As its name suggests, the Plustek Opticfilm 7200 is a dedicated film scanner capable of producing images at up to 7,200ppi and it's also surprisingly cheap. While a low price often translates to poor quality, we're pleased to say that isn't the case here.

The main advantage of a film scanner over a traditional flatbed is that it should give more detailed images when working with transparencies and negatives. The obvious disadvantage is that you can't scan prints or documents.

In tests, the unit almost always produced better results than our test flatbed scanner, although there were occasions when our old Epson Perfection 2400 Photo delivered better images from a negative.

Pre-scans take around 25 seconds using the supplied Silverfast SE software, and the results can be adjusted to improve the final scan by adding or reducing shadow highlights and improving the colour cast.

You could load the software, connect the scanner and go, but for best results you'll initially need to learn about the fine tuning tools. Total scanning time depends on your settings, but we found a good-quality scan took about 40 seconds to complete.

The device had the annoying habit of demanding that we re-enter the security code, especially if we pressed the Intelliscan button. We found the easiest way to avoid this was to use the on-screen icon, but it shouldn't happen.

If you have boxes of transparencies or negatives, the Plustek Opticfilm 7200 is worth consideration, especially at this price. If you're an occasional scanner user who doesn't regularly deal with negatives, stick with a good flatbed, preferably with a film attachment.

Contact: Datamind 0870 770 0848
www.datamind.co.uk
www.plustek.com

Specifications:

• 7,200 x 7,200ppi optical resolution
• Colour CCD image sensor
• 48bit input
• 24/48bit output for colour scanning
• USB2
• 120 x 272 x 118.5mm (w x d x h)
• 1.35kg