First and Second Looks

By David Em

April 24, 2006

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The "Media Lab" is first and foremost a user's column. I often write about blue sky technologies, but for the most part I concentrate on imaging hardware and software that my editorial associates and I have actually tested in a real world setting.

Of course, readers are always interested in the latest of everything, so I try to report on new products as close to their ship dates as possible. This works better in some cases than others. For example, it's not too hard to analyze a new camera's capabilities, but a new version of a deep 3D animation program like Autodesk's 3ds max (1000 new features!) can take a while to wrap your head around.

Sometimes it takes a period of pounding away before a tool's hidden capabilities or deficiencies reveal themselves. This week I take a Second Look to two photographic products I've recently reviewed--Nikon's Super CoolScan 5000ED slide scanner and Epson's R2400 archival desktop printer. In addition, I'll give a First Look to PremierArt's inkjet spray fixative and Neat Image's impressive noise reduction software.

Bent Out of Shape

Based on the amount of mail I received on my review of Nikon's Super CoolScan 5000ED slide scanner a couple columns back, it appears an awful lot of people are very interested in digitizing their towering mountains of slides.

There's a lot to like about the 5000ED. Except for its funky software interface and overpriced options (such as a bulk loader that costs as much as some scanners and doesn't even do a very good job), I got excellent results. I was particularly impressed with its speed and color fidelity.

After I wrote the review, a photographer friend stopped by the lab with some slides he'd shot in Thailand 20 years ago using a somewhat exotic black-and-white 35mm film made by Polaroid. The film was designed for photographers who needed to produce "quick and dirty" tests on the spot. The film could be developed in the field with tap water.

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