Minolta Scan Dual IV

I have a Minolta Scan Dual IV for 35mm and have used it for color slides negatives and B&W negs. I have herd that it is best not to scan above the optical resolution of your scanner and I am not sure what the optical resolution of my scanner is. The highest resolution on the menu is 3200 but I am not sure if it is optical or interpolated. I will add that I am using the original Minolta Software and trying to get the best scans. As far as processing the files I have older CS Photoshop and Lightroom 3.
Marvin

3200 is the optical resolution of the Scan Dual IV.

Yes the optical resolution of the Dual Scan IV is 3200dpi. I haven't used it for B&W so I don't know. I used it for color negatives and slides. It works very well for slides.

I used the Minolta Scan Dual IV for several years for both color and black and white work and found it to be pretty decent for both. The problem I found with it, and the reason I replaced it; was that the holders would jam in the machine. And, it's pretty scary when you have to extract one by force. As regards the "optical resolution" of the scanner, if I recall correctly when I researched the scanner, it was something a little less. Unfortunately, the site with the information; www,scandig.com, no longer has a review for it. To all practical intents and purposes - it might not make a whole lot of difference for you, unless you might be using for professional purposes.

The only other thing I would recommend is that you might want to look into the Lasersoft Silverfast or Vuescan packages, or both (which I do) The Vuescan Professional software is a very nice bargain.

In my experience the full resolution is available. I would never fault this scanner for sharpness or detail.

glhs116 said:

In my experience the full resolution is available. I would never fault this scanner for sharpness or detail.

Click to expand...

Well, as I said, I used it for several years and didn't replace it because of "sharpness" or "detail" issues. As regards the "optical resolution" question - unfortunately the review in Filmscanner shop: slide scanners, accessories, light panels, colour management, literature, scanning + image editing - ScanDig GmbH is no longer available except in German, which I do not speak or read. However, as a point of interest, in testing by this same site; my Nikon Coolscan V ED which is rated at 4000 DPI, with superior glass, could not quite achieve that - coming at about 97.5%. Based on that I still feel my original point was valid, but in the final analysis; probably not too important.

It's a perfectly usable scanner which can produce quite usable results.

The Scan Dual IV is amongst the best, like the Coolscans. As you say, it can resolve detail to something very near to its optical resolution. If you keep reading reviews you will find this is a very rare trait. And once you get into the realm of flatbeds you are in an entirely different realm. One where, for example, the scanner may have a stated scan dpi of 7600dpi and only be able to resolve detail to the level of, say, 2000dpi.

The scandig folks are a very helpful resource since the actually scan a target and measure this stuff. I also didn't stop using the Minolta over issues of resolution (or even speed, it is pretty fast). Since you are also using a Coolscan I think, same as me, you were drawn to the overall much better image quality of the Nikons in terms of noise, colour accuracy and so on.

Sam

Hi all,

Dual IV can resolve up to 3100 dpi when set at 3200 dpi. Please see the site below.

Filmscanner Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV 4 AF-3200: Review Testbericht Erfahrungsbericht: Bildqualitt Auflsung Geschwindigkeit
You can translate it with Google.