NOT worth the time and money(35mm film converter)

So I received my 35mm film converter in the mail today. Setup was simple, but the quality seriously lacked. Every picture came out like crap and all distorted. I did everything I could to try and fix it but nothing. Sadly this is just a cheap machine for $100.

Click here to see the results:
http://bp0.blogger.com …s1600-h/6-17-2008_007.JPG

http://bp2.blogger.com …s1600-h/6-17-2008_019.JPG

As you can see it's all funky looking. All my photos came out like that^. I could go into photo shop and fix them, but that would take awhile and I just don't have the time to do it to all my 35mm's.

So if anyone is looking into getting one, do not get this one:

http://www.thinkgeek.c​om/electronics/cameras​/9a24/

oh wow. I didn't think it would be THAT bad... I'd send it back if I were you. Thats terrible.

Yea I am, I was disappointed by it. Thought it would be worth the money, but then again you get what you pay for I guess.

Have you given the company a call? Clearly the thing is not working. Maybe it’s broken?

That definitely is defective. Even the really cheap film scanners should still get you a proper looking image even if it's soft or has flat contrast.

I've honestly heard nothing about that one before, but I might recommend (if you have a fair amount to scan and want better results) a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual. Obviously Minolta is "dead" but you could possibly find one of these used for a good price. New they were in the $200-250 range. I think the most recent version was IV.

Photoshop? wow! I wouldn't have even thought to try. something is definitely amiss, don't you think? get your hundred back, and thanks for the heads up.

I picked up a used epson 3490 of cragslist for $40(most of the recent pics in my flickr are scanned with it). There are loads of film scanners on craigslist for cheap and will certainly give better quality than that and also be able to scan documents and actual pictures.

Well, I'm going to go get it replaced. Just to see if it is in fact messed up. If the new one is just like this one then I will ask for a refund.

It looks to me like the problem is simply that the negatives (or slides) moved during the scans.

SkipD wrote in post #5748604
It looks to me like the problem is simply that the negatives (or slides) moved during the scans.

Bingo..Fireplug,,how are the negatives mounted/secured?

I'm not sure that's actually a "scanner" so much as it's a imager array setup to capture a snapshot of the film in front of it. If that's the case, those artifacts are not going to be from film moving. The overall appearance of the artifacts wouldn't match with film shifting in a traditional scanner in my experience anyway, the edges are too defined and "digital" and there are errors in different directions across one horizontal or vertical slice in the image.

yogestee wrote in post #5748653
Bingo..Fireplug,,how are the negatives mounted/secured?

The film negatives go in this plastic slider which keeps them all secured. When you slide it into the tower scanner, they don't move. It's actually hard to slide it in there because it stays so secure.

I emailed them and sent them the photos that turned out and they said it is not suppose to do that and when they receive it they will give me a new one.

wow, that has to be broken, wtf. glad they are sending you a new one.

I will second the Minolta Scan Dual. Although, I'm having a tough time dealing with dust. I'm contemplating a setup for shooting my film w/ my takumar and some extension tubes.