It's all relative to the price point.
For $150, the S-20 is an excellent scanner. And it works with Vuescan.
I used an S-20 for some time and scanned about 12,000 images..
The S-20 is just not in the same category as the 5400, but then again
it's not in the same price category either.
The S-20s main shortcoming is in the way it scans. Spots of dust
easily accumulate where they cause streaks on the image and can
sometimes be a bear to eliminate. Mine never suffered from the noise
problem when scanning dark images I've heard some mention.
Also the 5400 has Digital ICE capability while the S-20 does not.
I went with the Nikon LS 5000 ED, but I chose it over the 5400 only
because of the bulk slide feeder.
From what I've seen (I have only been shown the results out of a 5400
while I've run many thousands of slides through the LS 5000 ED) I
actually prefer the 5400. "I think" the LS 5000 ED *appears* to
create more grain artifacts (aliasing) than does the 5400 "Under
certain conditions". For a true comparison you need some one who has
had much more experience with both than I have had.
It's also my understanding that the 5400 has a greater depth of field
than the LS 5000 which can be handy with warped slides or film.
According to their site VueScan works with most present scanners.
There it would be best to go directly to the VueScan site and check
the particular scanner.
It was a very short night, so I can't come up with an up-to-date site
with comparisons. Just do a search on film scanners, or quite
possibly on the Minolta 5400 and you should end up with a few sites
that compare it to other scanners, or have reviews for a number of
scanners.
Good Luck,
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com