. A long winded way of saying I agree.

Ted,

Is there any reason why the CCD sensors of cameras cannot be used for scanners?

Asher