Minolta Scan Dual IV review

Coming in at the lowest price point of this trio, the fourth version of Minolta's well-known Scan Dual range is a popular choice among amateur photographers. Operation of the machine itself is a little tedious. To start up a new session, you need to take out the film or slide adaptor and close the front door - annoying at first since the natural thing to do is insert the holder and then fire up the scanning software. The software itself is also less than intuitive - it took us a good five minutes to work out how to set the scan resolution.

Thankfully, all the features you need are there once you find them, including manual focus, tone curve adjustment and multisample scanning, plus software scratch removal and grain reduction. Scratch reduction is nowhere near as effective as the Nikon Coolscan's hardware-based system, though, and you can lose detail unless you take care.

Speed isn't the greatest either. The Scan Dual took one minute, eight seconds for our 35mm colour negative at 3,200ppi, which compares unfavourably to under 50 seconds for the Nikon at higher resolution. Overlook the operational foibles and less-than-stunning speed, however, and scan quality is very good indeed for the money.

There's little to choose between the Scan Dual and the Nikon in terms of the ability to resolve shadow detail. Optical detail resolution of the Nikon is certainly a little higher, but with film of 200 ISO and above, all you'll really be pulling out is grain; both scanners exceed the resolution of standard chemical films.

The Scan Dual's name comes from its ability to accept APS cartridges in addition to standard 35mm film and slides. Annoyingly, however, the APS cartridge holder is an optional extra that will set you back about £40. Remember also that with its smaller negative size, the quality of APS film is inherently poorer in comparison to 35mm. It means you can't expect the same level of quality: there's a lot more grain and less detail in APS shots. It's convenient, though - the APS adaptor sucks in the cartridge and winds the film back and forth internally, so there's none of the careful handling of 35mm negatives and no danger of dust ruining your scans.

Minolta has clearly built the Scan Dual to a price, but it's kept the emphasis where it should be: on final scan quality. If you're not going to be scanning very high-resolution emulsions or scratched negatives (where Digital ICE would come to the fore) and can put up with its faults, it delivers great results for the money.