Scan Elite 5400 problem .......

[Jerry C.]

I've bought an SE5400 used a couple of days ago. I downloaded the
latest Dimage software from Minolta's web page. The first day it worked
fine for perhaps a dozen or so slides -- recent Velvia and Ektachrome
VS. The second day (today), some10 year old Ektachrome slides were
problematic. The slides looked fine to the eye, but when scanned, the
50% of the image that was lighter was blown out as if a hundred flashes
had gone off. The colors on the darker part of the slide was also
washed out to a lesser degree. I tried auto-exposure and
manual-exposure, different resolution settings, 8 and 16 bit, ICE and no
ICE, auto-focus and no auto-focus etc. (I know focus obviously had
nothing to do with this, but I was getting desperate.) I tried all
variations to no avail. An atomic bomb had apparently gone off in front
of the subject rendering much of it white. Subsequently, later slides
proved to be excessively dark, rather than blown out. Excessively
meaning that 50% of the slides were nearly black with no detail visible
and the rest was dramatically darker than it should be. Again, to the
eye and on a lightbox the slides are fine.

OK. Time to try negatives -- some old Kodak Gold 400. The index scan
results in the all of the negs being totally black except for the outer
1% or 2% of the border, which just barely hints at a little of the color
that is supposedly hiding within. I'm guessing this is NOT a software,
slide, or negative problem. Could I have bought a unit with a defective
or worn out light source (fluorescent tube)? Could this be a CCD sensor
problem? Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Jerry C.

 

[Jerry C.]

I've bought an SE5400 used a couple of days ago. I downloaded the
latest Dimage software from Minolta's web page. The first day it worked
fine for perhaps a dozen or so slides -- recent Velvia and Ektachrome
VS. The second day (today), some10 year old Ektachrome slides were
problematic. The slides looked fine to the eye, but when scanned, the
50% of the image that was lighter was blown out as if a hundred flashes
had gone off. The colors on the darker part of the slide was also
washed out to a lesser degree. I tried auto-exposure and
manual-exposure, different resolution settings, 8 and 16 bit, ICE and no
ICE, auto-focus and no auto-focus etc. (I know focus obviously had
nothing to do with this, but I was getting desperate.) I tried all
variations to no avail. An atomic bomb had apparently gone off in front
of the subject rendering much of it white. Subsequently, later slides
proved to be excessively dark, rather than blown out. Excessively
meaning that 50% of the slides were nearly black with no detail visible
and the rest was dramatically darker than it should be. Again, to the
eye and on a lightbox the slides are fine.

OK. Time to try negatives -- some old Kodak Gold 400. The index scan
results in the all of the negs being totally black except for the outer
1% or 2% of the border, which just barely hints at a little of the color
that is supposedly hiding within. I'm guessing this is NOT a software,
slide, or negative problem. Could I have bought a unit with a defective
or worn out light source (fluorescent tube)? Could this be a CCD sensor
problem? Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Jerry C.

===========================================
Oh yeh, one additional item. The scan times suddenly went from 4 to 6
minutes, depending on the settings, to 20 to 30 minutes, if I didn't
cancel them. This seems unconnected to the above problem. It may be
that my HDD was filling up and it didn't like partition unused space
being only 13% to 16%. My Pentium III 1000 with 768mb RAM should be
adequate. While this appears to be a second disparate problem, it may
shine a light on something.

Jerry C.

 

[Fernando]

Oh yeh, one additional item. The scan times suddenly went from 4 to 6
minutes, depending on the settings, to 20 to 30 minutes, if I didn't
cancel them. This seems unconnected to the above problem. It may be
that my HDD was filling up and it didn't like partition unused space
being only 13% to 16%. My Pentium III 1000 with 768mb RAM should be
adequate. While this appears to be a second disparate problem, it may
shine a light on something.

To me, it seems a light source problem (lamp, circuitry, or something
like that).
The light is so weak, that the scanner has to bump up the exposure
dramatically, so the long scan times.

Have it serviced or replaced...

Fernando

 

[Jerry C.]

To me, it seems a light source problem (lamp, circuitry, or something
like that).
The light is so weak, that the scanner has to bump up the exposure
dramatically, so the long scan times.

Have it serviced or replaced...

Fernando

======================================
Thanks Fernando. I didn't see a connection between the length of scan
times and the light/exposure problems.
With that perspective, I'm calling the seller (from two days ago) to see
if he's an honorable person and will take the machine back.

Jerry C.

 

[Patrick P.]

Unplug your 5400, uninstall all the minolta software, reboot your PC
and reinstall the software then plug it in. If that doesn't work trade
it in for a Nikon.